Why chemotherapy before surgery

In select patients, anti-estrogen therapy may instead help shrink a tumor before surgery , Dr. Neoadjuvant therapy is not limited to chemotherapy.

For example, the anti-HER2 medications trastuzumab and pertuzumab injection-based antibody treatments are known to improve the outcomes in HER2-positive breast cancer, when added to chemotherapy. Can having chemotherapy before surgery boost your chance of success? Learn more about vaccine availability. Advertising Policy. You have successfully subscribed to our newsletter.

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Join our online community to connect, share, and find peer support. Was this article helpful? Can we help guide you? How does this work? Learn more. Some forms of breast cancer are more likely to respond well to neoadjuvant therapy. Unless a tumor is small and there is no lymph node involvement, most patients who have eitherHER2-positive breast cancer or triple-negative are good candidates for using chemotherapy either before or after their mastectomy.

With the best outcomes, this therapy can eliminate all visible tumors from the breast and produce what is known as a pathologic complete response to the treatment. That means the doctor will find no trace of the invasive tumor in the breast or the lymph nodes after the patient has received treatment. Women who have estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer, which is the most common type, may not be good candidates for neoadjuvant therapy. Instead, these patients may benefit from anti-estrogen treatment to help shrink their tumor before surgery.

Breast cancer patients should consult with their doctors and specialists to determine the best options for treatment. Neoadjuvant therapy may work best for some patients but others may require more traditional chemotherapy after their mastectomy.

No matter what type of breast cancer they have, all patients need a customized therapy to avoid undertreatment or overtreatment. Your doctor or specialist can put together the right therapy and treatment options to provide you the best possible outcome. For lab work and consultation about breast cancer and surgery options, get in touch with the BASS Medical Group experts.

We offer laboratory exams that can determine your cancer diagnosis and provide other types of medical assistance as needed. Contact us today for more details. Medical Services. Pay Online.