What is the line of treatment in Breast Cancer

Breast Cancer is a disease in which malignant i.e. cancerous cells are formed in the tissues of Breast.
To get a basic understanding of what exactly breast cancer is and how is it treated, here is a brief info.

Anantomy of the Breast

There are about 15-20 sections in  abreast termed as lobes. these lobes are further divided into lobules which ultimately end in tiny bulb like glands. these tiny bulbs are responsible for producing milk. All the lobes, lobules and bulbs are connected through thin tubes called as ducts. In addition to this, breast is also innervated by blood vessels and lymph vessels.

An abnormal growth may occur in any part of the breast. For example a cancer in the ducts is known as ductal carcinoma and a malignant growth in the lobules is called lobular carcinoma. Inflammatory is also a typical type of Breast Cancer where the breasts turn red and swollen.

Treatment of Cancer

The treatment of Breast Cancer depends on a number of factors including;

• Type of cancer
• Stage of cancer
• Age of the patient
• The level of hormones in the body

There are currently 6 types of standard treatments for Breast Cancer;

Surgery

The surgery is either breast conserving in which the whole breast is not surgically removed and only the tumor along with some healthy cells around it is cut (Lumpectomy) or Mastectomy is done in which a part (Partial Mastectomy) or whole of the breast is surgically removed. 

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is given to a patient either before surgery(Neoadjuvant therapy) or after surgery(Adjuvant therapy). If given before surgery the advantage is that the tumor will shrink in size and in this case it becomes easier for breast conserving surgery to be carried out.

Chemotherapy is the treatment done with drugs to either stop the growth or kill the cancerous cells. A few drugs that have been approved for treatment of Breast Cancer are;

• Methotrexate
• Paclitaxel
• Doxorubicin
• Fluorouracil
• Cyclophosphamide
• Capecitabine

Chemotherapy is either given orally or through intravenous or intramuscular modes of administration. The method used for chemotherapy depends on the stage and type of tumor.

Radiation therapy

In radiation therapy in the form of X-rays or other type of radiation is given to the cancerous sells either to kill them or prevent them from growing. Radiation therapy is given to prevent the tumor from spreading. There are two types of radiation therapy, external where radiations are given to the cancerous tissue from outside the body and internal where radioactive substances are enclosed in needles, catheters or wires and placed near the tumor inside the body. The kind of radiotherapy that is given to the patient depends on the type of cancer and age of patient.

Hormone therapy

Certain hormones such as estrogen augment the formation of cancers. Hormone therapy is directed to remove these hormones or block their action thus preventing the cancer from growing. Aromatase inhibitor is one such hormone that inhibits the formation of estrogen from androgen and hence the formation of cancer. It is particularly effective in case if postmenopausal women who have hormone related cancer.

Targeted therapy

In this therapy a drug is used to directly affect or kill the cancerous cells and has no effect on the normal healthy cells.Monoclonal antibodies and tyrosine kinase inhibitors are two such targeted drugs which identify the cancerous cell and attacks them without affecting any of the normal healthy cell.

Sentinel lymph node biopsy and successive surgery

The first lymph node or gland to which the tumor spreads is the Sentinel node.In this a radioactive orblue dye is injected close to the tumor. the first lymph node to remove the dye through the lymph duct is removed and then surgery is carried out.