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Breast cancer has become the most common cancer in India, accounting for 28.2% of all cancers affecting women. Its incidence increased by 39.1% from 1990 to 2016. The cases are expected to cross almost 2 million worldwide by 2030. Early detection and improved treatment can increase the survival rate. Several novel therapies and treatments have emerged, offering hope and improved outcomes for patients battling advanced breast cancer. This blog will explore innovative treatment therapies that are revolutionising breast cancer care.
Synopsis
About Breast Cancer
The type of cancer that begins as an abnormal growth of cells in the breast tissue, its ducts, or lobules is called breast cancer. Though it typically affects women, men can also get it. Most of its cases are invasive, in which the breast tumour can spread to other body areas. Thus, for better survival, early screening and treatment are important.
Breast cancer can be of many types, including invasive ductal carcinoma, lobular breast cancer, ductal carcinoma in situ, inflammatory breast cancer, triple-negative breast cancer, and Paget’s disease of the breast. All these breast cancers require different treatment approaches for better outcomes.
What Is the Treatment for Breast Cancer?
The treatment for breast cancer depends on the type of cancer, its growth, stage, sensitivity to hormones, and overall health. There are various treatment options available for breast cancer, improving its survival rates. However, the treatment for advanced breast cancer focuses on extending survival by alleviating symptoms and improving quality of life.
The treatment for breast tumours includes:
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Surgery: This is mostly the first line of treatment to remove the breast tumour and also nearby lymph nodes when needed. The various types of surgeries are Mastectomy, Lumpectomy, and surgeries to remove lymph nodes. The excised breasts can be reconstructed with Breast Reconstruction procedures.
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Chemotherapy: This therapy involves using strong medicines to kill cancer cells. Mostly, a combination of Chemotherapy medicines is used. This is usually done after the surgery to kill any remaining cells and lower the risk of cancer coming back. However, it can be done before surgery to shrink the breast cancer's size and avoid its spread to lymph nodes.
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Radiation Therapy: Powerful energy beams from X-rays or other sources are used to kill remaining cancer cells after surgery, reducing the risk of recurrence. Most of the time, external beam radiation is used in this cancer.
Consult our medical oncology hospital in Bhubaneswar if you need breast cancer treatment.
Breast Cancer Treatment by Stage
The stage of breast cancer tells doctors how big the tumour is and if it has spread. This information is key to deciding which treatments will work best.
|
Stage |
Description |
Treatment |
|
Stage 0 |
The cancer is in very early stages, hasn't spread, and is in situ. |
Mostly surgery (lumpectomy/mastectomy) followed by radiation or chemotherapy |
|
Stages I & II |
The tumour is small to medium-sized and may or may not have spread to a few nearby lymph nodes. |
Surgery (lumpectomy with radiation/mastectomy), chemotherapy, and/or hormone therapy |
|
Stage III |
The tumour is larger or has spread to various nearby lymph nodes/tissues. |
Very intensive treatment - starts with chemotherapy to shrink the tumour. It is followed by:
|
|
Stage IV |
Called metastatic breast cancer, the cancer has now spread to other parts of the body (bones, lungs, or liver). |
Treatment focuses on improving the quality of life.
|
Latest Therapies and Treatments for Advanced Breast Cancer in 2024
A lot of advancements and research are ongoing, focusing on increasing survival rates for breast cancer, especially in advanced breast cancer cases. The latest targeted therapies and treatments giving new hope to cancer patients are as follows:
1. Immunotherapy: These drugs enhance the body’s immune system to attack cancer cells. Checkpoint inhibitors are mainly used. Its new drugs include:
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Pembrolizumab (Keytruda): This is an FDA-approved new drug for the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer, usually used along with Chemotherapy. It is under study for the treatment of other breast cancers.
2. Targeted Therapy: This therapy only identifies and attacks specific cancer cells, sparing the new normal cells.
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Enhertu (Fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki): This novel antibody-drug conjugate is approved for treating unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer. This is the first tumour-agnostic, HER2-directed therapy drug to get approval.
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Tucatinib (Tukysa): A Targeted Therapy drug approved by the FDA and is used with trastuzumab and capecitabine to improve survival rates for patients with HER2-positive breast cancer.
3. Hormone Therapy: This therapy is used to block or slow the growth of cancers that are sensitive to hormones.
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Elacestrant (Orserdu): A new oral selective oestrogen receptor degrader (SERD) that has shown effectiveness in treating hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative, and ESR-1 mutated advanced breast cancer.
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Fulvestrant (Faslodex): Approved for treating hormone receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer.
4. PARP Inhibitors: Olaparib (Lynparza) and talazoparib (Talzenna) drugs are used for patients with inherited mutations (BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations) who have metastatic breast cancer. These prevent the cancer cells from repairing their DNA, leading to their death.
Various other drugs approved by the FDA for the treatment of HR-positive breast cancer (advanced or metastatic) are palbociclib, ribociclib, everolimus, abemaciclib, alpelisib, and sacituzumab govitecan-hziy. These are mostly used in combination to increase survival rates in these patients.
Consult our medical oncologist in Bhubaneswar if you need the latest treatment and therapies for breast cancer.
Conclusion
The advancements in the treatment of advanced breast cancer in 2024 will bring renewed hope to patients and their families. As research progresses, the future holds promise for even more breakthroughs in breast cancer treatment, offering better outcomes and new possibilities for patients worldwide.
For those diagnosed with breast cancer, consult with our oncology specialists at Manipal Hospitals, Bhubaneswar, to explore the most current and effective treatment options available for your condition.
FAQ's
Invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC), which starts in the milk ducts, is the most common form of breast cancer, accounting for about 80% of all cases. Invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) is the second common type, which begins in the milk-producing glands (lobules).
There are two types of breast lumps. Most of them are non-cancerous, such as fibroadenomas and cysts. The other one is cancerous lumps that can grow and spread. However, consult with a doctor to know whether your breast lump is cancerous or not.
In its advanced stages, breast cancer is not curable. Treatment is mainly focused on managing the disease to improve the quality of life through systemic therapies. Chemotherapy, hormone therapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy can target cancer cells wherever they have spread and help keep the disease from progressing further.
Every woman is at risk of getting breast cancer, and this risk increases with age. Other risk factors include family history, genetic abnormalities, late menopause, the early start of menstruation, being overweight, having a late pregnancy, and staying inactive.
No. Surgery is not always a necessity in breast cancer treatment. Although it is considered the primary treatment method for most early-stage breast carcinomas, advanced stages require intensive care protocol involving chemotherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, or hormone therapy when the cancer has already spread to other parts of the body.
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