Chemotherapy and Breast Cancer

A graduate of Rangaraya Medical College, Ram Kancherla, MD, has served as a managing partner at the Hudson Valley Cancer Center in Poughkeepsie, New York, since 2002. In this position, Ram Kancherla, MD, is responsible for overseeing all activities within the oncology private practice, including chemotherapy.

The effectiveness of chemotherapy as a treatment for breast cancer can vary for a number of reasons, including the specific type of cancer, location of the tumor, and at which stage of the disease treatment began. That said, decades of effective chemotherapy treatments have provided insight into chemotherapy’s role in successful treatments.

Approximately 38 percent of individuals with stage 1 or 2 breast cancer undergo chemotherapy, compared to 82 and 66 percent of stage 3 and 4 cases, respectively. When breast cancer is localized, the 5-year relative survival rate in individuals who receive chemotherapy is 99 percent. If the disease has become regionalized, relative survival rates remain strong but are lower at 85 percent.

Chemotherapy, along with other forms of treatment, is far less effective once the disease has progressed to another part of the body. In these cases, survival rates can fall as low as 6 percent.

Again, it must be stressed that these rates do not solely describe the effectiveness of chemotherapy as a treatment, but rather illustrate how often chemotherapy plays a role in a successful treatment regimen. In fact, studies suggest that many breast cancer patients can avoid chemotherapy, with 5- and 9-year disease-free survival rates improving only slightly for those who receive chemotherapy.

Of course, patients must work closely with their medical teams to determine whether or not chemotherapy could play an effective role as part of their personal treatment plan.