Treatment of Recurrent Breast Cancer

Treating local recurrence For women whose breast cancer has recurred locally, treatment depends on their initial treatment. If you had breast-conserving surgery (lumpectomy), a local recurrence in the breast is usually treated with mastectomy. If the initial treatment was mastectomy, recurrence near the mastectomy site is treated by removing the tumor whenever possible. This is often followed by radiation therapy if not given before. In either case, hormone therapy, targeted therapy (like trastuzumab), immunotherapy, chemotherapy, or some combination of these may be used after surgery and/or radiation therapy. These drugs might also be used if surgery or radiation are not options. Treating regional recurrence When breast cancer comes back in nearby lymph nodes (such as those under the arm or around the collar bone), it is treated by removing those lymph nodes, if possible. This may be followed by radiation aimed at the area if it was not given before. Systemic treatment (such as chemo, targeted therapy, or hormone therapy) may be considered after surgery as well. Treating distant recurrence In general, women whose breast cancer comes back in other parts of the body, such as the bones, lungs, or brain, are treated the same way as those found to have stage IV breast cancer in these organs when they were first diagnosed. See Treating Stage IV (Metastatic) Breast Cancer. The only difference is that treatment may or may not include treatments or drugs a woman has already had. Recurrent breast cancer can sometimes be hard to treat. If you are in otherwise good health, you might want to think about taking part in a clinical trial testing a newer treatment.