What is breast cancer chemotherapy? What are the chemotherapy options for breast cancer?

What is breast cancer chemotherapy?

Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to treat disease. While surgery and radiation therapy kill cancer cells in a specific area, chemotherapy works throughout the body. Chemotherapy can kill cancer cells that have spread to other parts of the body. Currently, there are about 90 chemotherapy drugs used to treat cancer. These chemotherapy drugs vary in their chemical composition, how they are used, how well they work for a certain type of cancer, and their side effects.

In 1982, Frei proposed the concept of early adjuvant chemotherapy. For tumor patients who need surgical treatment, adjuvant chemotherapy should be used as early as possible. Chemotherapy should be given after the tumor is diagnosed, that is, preoperative chemotherapy, and then surgical treatment. It is now called neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is a new trend in breast cancer treatment in the world.

Chemotherapy options for breast cancer:

Chemotherapy regimen for breast cancer

Chemotherapy drug combination: mainly doxorubicin, fluorouracil, and cyclophosphamide. They are called FAC regimen. The main use is adjuvant treatment after breast cancer surgery.

Chemotherapy for breast cancer

Chemotherapy drug combination: methotrexate, fluorouracil, cyclophosphamide. This regimen is called CMF regimen. It is also mainly used as an adjuvant treatment after resectable breast cancer surgery.

Chemotherapy regimen for breast cancer

Chemotherapy drug combination: fluorouracil, doxorubicin, methotrexate, cyclophosphamide. It is called A→CMF regimen and is used for adjuvant chemotherapy of resectable breast cancer.

Chemotherapy regimen for breast cancer

Chemotherapy drug combination: fluorouracil, mitoxantrone, folinic acid. It is called the NFL regimen, which is used as the first-line or second-line chemotherapy for metastatic breast cancer.

Chemotherapy regimen for breast cancer

Chemotherapy drug combination: doxorubicin, taxol. It is called PA regimen, which is used in the chemotherapy of hormone-resistant metastatic breast cancer.