Stage 2 Breast Cancer

Stage 2 Breast Cancer: Survival rate, symptoms, treatment, local treatments, systemic treatments, Neoadjuvants treatment, Treatment to the breast, Chemotherapy, Targeted therapy, prognosis.

Stage 2 breast cancer is one of the most common forms of the disease. During stage 2, the tumor has a diameter of at least one centimeter and has spread to nearby lymph nodes. Adjuvant chemotherapy is sometimes prescribed after surgery (either a mastectomy or a lumpectomy). Radiation therapy is necessary for lumpectomies, while it may or may not be necessary for mastectomy.

Stage 2 Breast Cancer: Survival rate, symptoms, treatment, local treatments, systemic treatments, Neoadjuvants treatment, Treatment to the breast, Chemotherapy, Targeted therapy, prognosis.
Stage 2 Breast Cancer: Survival rate, symptoms, treatment, local treatments, systemic treatments, Neoadjuvants treatment, Treatment to the breast, Chemotherapy, Targeted therapy, prognosis.

If a tumor is estrogen-receptor-positive, hormone therapy is frequently administered for five to ten years, and postmenopausal women may require bisphosphonate therapy to reduce the likelihood of recurrence. Malignancies that are HER2-positive are frequently treated with targeted therapy prior to surgery.

Breast cancer that has invaded the breast lobules or ducts is known as invasive cancer. There is a difference between this and breast cancer that has spread to other parts of the body (stage 4). In this case, it means the aberrant cells have crossed the basement membrane, a thin layer of tissue that is able to spread.

Having stage 2 breast cancer means cancer has not invaded the adjacent lymph nodes or the breast tissue itself.

Cancer is a broad term that encompasses many types of diseases. It is one of many disorders that can affect women. A variety of breast cancer types make it impossible to treat all stage 2 breast cancers the same way.

In this post, we’ll discuss how breast cancer is diagnosed and treated, as well as the general outlook.

Survival rate 

As soon as you have been diagnosed with breast cancer and are receiving treatment, it’s important that you understand survival rates don’t guarantee how long you’ll live. Rather, rates represent how many people are expected to survive for a particular period of time. 

The American Cancer Society reports a survival rate of 93 percent for women who have completed chemotherapy for stage 2 breast cancer. Women with stage 3 cancer have an average five-year survival rate of 72 percent.

As a result, a newly diagnosed patient may have a greater chance of surviving for a longer period of time, as treatments have significantly improved over the past few years.

Symptoms

The early stages of breast cancer may not be accompanied by any symptoms. Even when a tumor is too small to see, it may nevertheless be detected by mammography.

Tumors usually present themselves as a lump in the breast that was not present before. Some lumps, however, are benign and do not indicate cancer.

Different types of breast cancer can manifest themselves in different ways. There are many similarities, but there are also some differences. There are the following symptoms associated with breast cancer:

  • If the lump or thickening is new and feels different from surrounding tissue, it’s most likely a lump
  • Pain in the breast
  • A red or discolored breast with pits
  • Breasts that are swollen in part or all
  • Breast milk is not the only nipple discharge
  • Your nipple has a bloody discharge
  • Nipple or breast skin that is peeling, scaling, or flaking
  • Unexpected changes in your breast shape or size
  • A nipple inverted
  • Changes in your breasts’ appearance
  • Under your arm, you may feel a lump or swelling

You don’t always have breast cancer when you experience one of these symptoms. If you have a benign cyst, for example, you may experience breast pain or a lump.

Whenever you discover a lump or notice other symptoms of breast cancer, you should consult your doctor.

Treatment 

There is a wide variety of treatment options available treatment options include:

The following treatments are available:

Local treatments

The surgical options are either a lumpectomy or mastectomy followed by radiation treatments to the breast or chest wall. You will need to decide when to undergo breast reconstruction if radiation treatment is indicated. It is important to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of a single mastectomy versus a double mastectomy before you decide to have a mastectomy.

Systemic treatments

These treatments will help you prevent recurrences by treating your entire body. According to your age, general health, hormone receptor status, lymph node involvement, and HER2 testing results, you may be prescribed chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, such as tamoxifen, an aromatase inhibitor, or a HER2 targeted therapy, such as Herceptin. When treating triple-negative breast cancer systemically, immunotherapy is sometimes used. A PARP inhibitor, Olaparib, is now being considered as a systemic treatment for people with BRCA mutations.

Neoadjuvants treatment

Depending on the type of cancer and its location, your oncologist may recommend systemic medicines to help decrease the tumour. In the event that this strategy is successful, the smaller tumor can be excised and local treatment administered if required. The pre-treatment of some cancers does not work well; in these cases, a mastectomy is necessary. Then you can think about getting your breasts reconstructed.

Treatment to the breast

If you have been diagnosed with breast cancer, your surgeon will remove the malignant tissue while leaving a border of healthy breast tissue. In this case, the procedure is called a wide local excision or breast conserving surgery. After the surgery, radiation is frequently administered to the remainder of the breast.

A breast could also be removed entirely if you so desire. Medically, it is known as mastectomy. Breast reconstruction is an option for those who want a new breast implant. Those who undergo a mastectomy may require radiation therapy on the chest wall. Radiation therapy or additional surgery may be required to remove the lymph nodes under your arm if the nodes contain cancer cells.

In some cases, breast reconstruction is combined with cancer removal surgery; in others, it is done separately. Radiotherapy following surgery should not prevent you from getting it if you are undergoing reconstruction at the same time. If you receive radiotherapy following a reconstruction, your options for reconstruction may be fewer.

The advantages and disadvantages of the procedure will be discussed with you by your surgeon.

Chemotherapy

Cancer patients can use chemotherapy before surgery or after surgery to reduce the risk of recurrence.

Due to the lack of HR or HER2 receptors, there are limited treatment options for triple-negative breast cancer. The evidence for the efficacy of chemotherapy is good.

Chemotherapy drugs are often delivered intravenously, or through a vein, in order to treat breast cancer. For example, the therapy could be administered as a quick injection or as a prolonged infusion lasting several hours.

On average, breast cancer is treated with chemotherapy in rounds of one to three weeks. An IV will be used to deliver chemotherapy one day a week or for several days in a row. You will be given a little time to recover from the medications before starting your next cycle.

Chemotherapy has the disadvantage of being unable to differentiate between malignant and healthy cells. Consequently, some healthy cells may be temporarily damaged in addition to malignant ones.

Targeted therapy

In targeted or biological therapies, drugs distinguish between cancer cells and normal cells more easily than chemotherapy. Some of these medications can harm cancer cells less than other types of cells while attacking them.

The field of targeted treatment is relatively new, and scientists are creating new medications as they learn more about cancer cells and what makes them different from healthy cells.

Other targeted therapies are able to detect specific proteins or enzymes that are linked to cancer cells. HER2-positive breast cancer cells can be targeted with targeted therapies, for example, because the proportion of growth-promoting protein on their surface is high.

Prognosis

A favorable prognosis can be expected for stage 2 breast cancer. Based on the American Cancer Society’s data, the 5-year relative survival rate for cancer patients is:

  • In cases of localized breast cancer (where it has not spread outside the breast), the success rate is 99 percent.
  • Cancer spread to nearby lymph nodes in 86 percent of cases of breast cancer in the region.

Prior to the introduction of several new targeted medicines, these data represent cancer patients who were diagnosed between 2010 and 2016. Additionally, the percentages differ depending on the ER/PR and HER2 status.

In some cases, breast cancer is more likely to have a good outcome.

HER2-positive breast cancers may respond better to anti-HER2 chemotherapy than HR+/HER2-positive tumors, which could be due to the fact that some cancers respond better to hormone therapy rather than targeted anti-HER2 therapy. Breast cancer with a triple-negative status, for example, has fewer treatment options and recurrence rates that are higher in the early years.

You can discuss your entire medical history with your oncologist so that you will understand what to expect from the procedure.

Bottom Line

During stage 2 breast cancer, cancer cells have not spread beyond the breast and adjacent lymph nodes. Your oncologist can better determine which treatments will be most successful for your stage 2 breast cancer based on your HR and HER2 status.

Breast cancer that has reached stage 2 is very curable and has a good prognosis. As with most types of cancer, the earlier your cancer is diagnosed and treated, the better your chances of success.

Read also: Breast Cancer Symptoms; Breast Cancer Stages; Stage 1 Breast Cancer; Stage 3 Breast Cancer

External resource: Cancerresearchuk

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