Adjuvant chemotherapy meaning

[38] revealed that depth of invasion, lymph node metastasis, and LBVI independently influenced prognosis in stage I gastric cancer, and in their report, patients with stage I GC having lymphovascular invasion and stage II GC had similar survival outcomes; this finding suggests that adjuvant chemotherapy is suitable for stage I patients with moderate to severe lymphovascular invasion. Although several studies have shown that blood-based biomarkers such as cancer antigen 15-3 (CA 15-3) or carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) can provide prognostic information in newly diagnosed patients with breast cancer, use of these biomarkers has not to date been shown to guide decision-making on the use of adjuvant chemotherapy. Consequently, measurement of blood-based biomarkers is not generally recommended for treatment decision-making in patients with early breast cancer.

Chemotherapy is used to treat many types of cancer. Adjuvant chemotherapy is when you get chemo after the primary treatment, usually surgery. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at both adjuvant and neoadjuvant chemotherapy, when they’re typically used, and why your doctor might recommend one over the other. Adjuvant therapy is any type of therapy that follows the primary treatment. So, adjuvant chemotherapy takes place after you’ve had first-line treatment, such as surgery to remove a cancerous tumor. The main goal of adjuvant chemotherapy is to lower the chance that the cancer will return, and to improve the outcome of first-line treatment. Sometimes cancer cells can be left behind after surgery. It’s also possible that cancer cells may be circulating in your bloodstream or lymphatic system. The traveling cancer cells don’t show up on imaging tests. Without treatment, they can find their way to distant organs to form new tumors. It’s also important to know that chemo drugs can destroy healthy cells too because traditional chemotherapy does not specifically only target cancer cells. But the chemotherapy treatment may help lower the risk that the cancer cells will spread to distant organs. Your doctor will work with you to monitor your treatment experience. Your doctor may recommend adjuvant chemotherapy if: • you have a particular type of cancer or carry certain biomarkers that are known to respond well to chemotherapy drugs • you carry specific genetic mutations th...

Overview What is adjuvant therapy? If you’ve received cancer treatment, your healthcare provider may recommend that you have follow-up treatment, often called adjuvant therapy. Adjuvant therapy, sometimes called helper therapy, targets cancer cells that primary treatment didn’t destroy. Adjuvant therapy uses many common cancer treatments. Having adjuvant therapy often means more time spent in cancer treatment, but reduces the chance you’ll have that cancer again. Healthcare providers typically use adjuvant therapy for breast, colon and lung cancers. Why would my healthcare provider recommend adjuvant therapies? Healthcare providers make recommendations based on the kind of cancer you have and your primary or initial cancer treatment. Some factors they may consider when recommending adjuvant therapy include: • You have a type of cancer that healthcare providers diagnosed and treated at an early stage. Studies show adjuvant therapy helps reduce the chance your cancer will come back. • You have a type of cancer that was diagnosed and treated at a later stage, making it more likely you have cancer cells even after completing treatment. • Your healthcare provider found several cancer cells in your lymph nodes. Cancer that’s spread to your lymph nodes is more likely to come back. My healthcare provider said my imaging tests results showed no signs of cancer. Why do I need adjuvant therapy? Cancer cells can be microscopic — so tiny that healthcare providers can’t spot them on ima...

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is chemotherapy that a person with cancer receives before their primary course of treatment. The aim is to shrink a cancerous tumor using drugs before moving onto other treatments, such as surgery. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy helps doctors target cancerous growths more easily at a later stage. Oncologists may also use this type of chemotherapy when a In this article, we look at the uses, benefits, side effects, and risks of neoadjuvant chemotherapy. We also explore the success rates and suggest questions that a person might wish to ask about the treatment. Share on Pinterest Evelyn Woodard/EyeEm/Getty Images Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is a course of cancer treatment that doctors typically use ahead of surgery. According to the Doctors often use neoadjuvant chemotherapy as a gauge to see how cancer might respond to a particular medication. If the cancer does not respond to that drug, doctors will use other drugs for treatment. They might decide to try another family of drugs or a combination of two or three different drugs. Adjuvant chemotherapy occurs after the primary treatment, rather than before. Oncologists may recommend either neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy depending on various factors, including: • cancer type • cancer progression • treatment goals, such as easing symptoms or slowing growth • the likelihood that a person will be able to tolerate multiple treatments According to a • making the surgical removal of tumors easier • making inoper...

First-line treatment or therapy simply refers to the initial, or first treatment recommended for a disease or illness. This may also be referred to as primary treatment, initial treatment, or induction therapy. With many conditions, including cancer, there are many possible treatments that could be effective. First-line treatment is the one that, for most people, is expected to provide the best results with the fewest number of side effects. In contrast, second-line treatments are used when the first-line treatment failed to improve a cancer, or if it worked for a while and then the cancer progressed, and tend to be less effective. Verywell / Ellen Lindner Understanding First-Line Treatment First-line treatment is usually the standard treatment (the "gold standard ") given when someone is diagnosed with a particular disease or condition, such as lung cancer. In other words, it is likely the treatment most oncologists would first choose in treating someone. That said, there are no general "rules" stating which treatment has to absolutely come first, and in addition to that, it's important to work with your oncologist to choose the treatment that is best for you as an individual. With regard to cancer, first-line treatment may actually be a combination of treatments, such as surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy, given in succession. Therefore, a better term would probably be "first-line treatment regimen or protocol." Neoadjuvant therapy, chemotherapy given before su...

Share on Pinterest Getty Images When chemotherapy is used at the beginning of your cancer treatment and before starting Consolidation chemotherapy is used to target cancer cells that are still in the body after initial treatment. Keep reading as we take a look at when induction chemotherapy may be used and how it compares to consolidation therapy and other types of chemotherapy. An induction therapy is the first treatment for a disease. Induction therapies are also called first-line therapies or primary therapies. Chemotherapy can be used at different points in your cancer treatment: • Concurrent chemotherapy radiation therapy is when chemotherapy and radiation therapy are performed together. • Adjuvant chemotherapy is used after other treatments to shrink remaining cancer cells. • Consolidation chemotherapy is used after initial treatment to target remaining cancer cells. • Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is the type used before surgery. • Induction chemotherapy is the type used before radiation therapy. The term induction chemotherapy is often used interchangeably with the term neoadjuvant chemotherapy, even among cancer researchers. However, The goal of induction chemotherapy is to reduce tumor size to make it easier for radiation therapy to get rid of cancer cells and to reduce the chances of cancer spreading to distant parts of your body. It’s often used for people with cancers that are at a high risk of spreading. Induction chemotherapy is used as a first-line treatment for...