After breast cancer treatment, many people are concerned about a cure. However, doctors often cannot give a definitive answer either. This is because there is a real possibility of tumor recurrence after treatment, and there is a great deal of uncertainty about the timing of recurrence, so doctors cannot make a judgment about whether a tumor is cured or eradicated soon after treatment.
In fact, cure is not only a concern for patients, but also an important issue for physicians to clarify in assessing the effectiveness of treatment. So, how can physicians assess cure or evaluate the effectiveness of treatment in the face of uncertainty?
5-year survival rate, often used to assess the likelihood of cure
Simply, survival is the percentage of people who are alive some time after the diagnosis of breast cancer, including 1-year survival (percentage alive within 1 year of diagnosis), 3-year survival (percentage alive within 3 years of diagnosis), 5-year survival (percentage alive within 5 years of diagnosis), and 10-year survival (percentage alive within 10 years of diagnosis).
After radical treatment of breast cancer, if the cancer does not recur within 5 years, the likelihood of recurrence is low and the cancer is essentially considered “cured”. Therefore, the 5-year survival rate is often used to assess the effectiveness of treatment for breast cancer.
In addition, the staging of the breast cancer is an important factor for doctors to consider when assessing whether it is cured. The timing pattern of recurrence varies by staging of breast cancer. For example, hormone receptor-positive breast cancers, which account for 70% of breast cancers (luminal-type breast cancers), have 2 peaks of recurrence after surgery, at 2 to 3 years and 7 to 8 years, after which the proportion of recurrences is small. Therefore, if these two peaks are passed, it can usually be considered essentially “cured”.
Regular review, an important tool for tracking cure
Statistics show that most early-stage breast cancers are curable, but that does not mean that treatment is complete after surgery alone. Most patients need adjuvant radiotherapy, targeted therapy, and endocrine therapy after surgery, and those who are inoperable are subject to ongoing treatment.
During these treatments, the necessary reviews need to be performed on a regular basis. The purpose of the review is to assess the status of the treatment, that is, to determine whether there is a recurrence, and to check for possible side effects or complications of the treatment so that the doctor can take action and adjust the treatment plan as soon as possible. Therefore, a review of breast cancer is very important, although it may involve a series of tests such as blood tests for tumor markers and imaging tests such as CT or ultrasound, but it is still very useful to assess the cure of breast cancer. It is important for breast cancer patients to follow the doctor’s instructions for regular review during and after treatment.
It is important to note that some patients avoid review for fear of finding a recurrence, relaxing their vigilance about recurrence, or because they find the tests tedious.
Breast cancer treatment is advancing, survival times are increasing, cure rates are rising, and most breast cancer patients are able to survive long term. As a patient, it is important to understand that cure is a process that takes time to test, and whether breast cancer recurs depends not only on the one-time treatment received during hospitalization, but also closely related to subsequent comprehensive treatment and a healthy lifestyle. Even if breast cancer is found to have recurred during a review, there is still a possibility of being cured again. The battle with breast cancer is an ongoing process, and all patients have to do is follow the doctor’s orders for regular follow-up and aggressive treatment.