Breast cancer treatment

Cancer surgery plays a key role in the treatment of breast cancer. At Penn Medicine, our surgical oncologists and plastic reconstructive surgeons collaborate to create a personalized surgical plan that considers your wishes and diagnosis. Our goal is to treat breast cancer effectively with cosmetic outcomes that leave you feeling comfortable and confident, using the latest surgical technology, and minimally invasive techniques to reduce scarring and recovery time.

As you prepare for breast cancer surgery, we present individualized breast reconstruction options and help you decide whether it is the right choice for you. Depending on your body type and your goals, our surgeons may use breast implants, your own tissue (free-flap procedure), or a hybrid mix of both to restore the appearance of your breasts. We can reconstruct your breast either during breast cancer surgery or at a later time.

Radiation therapy uses high-energy radiation from X-rays and other energy sources to destroy cancer cells. Our radiation oncologists use different techniques to deliver radiation therapy for breast cancer and in combination with other breast cancer treatments after a lumpectomy or mastectomy. This allows us to tailor treatment for your needs based on your diagnosis, anatomy, and tumor location.

Chemotherapy plays an important role in most breast cancer treatment plans. Breast cancer specialists rely on chemotherapy to shrink breast tumors and prevent breast cancer from spreading. Depending on the type and stage of your cancer, chemotherapy may be used alone or combined with other breast cancer treatments. For example, HER2 breast cancer may involve a combination of chemo with a targeted therapy drug. Chemotherapy may reduce the risk of early-stage breast cancer coming back. As a systemic treatment, chemotherapy is especially useful when treating widespread or metastatic breast cancer that has moved beyond the breast.

While not a treatment, we also offer the PAXMAN Scalp Cooling System for our cancer patients in the Philadelphia region. This clinically proven technology can reduce hair loss caused by chemotherapy for patients with breast cancer. It is the only FDA-approved scalp cooling system based upon an investigational clinical trial. Ask your care team about the scalp cooling technology and if it is right for you.

The immune system exists to protect the body from infections and other health threats. Often, cancer cells interfere with how the immune system functions or the body simply does not recognize cancer as a threat. Immunotherapy restores the body’s ability to fight off cancer.

Whenever possible, our oncologists offer you the latest treatments in addition to standard approaches. Penn Medicine is a recognized leader in immunotherapy and a pioneer in the initial discovery of the first CAR T cell medications. We are part of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, a collaboration of the nation’s top six academic cancer centers, with access to other groundbreaking breast cancer research through our 2-PREVENT Breast Cancer Translational Center of Excellence.

Cancer cells contain mutated (changed) genes and proteins that make cells divide and multiply quickly. Targeted therapy for cancer blocks the growth of cancer cells by focusing on those genes and proteins. To see which targets your breast cancer has, we study your tissue sample. These tests are completed as part of a breast cancer diagnosis. Targeted drugs are then delivered through a vein administered on an outpatient basis or taken at home in pill form.

We use targeted therapy to treat many types of breast cancer, including HER2-positive breast cancer, hormone receptor-positive breast cancer, triple negative breast cancer, and patients with BRCA gene mutations.

We treat hormone receptor-positive breast cancer (also called hormone-positive or HR+ breast cancer) with hormone therapy. Breast cancer cells contain receptors that attach to hormones like estrogen (ER-positive breast cancer) and progesterone (PR-positive breast cancer) for better growth and metastasis.

Hormone therapy is typically administered after surgery through drugs that prevent hormones from helping the breast cancer cells grow, by either blocking the connection completely or lowering the hormone levels to decrease the chance of connecting. We may add targeted therapy to your other treatments to improve efficiency. The types of targeted drugs we use include CDK4/6 inhibitors, mTOR inhibitors, and PI3K inhibitors, which obstruct proteins in cells to prevent them from growing or dividing.

Some people with BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations can be treated with targeted therapies called PARP inhibitors. PARP, which gets its name from poly-ADP ribose polymerase, is an enzyme protein found in the body’s cells. PARP inhibitors intercept PARP proteins, whose job is to repair damaged DNA in cells. Cancer cells are destroyed when they are not repaired.

In addition to conventional treatments, we offer clinical trials through our breast cancer research program. Participation in a clinical trial may provide new and promising treatment options that are not available anywhere else.