Types of Breast Cancer Therapeutics
Surgery
Surgery is often the first line of treatment for breast cancer. The main types of surgery for breast cancer are lumpectomy (partial or segmental mastectomy) and mastectomy (complete removal of the breast tissue). A lumpectomy removes only the tumor and surrounding tissue, while a mastectomy removes the entire breast including removal of lymph nodes under the arm. For early-stage breast cancers that have not spread, a lumpectomy along with radiation therapy after surgery is usually as effective as a mastectomy.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy uses powerful anti-cancer drugs that are administered through intravenous injections or orally in pill form to destroy cancer cells. The goal of chemotherapy in breast cancer treatment depends on the stage of cancer. For early-stage cancers, chemotherapy may be given after surgery to eliminate any remaining cancer cells and reduce the risk of recurrence. For later stage or metastatic breast cancers, chemotherapy seeks to slow cancer growth and spread. Common chemotherapy drugs used for breast cancer include doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, paclitaxel and docetaxel. Chemotherapy is usually given in cycles with periods of treatment alternating with rest periods to allow the body to recover.
Hormonal therapy targets hormone-receptor-positive Breast Cancer Therapeutics that rely on hormones like estrogen or progesterone to grow. It involves the use of hormone-blocking drugs like tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors to lower hormone levels or block their action on cancer cells. Hormonal therapy is commonly used as adjuvant therapy after initial treatment with surgery and chemotherapy to reduce the risk of recurrence in hormone-receptor-positive breast cancers. It is also used to treat advanced or metastatic hormone-receptor-positive breast cancers.
Targeted Therapy
Targeted therapies are precision drugs that target specific vulnerabilities within cancer cells. Two main types of targeted therapies used for certain types of breast cancer are HER2-targeted therapies and CDK4/6 inhibitors. HER2-targeted therapies such as trastuzumab (Herceptin), pertuzumab (Perjeta) and ado-trastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla) interfere with the function of the HER2 protein, which promotes cancer growth. CDK4/6 inhibitors like palbociclib (Ibrance), ribociclib (Kisqali) and abemaciclib (Verzenio) block enzymes called cyclin-dependent kinases that cancer cells need to divide and grow. Both HER2-targeted drugs and CDK4/6 inhibitors are used along with other therapies like chemotherapy or hormonal therapy.
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