Jan 3 20Adjuvant and neoadjuvant therapies are treatments like chemotherapy or hormone therapy that are delivered before or after the primary treatment, to help increase the treatmentaposs chance of success and decrease the risk of recurrence. In neoadjuvant (also called preoperative or primary) chemotherapy, drug treatment takes place before surgical extraction of a tumor. Examples of neoadjuvant therapy include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and hormone therapy. Neoadjuvant therapy can reduce the size and involvement of locally advanced tumors, rendering inoperable disease operable and reducing the extent and morbidity of large resections.
Neoadjuvant hormone therapy (usually with an aromatase inhibitor) can change a womanaposs surgical may be able to shrink a large tumor enough so lumpectomy plus radiation therapy becomes an option instead of mastectomy. Neoadjuvant therapy remains a consideration though, particularly in patients with single-station Ndisease as a means of downstaging the tumor to enhance complete surgical resection or in those patients where there is increased concern regarding compliance of.