Researchers Advise That Small Breast Tumors Need More Aggressive Treatment

heidi · Moderator Joined: 16 Dec 2005 Posts: 529

Researchers found that small breast tumors are as aggressive as the big ones. They advise that it should be treated with more comprehensive therapy. It was discovered that even small breast tumors can be dangerous and require more serious treatment than what’s usually offered to patients. There are two types of breast tumors: HER2 positive and triple negative and they are not classified based on size only. Researchers agree that not only size matters when it comes to selecting therapy to treat breast tumor.

Statistics found that 15 – 20% of all breast tumors belong to HER2 positive type and about 15% to triple negative group. Tumors are also marked from 1 to 3 and the higher graded are more likely to grow faster and be more difficult to treat than lower graded tumors. Results of the study suggest that women with breast tumor type HER2 positive should receive as much treatment as the ones diagnosed with triple negative type in order to prevent cancer relapse.

It was also discovered that only 35% of women diagnosed with triple negative breast tumor were treated with chemotherapy after surgery despite to the higher grade of tumors. Researchers say that chemotherapy may not work as well in the tumors as it should but doctors who treat women with triple negative breast tumor should be aware of the higher risk of relapse even in small tumors. HER2 positive tumors may need more aggressive therapy inspite of the very small size.

Researchers Advise That Small Breast Tumors Need More Aggressive Treatment

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