Metastatic Breast Cancer Treatment
Article published on 4:39 pm | By admin | 427 views | 466 words | under metastatic breast cancer
All major treatments for a metastatic breast cancer focus on alleviating breast cancer symptoms. A therapy differs depending upon the patient’s history in treatment & how well she had responded to few specific therapies in the past.Surgery is considered a rare option as the cancer is not generally confined to a specific spot on the organ. Radiation therapy can be used, which depends upon the extent of which the cancer has spread in an organ. The main objective of a radiation therapy in some cases of a metastatic breast cancer is usually in order to shrink the cancer & provide pain & relief. The cancer if is only on one or more spots in the bone, for example, then radiation can be done.
All systemic therapies like chemotherapy or any other type of drug therapy is usually given to the advanced breast cancer patients as they affect the whole body (as opposed by localized treatment which only affects one area). Chemotherapy is regarded as a treatment with anti-cancer drugs. Most of these courses are 3 to 6 months long & can be given daily, or weekly, or monthly, depending upon the body’s condition to the drugs. All Chemotherapy sessions generally are not continuous; it includes rest cycles as chemotherapy targets both the healthy as well as cancerous cells.
Today many researchers are trying to investigate whether the aggressive, or high-dose chemotherapy is effective with the advanced breast cancer patients. Few recent researchers have shown high-dose chemotherapy can improve patient’s outcome. Moreover, other studies have also shown no advantage.
Further in addition, new blood test, known as CellSearch CTC, has shown promise in helping in managing the treatment of a metastatic breast cancer. This test helps in measuring the number of tumour cells which circulates a sample of blood & could immediately inform the physicians if any patient’s treatment is turning right or does need modification. Many research have shown that if patients typically have more than 5 CTCs in blood sample, the survival could be shorter compared to patients having no CTCs. This CTC test may help physicians to monitor if a patient’s treatment by determination the number of cancer cells is decreasing. All the above information can help in determining whether it needs any change in a patient’s treatment. Though the test is always used independently which is typically before each of the chemotherapy treatment cycles health experts today do not recommend if it replaces existing tests in monitoring a disease progression, like CAT scan or a PET scan. Though instead, it may be a useful in supplement to other tests, which are often administrated every few weeks.
Further to add to the chemotherapy, the patients having advanced breast cancer could be treated with different drugs:
- Tamoxifen
- Herceptin (only FDA approved for patients with HER2-positive receptors)
- Taxol
- Aromasin
Some drugs known as bisphosphonates can also be used for treating bone metastases.
Article source : http://www.breastcancertreatments.co.uk/2010/06/metastatic-breast-cancer-treatment/Tags: breast cancer treatment, chemotherapy, metastatic breast cancer