One of the most common forms of cancer, breast cancer impacts nearly 12% of women in the country. This means that almost 1 out of every 8 women will need to seek cancer therapy at some point in their life. Furthermore, more than 41,000 women are expected to die from breast cancer complications in 2019. These are alarming statistics indeed.

Standard treatments for breast cancer are the same as any other form of cancer. These involve chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery. There are some additional treatments for breast cancer that are used depending on the patient’s requirement. Here are some of them.

1. Hormone therapy
In this form of treatment, breast cancers that are sensitive to hormones are singled out and treated. These cancers are medically known as estrogen receptor-positive and progesterone receptor-positive cancers. Hormone treatments prevent hormones from attaching themselves to cancerous cells and also work toward stopping additional production of hormones in the ovaries. It is for this reason that this treatment is also called hormone-blocking therapy.

Hormone-blocking therapy may be done before breast cancer surgery or even after it. Most hormone therapy treatments can last for five years or even more. Some of the commonly used drugs in hormone therapy include fulvestrant, aromatase inhibitors, and tamoxifen, among others. These medicines can produce side-effects such as vaginal dryness, mood swings, and bouts of nausea.

2. Targeted therapy
Targeted therapy focuses on attacking specific elements within cancer cells. For example, certain targeted therapy drugs attack protein within cancer cells. They attack by reducing the life of these cells, blocking signals and nutrients that let cells grow, and finally killing off these cells through this process. One such cancer cell protein that targeted therapy focuses on is HER2. HER2 helps cancer cells grow and survive. By attacking this protein, targeted therapy ensures that cancer cannot grow or multiply anymore.

Each patient undergoes individual testing to determine their body’s response to targeted therapy. For some, the treatment works best post-surgery to reduce the risk of relapse. In cases of advanced breast cancer, targeted therapy can help by slowing down the growth of the tumor. There are ongoing studies to see how targeted therapy drugs can become the future of treatments for breast cancer.

3. Immunotherapy
Cancer cells contain proteins that manage to escape the radar of the body’s immune system. This is how cancer spreads so rapidly without any interference from the body’s natural defence system. Immunotherapy works to counter this effect. In immunotherapy, immune system proteins that are man-made are administered to the patient to help strengthen the natural immune system so it can fight cancer.

The main types of immunotherapy used to fight cancer are immune checkpoint inhibitors, monoclonal antibodies, and cancer vaccines. A number of studies are ongoing to find newer types of immunotherapy that will work better to fight cancer.