New Hope in Breast Cancer Treatments
The National Cancer Institute projects that over 284,000 Americans will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021, making it the most common form of cancer in the United States. Breast cancer is also the fifth leading cause of death related to cancer. Despite these daunting statistics, there is much to be hopeful for about advancements in the different treatments for breast cancer.
With breakthroughs in research, there is a greater emphasis on preserving quality of life for breast cancer patients while more effectively isolating and targeting cancer cells. Research has also led to improved treatments for patients living with stage IV or metastatic breast cancer, giving hope to a diagnosis that had previously felt less hopeful.
Here are a few recent examples of those breakthroughs in breast cancer treatment:
New Drug Combinations Are Making Treatments More Effective – pairing hormone therapies used to starve tumors by depriving them of estrogen with inhibitor drugs that prevent cancer cells from dividing has now become standard care, improving outcomes for breast cancer patients, including those with a stage IV diagnosis.
Genomic Testing Minimizing Use of Chemotherapy – genomic testing utilizes cancerous tissue to better determine how a cancer may behave as it progresses. It can help determine if someone’s unique cancer is slow growing or more aggressive and if it is likely to migrate through the body or remain localized. Using genomic testing with breast cancer patients enables oncologists to cut down on unnecessary chemotherapy. By helping to determine if a different form of treatment, like endocrine therapy, would be as effective, more patients are now being spared the harsher side effects related to chemotherapies.
Lymph Node Preservation Is Reducing Cases of Lymphedema – It had been standard practice to remove lymph nodes from the armpits of patients diagnosed with breast cancer as a means of testing for metastasis. For one in five breast cancer patients, this resulted in pain, numbness, and lymphedema, which prevents lymph fluid from easily draining within the body. With the use of sentinel node mapping, more lymph nodes can remain preserved, improving the quality of life of breast cancer patients and survivors.
Oral Treatment for More Targeted Therapies – more targeted oral treatments are being used to treat breast cancer in place of traditional harsher chemotherapies, leading to a better quality of life for those undergoing cancer treatment. Some inhibitor drugs that have been used to treat ovarian cancer are now shown to be effective in the treatment of breast cancer, too, effectively preventing cancer cells from repairing themselves, growing, and dividing.
Better Able to Identify Hereditary Cancer Syndromes – breast cancer often has a familial component to it, genetically passed down from parent to child. Research is now allowing for gene sequencing to be used to identify those individuals most at risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer. Blood and saliva can be tested to identify those at increased risk so they can receive preventative care or identify existing cancers earlier, before they have the opportunity to metastasize.
This is good news all around, for doctors and their patients. Dr. Srilata Gundala is a hematologist/oncologist and founder of Hope & Healing Care Centers in Lombard and Hinsdale, Illinois. She is excited with these developments, “It is a hopeful time for breast cancer patients and providers. With these advancements and new research, I have more tools to use with my patients. Even better, those tools work effectively while also minimizing any pain and discomfort caused by the treatment. That improves the quality of life for my patients during and after they are in treatment, it minimizes the extent of caregiving needed, and it is resulting in better outcomes.”
You can read about the experiences of a breast cancer patient treated by Dr. Gundala HERE.
Written By: Sheila Quirke, MSW
Reviewed By: Srilata Gundala, MD
