In cells of a healthy normal organism, reproduction occurs only when necessary. However, there are cases when cells divide uncontrollably.
If the newly formed cells are normal, then this tumor is benign. In case they lose the properties of healthy cells, the tumor becomes malignant.
Each malignant tumor has its origin - breast cancer originates from breast tissue. This tumor grows into surrounding tissues, like other types of tumors. Moreover, tumor cells can enter other tissues and organs with a current of lymph and blood. In this case, the formation of new tumors or metastases is inevitable.
Today, the possibilities of treating this disease are becoming more diverse and more effective. First comes the surgery to remove breast cancer and radiation therapy. After that, if necessary, use chemotherapy and hormone therapy. Currently, clinical trials are undergoing new treatments such as gene therapy and anti-cancer vaccines .
Often, surgery is the first, and sometimes the only, treatment that is sufficient to effectively fight the disease. The tumor is removed from the breast. It is cut out together with a healthy tissue that surrounds it. This is done in order to make sure that there are no remaining remnants of the tumor. Lymph nodes also need to be removed if the tumor is already there.
Recently, the operation in which the breast is preserved has become standard. However, in a third of cases, such an intervention is impossible for various reasons. Then there is an opportunity with the help of chemotherapy, which is performed before surgery, to reduce the mass of the tumor to such a size that it is possible to perform the operation while retaining the breast gland. In 10% of women who received onerous chemotherapy before surgery, the cancer completely disappeared and, accordingly, the need for surgical intervention disappeared.
Scientists have found that there are so-called hormone-dependent cancers. This means that on the surface of the tumor there are receptors with which hormones bind. As a result, the growth of the tumor can be accelerated. Doctors have different approaches to hormone therapy. In general, they are all based on the fact that sex hormones are deprived of the ability to exert their stimulating effect on tumor growth.
