Elderly patients with cancer are frequently undertreated as they are considered to be unfit for treatment due to inaccurate estimations of the operative risk. In the current study, the case of an 81-year-old female smoker with advanced breast cancer is presented. The patient had received numerous cycles of chemo- and hormonal therapy and the cancer only progressed locally. After six years, the patient developed a second type of cancer; a moderately differentiated squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue. The patient refused any local treatment and she received supportive care only. There is currently a lack of data regarding the molecular mechanisms of second primary cancers as well as other delayed outcomes following cancer treatment. Therefore, it is proposed that chemotherapy may promote the presentation of the second cancer as a result of immunosuppression.
Keywords: breast cancer; chemotherapy; immunosuppression; squamous cell carcinoma.