As we know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and researchers have been working with researchers from other institutions to help fight for the future of breast cancer. Breast cancer is where cancerous cells are formed in the breast tissues. There are five main types of breast cancer.
The first one is where the cancer cells are confined in the milk ducts of the breast, which is called ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). The next one is where the breasts are swollen or have color changes. This is specifically caused by the cancer cells being in the breast tissue, which makes these types of changes. There is also a type where the growth starts on the milk-producing glands (lobules). This type is invasive, meaning that it can potentially spread to other parts of the body. Lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) is one diagnosis that is different from the others; it isn’t cancer, but it does increase the chance of one getting breast cancer in the future if it is found in the breast. The last one is male breast cancer; a lot of people think that only females can be diagnosed with breast cancer, but that is false. Men can also be diagnosed, but it is more rare.
Breast cancer is one type of cancer that has a very high effectiveness rate when it comes to screening, so when it is caught, the survival rate is 99%. With the treatments and research going on nowadays, the chance of survival has significantly increased and is still steadily rising over the years. Now, there still are some downsides to screenings, which are the overdiagnosis and overtreatment, specifically with DCIS. Right now, there is no way to know which of the lesions will progress into becoming invasive. This then leads to patients having surgery almost all the time.
In an article written last year, there was a clinical trial going on to limit surgery on DCIS patients and to just treat them with hormonal therapy and active surveillance. In the clinical trial, the results were pretty surprising. There were two groups: one group of DCIS patients that received active surveillance, and the other group of DCIS patients—the guideline care group—who received the regular treatments, which also included surgery. The number of people who were diagnosed with invasive cancer on the same breast was a -1.7% difference, with the guideline care group having a slightly lower chance. These results go to show that with the idea of active surveillance and hormonal therapy, patients have the same chance of a good treatment plan.
Within the family of breast cancer treatments, not one treatment is going to work for one specific type of cancer, so depending on the stage of cancer and or type, with many other factors like personal factors like age and general health, as well as how the body’s receptors respond to the treatment. There are three main types: small molecule drugs and monoclonal antibodies, which both fall under targeted therapy for breast cancer. The final one is immunotherapy for breast cancer. Immunotherapy is a treatment that helps the body fight off the cancer in a more effective way, whereas targeted therapy is a drug that goes into the body and targets specific proteins, cells, and functions.
Going back to the survival rate of breast cancer, with the right treatments previously explained and with early screening, breast cancer is not to be feared. With hundreds of breast cancer research studies going on in the United States alone. They help both people understand this risk by addressing it effectively, as well as improving and helping patients with breast cancer. Breast cancer research is still an open topic for discussion, with how treatments and detection have so much more room for growth.
