Breast cancer care: what are the ‘best’ treatment options?

When it comes to determining the best breast cancer treatment in your case, you will have a multidisciplinary team of healthcare professionals, which may include a breast care nurse, surgeon, clinical oncologist, medical oncologist, radiologist and histopathologist.

Together the team will take all of the information from your diagnostic tests, discuss your treatment options and prepare a plan. Here, one of our expert medical oncologists Dr Sarah Khan shares what the possible treatment options are for breast cancer.

How greatly does the stage of breast cancer affect the treatment plan?

There is a strong association between the treatment outcome and the stage of breast cancer. In general, the higher the stage, the poorer the outcome. The more the breast cancer has spread, the more treatment you will likely need to have.
 

What are the treatment options for breast cancer?

Depending on the stage, if the breast cancer is in early-stage presentation, treatment is going to be the removal of cancer with either lumpectomy or mastectomy and assessing the axillary lymph nodes under the arm.

This may then be followed by endocrinal hormone therapy, chemotherapy or radiation to reduce further recurrence with the same cancer.
 

Are some breast cancer treatments unsuitable for some patients?

For patients that present with late-stage cancer where it has travelled from the breast to another part of the body (metastatic), in this situation treatment is not curative but it can certainly prolong life.

Treatment depends on the type of cancer and whether it is hormone receptor-positive or negative. We look at the molecular markers, the location of cancer and how extensive it is. Surgery upfront can be difficult for some patients so we may use chemotherapy or endocrine treatment or HER2-targeted treatments to reduce the size of cancer before surgery.
 

Can some breast cancer treatments increase the rate of cancer spread?

Generally, treatments don’t increase the rate of cancer spread. There is a very, very small risk of developing second cancers such as leukaemia with the use of some chemotherapy drugs and previous radiotherapy techniques did carry the risk of second radiation-induced cancers. With current techniques, the risk of second cancer is extremely low.
 

Which is the most effective breast cancer treatment?

Surgery in the earlier stages.
 

How does an oncologist decide the best treatment for breast cancer?

A biopsy of breast cancer will confirm the diagnosis and let us know the type of breast cancer. The pathologist will look at the hormones, HER2 receptor results and the grade of cancer. The stage of cancer will determine the most appropriate treatment. Your team will consist of a surgeon, radiologist, pathologist, medical oncologist and clinical oncologist. There will be a breast care nurse to support you too.


Dr Khan holds a special interest in treating all stages of lung cancer and breast cancer. If you would like to work with her for your case, you can book an appointment via her Top Doctor’s profile here.