Pharmacological Therapies (Chemotherapy)
The term “chemotherapy” generally refers to a type of pharmacological treatment used for malignant tumors. The medications used are known as cytostatics (from Greek kytos = cell, statikos = to halt). Chemotherapy can be administered intravenously or taken orally in tablet form.
In some patients with breast cancer—both in early and advanced stages—tumor cells can be inhibited or destroyed through the administration of these cytostatic drugs. They work by damaging the nucleus and other components of tumor cells, thereby inhibiting their uncontrolled proliferation. Treatment may involve a single cytostatic agent or a combination of several drugs.
Since chemotherapy affects the entire body, healthy cells—such as those in hair follicles or the intestinal lining—can also be affected. However, with careful planning and proper implementation, side effects are generally manageable. Moreover, healthy cells typically recover quickly once treatment ends.
Targeted and Personalized Therapies
The term “targeted therapies” refers to a wide range of treatments that act on specific molecular or genetic characteristics of cancer cells. These therapies include: Monoclonal antibodies, Kinase inhibitors (enzymes/proteins), Angiogenesis inhibitors and Antibody-drug conjugates.
Unlike chemotherapy, targeted therapies do not directly destroy tumor cells. Instead, they block key receptors or functional proteins, effectively “starving” the tumor.
However, these therapies are only effective if the tumor cells express the corresponding molecular targets.
Although these treatments mostly affect cancer cells and spare healthy cells, side effects can still occur. Targeted therapies can be given alone or in combination with chemotherapy, and administered via infusion, subcutaneous injection, or oral tablets.
Endocrine Therapies
About 80% of all malignant breast tumors have receptors that respond to the female hormones estrogen and progesterone. This means that tumor growth is stimulated by these hormones.
Endocrine therapy takes advantage of this hormonal dependency by blocking hormone receptors or suppressing hormone production. This approach can:
Prevent the spread of distant metastases
Help protect the healthy breast from developing cancer
Endocrine therapy is typically administered as daily oral tablets. In younger, premenopausal women, ovarian function may be temporarily suppressed with an injection, given every 1 to 3 months.
As endocrine therapy can cause side effects, one of the goals of our post-treatment monitoring is to help relieve them with appropriate measures.