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How to Treat Breast Cancer: Exploring the Options
Breast cancer treatment has advanced significantly over the years, offering a range of options tailored to the type and stage of cancer, as well as the patient’s overall health and preferences. Treatment typically involves a combination of surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and targeted therapy.
Surgery
Surgery is often the first line of treatment for breast cancer, aiming to remove the tumor and, in some cases, surrounding tissue.
- Lumpectomy: Also known as breast-conserving surgery, a lumpectomy involves removing the tumor and a small margin of surrounding tissue while preserving most of the breast.
- Mastectomy: A mastectomy involves removing the entire breast to eliminate cancerous tissue. There are different types of mastectomies, including total (simple), modified radical, and skin-sparing mastectomies.
- Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy: This procedure involves removing one or a few sentinel lymph nodes (the first nodes to which cancer cells are likely to spread) to check for cancer. If these nodes are cancer-free, no further lymph node removal may be necessary.
- Axillary Lymph Node Dissection: If cancer is found in the sentinel lymph nodes, more lymph nodes may be removed to prevent the spread of cancer.
Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy uses high-energy rays to target and destroy cancer cells. It is often used after surgery to eliminate any remaining cancer cells in the breast or surrounding areas.
- External Beam Radiation: The most common type of radiation therapy, where beams of radiation are directed at the affected area from outside the body.
- Brachytherapy: A form of internal radiation therapy where radioactive seeds or pellets are placed inside the breast tissue near the tumor site.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy involves the use of drugs to destroy cancer cells throughout the body. It may be administered before surgery (neoadjuvant chemotherapy) to shrink tumors or after surgery (adjuvant chemotherapy) to kill any remaining cancer cells.
- Systemic Chemotherapy: Drugs are administered orally or intravenously to target cancer cells throughout the body.
- Targeted Chemotherapy: Certain chemotherapy drugs are designed to target specific characteristics of cancer cells, such as the HER2 protein.
Hormone Therapy
Hormone therapy is used to treat breast cancers that are hormone receptor-positive, meaning they use hormones like estrogen or progesterone to grow.
- Tamoxifen: A commonly prescribed drug that blocks estrogen receptors on breast cancer cells, preventing the hormone from fueling cancer growth.
- Aromatase Inhibitors: Drugs that lower estrogen levels in postmenopausal women by blocking the enzyme aromatase, which converts androgens into estrogen.
- Ovarian Suppression: In premenopausal women, ovarian suppression therapy may be used to stop the ovaries from producing estrogen, either through medication or surgery.
Targeted Therapy
Targeted therapy involves drugs that specifically target the molecular changes that drive cancer growth. This approach is often used in HER2-positive breast cancers.
- Herceptin (Trastuzumab): A targeted therapy drug that binds to the HER2 protein on cancer cells, preventing them from growing and dividing.
- PARP Inhibitors: Drugs like olaparib and talazoparib target cancers with BRCA mutations by preventing cancer cells from repairing themselves.
Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy is a newer approach to breast cancer treatment that involves stimulating the body’s immune system to attack cancer cells. It is typically used for triple-negative breast cancer.
- Checkpoint Inhibitors: Drugs like pembrolizumab block proteins that prevent the immune system from attacking cancer cells, allowing the immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells.
