Treatments for breast cancer

Last medical review:

Your healthcare team will create a treatment plan just for you. The plan is based on your health and specific information about the cancer. What you want is also important when planning treatment. When deciding which treatments to offer for breast cancer, your healthcare team will consider:

  • the stage
  • if you have reached menopause
  • the hormone receptor status of the cancer
  • the HER2 status of the cancer
  • the risk that the cancer will come back, or recur (for early-stage breast cancer)
  • your overall health

Surgery is the main treatment for breast cancer. Other treatments are also used in combination to treat breast cancer, including radiation therapy, hormone therapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy and chemotherapy.

Risk of recurrence and drug treatment after surgery

Drug treatments offered after breast cancer surgery include hormone therapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy. When your healthcare team is deciding which of these treatments should be offered, they look at the hormone receptor status and the HER2 status of the cancer. The hormone receptor status may be estrogen-receptor positive or negative (ER+ or ER-) and progesterone-receptor positive or negative (PR+ or PR-).

The following are possible combinations of hormone receptor status and HER2 status:

  • ER+ or PR+ (or both) and HER2 positive
  • ER+ or PR+ (or both) and HER2 negative
  • ER- and PR- and HER2 positive
  • ER- and PR- and HER2 negative (called triple negative)
These different combinations help identify specific breast cancer subtypes.

Breast cancer subtypes and their characteristics
  Luminal A Luminal B HER2 enriched Triple negative or basal-like
Characteristic        
Estrogen or progesterone expression Positive (strong) Positive (variable) Positive or negative Negative
HER2 expression Rare Rare, though a small percentage may be positive Common Negative
Grade Low to intermediate Intermediate to high Intermediate to high High
Risk of recurrence Low Low to moderate Moderate to high High
If you have the luminal B subtype of breast cancer, you may have extra tests called gene expression profiling tests.

Gene expression profiling tests can help determine the risk that the breast cancer will come back and if chemotherapy or other treatments are needed to reduce the risk. These tests are a part of precision medicine, which is used to plan and offer treatment based on the genetic characteristics of the cancer. Different gene expression profiling tests for breast cancer are available in Canada, but the one that is most commonly used and funded by provincial or territorial health plans is Oncotype DX.

Treatments for ductal carcinoma in situ

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is usually treated with surgery, radiation therapy and hormone therapy.

Treatments for early-stage breast cancer

Early-stage breast cancer is often treated with surgery, radiation therapy, hormone therapy and targeted therapy. Chemotherapy may also be used.

Treatments for locally advanced breast cancer

Locally advanced breast cancer is often treated with chemotherapy, hormone therapy, targeted therapy, surgery and radiation therapy.

Treatments for metastatic breast cancer

Metastatic breast cancer is usually treated with hormone therapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, radiation therapy and surgery.

Surgery for breast cancer

Surgery is a medical procedure to examine, remove or repair tissue. Breast cancer is usually treated with surgery.

Radiation therapy for breast cancer

Radiation therapy uses high-energy rays to destroy cancer cells. Breast cancer is often treated with radiation therapy.

Chemotherapy for breast cancer

Chemotherapy uses anticancer drugs to destroy cancer cells. Breast cancer is often treated with chemotherapy.

Hormone therapy for breast cancer

Hormone therapy affects hormones that cancer cells need to grow. Breast cancer is often treated with hormone therapy.

Targeted therapy for breast cancer

Targeted therapy uses drugs to target specific molecules on cancer cells. Breast cancer is sometimes treated with targeted therapy.

Immunotherapy for breast cancer

Breast cancer is sometimes treated with immunotherapy. It helps strengthen the immune system to fight cancer.

Follow-up after treatment for breast cancer

Follow-up is an important part of care for breast cancer. It often involves regular tests and visits with the healthcare team.
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Medical disclaimer

The information that the Canadian Cancer Society provides does not replace your relationship with your doctor. The information is for your general use, so be sure to talk to a qualified healthcare professional before making medical decisions or if you have questions about your health.

We do our best to make sure that the information we provide is accurate and reliable but cannot guarantee that it is error-free or complete.

The Canadian Cancer Society is not responsible for the quality of the information or services provided by other organizations and mentioned on cancer.ca, nor do we endorse any service, product, treatment or therapy.


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