Why is chemo given before surgery in advanced breast cancer?

Question

Hi doctor,

My aunt was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer, and the doctor said they were starting with chemo before surgery. They mentioned something called neoadjuvant therapy.

I always thought the first step would be to get rid of the cancer with surgery right away. Is it not more important to remove the cancer from the body first?

I am a bit confused about how this works and why they would not operate right away. What is the idea behind this approach?

Kindly guide.

Thanks.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I can understand your concern.

Neoadjuvant means chemotherapy before the surgery. Benefits of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) include:

It helps improve the chance of surgery, breast conservation, and quality of life. It can be used for all breast cancer subtypes, including locally advanced, operable, primarily non-operable, or inflammatory types.
NAC can shrink tumors, which may allow breast conservation surgery instead of a mastectomy.
NAC allows for early observation of how the patient is responding to treatment.
NAC can be used to study the activity of new agents or therapeutic combinations in vivo.
Treatment is given as a first step to shrink a tumor before the main treatment, which is usually surgery. Examples of neoadjuvant therapy include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and hormone therapy. It is a type of induction therapy.

I hope this information will help you.

Thank you.