Breast Cancer

Breast Cancer Immunotherapy & Radiation Therapy

Although breast cancer has historically been considered immunologically silent, several preclinical and clinical studies suggest that immunotherapy has the potential to improve clinical outcomes for patients with breast cancer. Overall, immunotherapy holds several key advantages over conventional chemotherapeutic and targeted treatments directed at the tumor itself. The common types of immunotherapy include Monoclonal antibodies, Cancer vaccines and Non-specific immunotherapies. One common type of breast cancer immunotherapy drug for breast cancer is Herceptin. This drug binds with specific proteins on breast cancer cells to slow or stop their growth. Your care team may recommend Herceptin to target breast tumors that produce too much of (or overexpress) a protein called HER2, which can also signal more aggressive cancers. Immunotherapy is a promising treatment for breast cancer, including advanced and recurrent forms of the disease. Immunotherapy may be used alone or in conjunction with other breast cancer treatments, such as radiation therapy and chemotherapy.

Radiation Therapy is treatment with high-energy rays or particles that destroy cancer cells. Radiation to the breast is often given after breast-conserving surgery to help lower the chance that the cancer will come back in the breast or nearby lymph nodes. Radiation may also be recommended after mastectomy in patients either with a cancer larger than 5 cm, or when cancer is found in the lymph nodes. Radiation therapy uses a special kind of high-energy beam to damage cancer cells. (Other types of energy beams include light and X-rays.) These high-energy beams, which are invisible to the human eye, damage a cell’s DNA, the material that cells use to divide. Radiation is an important and often necessary form of anti-cancer therapy because it is able to reduce the risk of recurrence after surgery. Many patients are surprised to discover that having radiation therapy is less difficult than they expected, though the radiation used to damage cancer in your body can also damage healthy cells.

How Radiation Works?? Radiation therapy uses a special kind of high-energy beam to damage cancer cells. (Other types of energy beams include light and X-rays.) These high-energy beams, which are invisible to the human eye, damage a cell’s DNA, the material that cells use to divide. Over time, the radiation damages cells that are in the path of its beam — normal cells as well as cancer cells. But radiation affects cancer cells more than normal cells. Cancer cells are very busy growing and multiplying — 2 activities that can be slowed or stopped by radiation damage. And because cancer cells are less organized than healthy cells, it's harder for them to repair the damage done by radiation. So cancer cells are more easily destroyed by radiation, while healthy, normal cells are better able to repair themselves and survive the treatment.

When Is Radiation Appropriate??  Radiation therapy has an important role in treating all stages of breast cancer because it is so effective and relatively safe. It may be appropriate for people with stage 0 through stage III breast cancer after lumpectomy or mastectomy. Radiation can also be very helpful to people with stage IV cancer that has spread to other parts of the body. Women who are pregnant should not have radiation. Radiation is never safe during pregnancy.

Types of Radiation Therapy:- There are three main types of radiation which are External Radiation, Internal Radiation and Intraoperative Radiation. External radiation is the most common type of radiation, typically given after lumpectomy and sometimes, mastectomy. In this section, you can read about how external radiation is given. Internal radiation is a less common method of giving radiation. It is being studied for use after lumpectomy. In this section, you can read about how radiation is delivered inside the breast. Another relatively new type of radiation to treat breast cancer is intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT). IORT is given during lumpectomy surgery after the cancer has been removed. In this section you can read about how intraoperative radiation therapy is given.