Breast cancer
Breast Cancer is the most common malignant oncologic pathology among women. It amounts to 25-30% of all the tumors among females. The statistics differs significantly from country to country. Japan has the lowest rates of breast cancer incidence among women – about 15 cases per 100 thousand female populations per year. In Latin America and some USA stats reaches 90 cases per 100 thousand female populations per year.
The Booking Health portal presents 61 German clinics specializing in breast cancer treatment
Show all clinicsBreast Cancer – Diagnostics
The main types of examinations for breast cancer diagnosis:
- Mammography. It’s an X-ray of the breast. It is 95% accurate when detecting a tumor, assessing its size and location.
- Needle aspiration biopsy is carried out using a thin needle. It establishes the breast cancer diagnosis in 85% of cases.
- Excisional biopsy. The discovered seal is completely excised together with the surrounding tissue. The method detects not only the presence of tumor cells, but the amount of hormone receptors in them, as well. This helps the doctor to determine the therapeutic tactics.
- Trepanobiopsy. Using a thick needle the tissue cord is obtained. It’s sufficient not only for cytology, but for histology too.
The additional research methods are:
- Ductography
- Computerized mammography
- Ultrasound scan
Best clinics for the breast cancer diagnostics in Germany:
Breast Cancer - Treatment
The effective treatment of breast cancer abroad can be accomplished through various treatment methods, including surgery, radiation therapy and drugs treatment. The choice of the breast cancer treatment scheme depends on a number of factors, starting from the stage and type of pathology as well as the clinic’s resources and patient’s financial status.
During the recent years the preference is given to the breast preserving surgeries, therefore procedures such, as:
- Sectoral resection of the breast
- Quadrantectomy
- Lumpectomy
These surgeries are used only at the early stages of breast cancer. The edges of the surgical wound are investigated for the presence of atypical cells, and if necessary the volume of operation can be extended.
- Radical mastectomy involves the complete removal of the affected breast, adipose tissue, lymph nodes, pectoralis minor, and sometimes pectoralis major muscle. The volume of intervention depends on the extent of tumor invasion and presence of metastases in local lymph nodes.
- Surgical treatment also includes the implementation of breast reconstruction with its own tissues (plastic flap) or implants. Such operations are pursuing an aesthetic purpose (improvement of the woman’s appearance). They can be performed directly during mastectomy or some time after the operation.
- Radiation therapy may be used at different times. By this criterion it can be:
- Preoperative (the breast is irradiated to prevent the cancer recurrence after surgery)
- Post-operative (preventive irradiation of the preserved lymph nodes)
- Intraoperative (it is carried out during surgery and irradiates the resected tumor and lymph nodes bed)
- Independent (used as a palliative measure, with an inoperable form of breast cancer, or in case of patient’s refusal from surgery)
- Drug therapy includes the usage of postoperative cytostatics (to inhibit the growth of tumor cells) and hormones. The goal of treatment is the destruction of microscopic metastases, which can cause disease recurrence.
The latest (innovative) treatment and diagnostics methods abroad
- Chemoembolization.
It is one of the innovative therapies for breast cancer with distant metastases. The essence of the procedure is to introduce specific embolizing material directly into the vessel which nourishes a tumor or its metastasis. Such a substance contains a specific chemotherapy drug, which provides local influence on the tumor.
Nowadays there are 2 types of chemoembolization:
- Oil
- With the help of polymeric microspheres
The latter option is particularly promising because it allows targeted influence on the tumors tissue, and provides the necessary concentration of anticancer agent at the destination point.
- The use of anaerobic bacteria for a local effect on the tumor.
It is one of the methods for breast cancer therapy as well as any other location oncological process. The essence of this method is in the introduction of microorganisms into the human body, where they specifically influence the malignant neoplasm. The most promising at this stage is the use of bacteria of the Clostridium sporogenes strain. Such treatment provides tumor regression, but also requires the additional use of chemotherapy.
Treatment of stage 4 breast cancer
Radical (potentially curative) surgery is usually not performed for stage 4 breast cancer. However, high-quality systemic treatment of stage 4 breast cancer can significantly increase life expectancy.
Systemic treatment for stage 4 cancer may include the following methods:
- Hormone therapy
- Chemotherapy
- Targeted therapy
- Immunotherapy
A treatment regimen is elaborated individually. Inhibitors of HER2, kinases, CDK4/6, mTOR, PI3K, and PARP are used for targeted therapy for stage 4 breast cancer. There are also several antibody-drug conjugates approved for the treatment of stage 4 breast cancer. These are monoclonal antibodies that deliver chemotherapy drugs attached to them directly to cancer cells because they can interact with certain molecular targets on their surface.
Treatment for stage 4 breast cancer often includes metastasis-directed therapy. For example, doctors may perform radiation therapy for brain or bone metastases or hepatic artery chemoembolization for liver metastases.
Dendritic cells for breast cancer treatment
Dendritic cell therapy for breast cancer treatment is currently experimental, but clinical trials are showing promising results. The essence of breast cancer treatment with dendritic cells (DCs) is that immune cells are collected from the blood, matured into DCs, treated with tumor antigens, and returned to the body. DCs present antigens to T cells, which attack the tumor.
Currently, dozens of dendritic cell-based vaccines for breast cancer have been developed. Some of them are already undergoing phase II clinical trials, although not a single vaccine for breast cancer has yet entered phase III trials. The following two types of drugs are used for this type of immunotherapy for breast cancer: polypeptide vaccines and gene vaccines.
Although dendritic cells are not yet a standard treatment for breast cancer, some studies suggest that adding a vaccine to a treatment regimen may improve complete response rates to systemic therapy (disappearance of all tumors). In another study in which DCs were used for preoperative therapy, the complete response rate increased from 8.3% to 28.6%.
We also recommend that you watch the video on our YouTube channel "Booking Health", where the leading specialists of the specialized clinic talk about the advantages and peculiarities of dendritic cell therapy.
Best clinics for the breast cancer treatment in Germany:
Breast Cancer – Rehabilitation
Most patients require rehabilitation after the treatment of complex oncological diseases. It includes the following aspects:
- Prevention of complications that may occur as a result of treatment. It can be pneumonia, lymphostasis, thromboembolic or infectious complications.
- Restoration of general health. The elimination of the consequences after surgeries and chemotherapy is carried out. The functions of internal organs are restored with the help of various medical and rehabilitation measures.
- Restoration of occupation. A person must not just stay alive. He must have physical and intellectual capabilities, which are sufficient for employment.
- Psychological support. First of all, it is required for patients, whose occupational performance was harmed because of the disease. Patients with deterioration of appearance also will benefit from psychological help.
- Restoration of appearance. If necessary, you can use surgical and other methods in Germany to restore appearance defects caused by cancer. For example, to carry out the reconstruction of the breast.
- Social and domestic rehabilitation. A person with reduced workability is trained to act in the society and perform everyday tasks in new conditions.
In German clinics, rehabilitation is carried out in a comprehensive manner. The patients are provided with qualitative care here. Doctors' monitoring and conservative treatment allow to avoid complications, which usually happen after treatment of oncological diseases. Psychotherapy, physiotherapy and physical therapy are actively used in Germany.
Specialists in different medical spheres take part in the rehabilitation process. These are massage therapists, speech therapists, specialists in physiotherapy exercises, physiotherapists. Social and occupational therapy is carried out, as well. If necessary, people are taught how to eat properly, take care of a colostomy or urostomy, etc.
In Germany, rehabilitation is carried out with the maximum level of comfort for the patient. A person feels the results quite quickly and it improves his motivation and promotes further recovery.
Best clinics for oncological rehabilitation in Germany:
Author:
The article was edited by medical expert, board certified Dr. Nadezhda Ivanisova. For the treatment of the conditions referred to in the article you must consult a doctor; the information in the article is not intended for self-medication!
Sources:
The cost of services includes
Here you can find the cost of treatment for this disease at the German University Hospitals. Leave a request and we will provide a free consultation with a doctor and will start organizing the whole treatment process.
The program includes the following:
- Issuing of an invitation for getting a visa for treatment as quick as possible
- Fixing an appointment at a time convenient for you
- Preliminary organization of a comprehensive examination and discussion of the forthcoming treatment plan
- Arranging transfer from the airport to the hospital and back to the airport
- Provision of interpreting services and services of a personal medical coordinator
- If necessary, assistance in the organization of further surgical treatment
- Provision of a medical insurance against treatment complications covering up to 200,000 euro
- Preparation and translation of medical records and recommendations from the hospital
- Assistance in the subsequent communication with your attending physician, including consultations on repeated X-ray images through the unique medical document management system E-doc
