Is ER-positive breast cancer curable?
ER-positive breast cancer has a high chance of being successfully treated, especially when it’s discovered early. A diagnosis at a later stage will have a less positive outlook, but being diagnosed at a later stage is less common. There are still many treatment options for late stage cancer.
What is a potential treatment for estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer?
AIs, tamoxifen, and fulvestrant can be used to treat more advanced hormone-positive breast cancers, especially in post-menopausal women. They are often continued for as long as they are helpful. Pre-menopausal women might be offered tamoxifen alone or an AI in combination with an LHRH agonist for advanced disease.
Does ER-positive breast cancer come back?
The risk for recurrence of ER-positive breast cancers persists for a prolonged period, with approximately 50% of recurrences occurring 5 years after initial diagnosis. Results of several randomized trials suggest that extending adjuvant endocrine treatment beyond 5 years can improve disease-free survival (DFS).
Is ER-positive breast cancer slow growing?
Hormone receptor-positive cancers tend to grow more slowly than those that are hormone receptor-negative. Women with hormone receptor-positive cancers tend to have a better outlook in the short-term, but these cancers can sometimes come back many years after treatment.
What type of breast cancer has the highest recurrence rate?
Research suggests that estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer is more likely to come back more than five years after diagnosis. In this study, the researchers looked at the risk of late breast cancer recurrence, meaning the breast cancer came back 10 or more years after diagnosis.
How do you prevent estrogen positive breast cancer recurrence?
After surgery, most women diagnosed with estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer take hormonal therapy medicine to reduce the risk of recurrence. There are several types of hormonal therapy medicines. Tamoxifen, a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM), is one of the most well-known.
Is estrogen receptor positive a good thing?