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This Web site is supported by educational grants from Genentech BioOncology, GlaxoSmithKline, and Pfizer Oncology. |
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Home  Neo/Adjuvant |
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| Neo/Adjuvant |
| In the United States, approximately
200,000 new diagnoses of breast cancer were reported
in
2005, with the majority of these diagnoses occurring
at an operable early-stage of disease with potential
for cure. The management of patients with early-stage
breast cancer continues to evolve. Adjuvant endocrine
therapy or chemotherapy, offered in addition
to surgery and radiation therapy, can further
prevent
or delay the recurrence of early-stage breast
cancer. Neoadjuvant, or preoperative, treatment
can potentially
reduce tumor size, facilitating breast-conserving
surgery, and be used to assess response to subsequent
chemotherapy. While conventional cytotoxic compounds
and endocrine agents have been the mainstay of
adjuvant and neoadjuvant therapy for years, targeted
biologic agents with demonstrated efficacy in
advanced disease are beginning to be evaluated
in treatment
regimens for early-stage disease. Current challenges
are to identify the optimal combination and schedule
of treatments for patients with breast cancer
based on the unique biologic characteristics
of each tumor. |
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