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Neoadjuvant Therapy

By Lisa Fayed, About.com

Updated: December 10, 2008

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Definition: Treatment given before the primary or main treatment. Neoadjuvant therapy can be chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or hormone therapy.

Neoadjuvant therapy, like chemotherapy and radiation therapy, is often given before surgery to reduce the size of a tumor or to make surgery less complicated or to assess response to therapy.
Pronunciation: KNEE-oh-ajoo-vant thayr-uh-pee
Common Misspellings: neoadjuvent
Examples: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy may be prescribed before surgery for some cervical cancer patients to help shrink a large tumor.
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