Study: Chemotherapy May Not Benefit All Breast Cancer Patients

A study published yesterday in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that some cases of estrogen receptor positive breast cancer that has spread to the lymph nodes may not benefit from traditional courses of chemotherapy. Breast cancer that grows or spreads because of estrogen is commonly treated with a combination of chemotherapy and an estrogen blocking medication, tamoxifen. The study suggests that tamoxifen is very beneficial and effective, and chemotherapy provides little benefits.

So, how do doctors know who would benefit from hormone therapy alone or with chemotherapy? Well, they don't know, yet. But, they are assured by the study's findings that in the future that treatments paths can be determined more clearly. Today, treatment depends on the size of the tumor. The standard is anything larger than 1 centimeter should be treated with chemotherapy.

The Bottom Line: The study suggests that whether breast cancer is estrogen receptor positive or negative may make a difference in treatment. Estrogen receptor negative cancers responded well to traditional chemotherapy. Estrogen receptor positive breast cancer responded better to estrogen inhibitors.