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Systemic therapies are drugs that are taken orally or by IV to treat cancer. Types of systemic therapies for breast cancer include chemotherapy, hormone therapy, immunotherapy and targeted drug therapy. Which therapy is used depends on which type of breast cancer is being treated.
"The goal of systemic therapy is simply to either inhibit the growth of cancer cells or to kill them and to eradicate them from the body," says Dr. Matthew Goetz, a medical oncologist at Mayo Clinic. Dr. Goetz is also co-leader of the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center Women’s Cancer Program.
"If you can imagine a patient who is diagnosed with breast cancer, and those cancer cells have spread to other parts of the body, such as the liver, or the bone or the lung, we refer to this as stage 4 breast cancer," says Dr. Goetz. "For those patients, systemic therapy really is the predominant therapy that we would use to slow down, eradicate and eliminate those cancer cells."
While patients have many systemic therapy options, Mayo Clinic research seeks to improve on these treatments and develop new drugs to treat and prevent cancer.
"We're one of six centers in the country that has a specialized program of research excellence, which means that we have a large group of individuals doing research in the area of drug development," explains Dr. Goetz. "For example, we have a group that's developing new vaccines to actually prevent breast cancer. We're excited to see the results of that study."
On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Goetz discusses advances in using systemic therapies to treat breast cancer.
To practice safe social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic, this interview was conducted using video conferencing. The sound and video quality are representative of the technology used. For the safety of its patients, staff and visitors, Mayo Clinic has strict masking policies in place. Anyone shown without a mask was recorded prior to COVID-19 or recorded in an area not designated for patient care, where social distancing and other safety protocols were followed.
For more information and all your COVID-19 coverage, go to the Mayo Clinic News Network and mayoclinic.org.
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Wow, this is a ton of great information. Thank you so much for answering some of the most pressing questions in breast cancer survivorship.
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1 ReactionI wonder if side effects of Anastrozole could be addressed and what measures are taken to alleviate those side effects, most importantly, bone loss. I would be very interested to hear about that.
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2 ReactionsSince I have developed breast cancer twice now; first was 26 years ago and now this year; 2021. I had a mastectomy on my right breast and am cleared as far getting the cancer out and hadn't spread to any other areas. I wish I lived near a Mayo clinic. I live in Washington state; Tacoma. I had the same oncologist both times for my treatments; Doctor Francis Senecal who has successfully treated me. He said it is highly unusual to get breast cancer twice. This second time around with breast cancer, he is 85-90% sure that the cancer won't come back. Does this sound promising to me; I'm not sure how I feel about it. Any opinions would give me some more comfort. Thank you.
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4 ReactionsIt is hard to gain comfort the second time around isn’t it? I would be, yeah, I heard that last time! I will say that if you are doing everything that you can do to prevent it from coming back, then live your life as best you can and if it comes back then face that when it comes. I don’t say this lightly, it has been my life for a long time. I just face each day with whatever I have to give it, and whatever comes is what I have to deal with that day. It isn’t always easy, but it is worth it. This podcast gave me so much hope. I know I have talked to you on other threads but I would love to share even more hope in an article I read this morning.
https://www.cancerhealth.com/article/no-stopping-terlisa-sheppard
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3 ReactionsWow! What an amazing woman. That story does give me affirmation. I admit that as I was reading this, I shed some tears. I do try to live each day with positivity. I'm 68 years old now and realize that I need to make changes in my diet. Number one was my love of sugar! I'm doing very well; I'm not craving it anymore. You're amazing also and empathetic to share this with everyone. Thank you, and take care.
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3 Reactions@auntieoakley , love your openness and it is so inspirational. The podcast was so informative. There was a wealth of positive and helpful information. I found it very interesting the discussion on Anastrozole. Good info. Thank yiu fir posting the link. There is so much to learn.
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4 ReactionsDee, I invite you to join this discussion where fellow breast cancer survivors are talking about taking aromatase inhibitors and managing side effects like bone loss.
- Side Effects of Anastrozole - bone loss https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/side-effects-of-anastrozole-bone-loss/
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2 ReactionsThank you so much.
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