Is chemotherapy the only option for "triple-negative breast cancer"? New treatment is expected to "completely alleviate the pathology" Doctor: Don't give up too early!
She felt a lump while taking a shower and was diagnosed with high-risk early-stage triple-negative breast cancer.
The incidence and mortality of breast cancer among Taiwanese women continue to rise, and the age at which breast cancer is most likely to occur is ten years earlier than in European and American countries. A stay-at-home mother, Xiaoyu, has a busy life taking care of her two children. One day five years ago I suddenly felt a lump in my breast while taking a shower. After a medical examination, I was diagnosed with breast cancer, and it was “high-risk early triple-negative breast cancer.” I was deeply shocked.
On the advice of his doctor, Xiaoyu received neoadjuvant therapy (Neoadjuvant therapy) with immunotherapy and chemotherapy. He also received surgery and postoperative adjuvant therapy to keep his condition under stable control. So far there are no signs of recurrence.
In the past, triple-negative breast cancer was generally considered to have a poor prognosis. Experts remind that there has been significant progress in the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer. Regardless of early or late-stage triple-negative breast cancer, there is still a chance to improve survival and reduce recurrence. Patients should not give up hope for treatment.
Breast cancer treatment should not be treated equally! Doctor: Some patients are prone to early relapse after chemotherapy
Breast cancer is the number one cancer incidence rate among women in Taiwan. According to the 2019 Cancer Registration Annual Report of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, there are approximately 15,000 new breast cancer patients in Taiwan every year. Among all breast cancer types, triple-negative breast cancer accounts for about 10-15%.
Director Liu Liangzhi of the Breast Medicine Center of the China Medical University Health System said that it was clinically found that a group of patients are prone to relapse early after chemotherapy, and treatment cannot be treated equally. Therefore, further research is needed to identify the “high-risk early triple-negative breast cancer” group that is prone to recurrence and provide corresponding measures. treatment strategies.
Is chemotherapy the only option for triple-negative breast cancer? New treatment promises “complete pathological remission”
Director Lin Jinyao of the Breast Medical Center of Taichung Tzu Chi Hospital explained that triple-negative breast cancer refers to three receptors that are negative for estrogen (ER), progesterone (PR), and human epithelial growth receptor type 2 (HER2). If the tumor is consistent with High-risk early triple-negative breast cancer is between 1-2 centimeters and combined with lymphatic metastasis or the tumor is larger than 2 centimeters regardless of lymphatic metastasis.
Director Lin Jinyao pointed out that in the past, most of these patients could only choose chemotherapy. However, with the development of immunotherapy drugs in recent years, if chemotherapy is combined with immunotherapy, there is an opportunity to increase the probability of “pathological complete remission” (pCR means no cancer cells can be detected in the surgical specimen) and at the same time reduce the risk of recurrence, pursuing Longer survival time.
Is the recurrence rate of triple-negative breast cancer high? “Cleaning the battlefield” to consolidate the efficacy and extend survival?
Director Lin Jinyao said that compared with other breast cancer types, the recurrence rate of triple-negative breast cancer within 3 years of treatment is relatively high. However, if pathological complete remission can be achieved, the recurrence rate after 7-8 years of treatment may be lower than other breast cancer types. Therefore, patients with high-risk early-stage triple-negative breast cancer who receive preemptive adjuvant therapy should strive to achieve the treatment goal of eliminating tumors to the point of being undetectable.
Director Liu Liangzhi said that event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival time are key indicators for evaluating the outcome of treatment for high-risk early-stage triple-negative breast cancer. High-risk early-stage triple-negative breast cancer receives preoperative adjuvant treatment of chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy before surgery. Continuing adjuvant immunotherapy after surgery can consolidate the efficacy and increase the probability of pathological complete response (pCR) to more than 60%, while reducing the rate by nearly 4%. risk of distal deterioration or recurrence.
It is common in breast cancer clinics that after many cancer patients learn that they have triple-negative breast cancer, they search media information and see pessimistic terms such as “high malignancy” and “poor prognosis”, which makes them feel discouraged and even have the idea of giving up. Doctors remind that the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer has improved significantly in recent years, and patients can seek help from specialists to evaluate whether they are suitable for immunotherapy. The most important thing is to actively cooperate with the doctor’s instructions to have the opportunity to pursue better treatment effects and prolong good survival.
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