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Shall I do additional Anthracyclines after neoadjuvant TC?

storylife
storylife Member Posts: 9
edited October 2022 in Stage II Breast Cancer

Hello Everybody, I was diagnosed with ER+ PR+ HER2- grade 2 IDC+DCIS with a positive node via biopsy/image. I did neoadjuvant TCx4 followed by Umx. While the tumor and positive node both shrank a bit, there is still a lot of residue cancer left. My pathology also found LVI and ENE, and an additional node with ITC. I saw my MO, and she recommended starting exemestane. Toward the end of my appointment, I asked if my neoadjuvant chemo was adequate. She said there may be some additional benefit to do Adriamycin treatments (4 cycle). Especially given I am relatively young, I may want to do it to minimize metastasis risk. But since I did not have a super great response to TCx4, additional chemo may not be that helpful. I of course want all effective treatments, but on the other hand it seems that my MO only discussed it with me because I asked the question. I tried to search this site, but could not find much information. I would love to hear your inputs.

Comments

  • parakeetsrule
    parakeetsrule Member Posts: 605
    edited October 2022
    It sounds like she doesn't think it's worth doing or she would have already recommended you do it. It's a really nasty chemo to deal with for little or no benefit. But a second opinion would be a good idea.
  • storylife
    storylife Member Posts: 9
    edited October 2022

    Thank you Parakeetsrule! When I asked the question, my doctor initially said some doctors think adjuvant adriamycin is beneficial, but majority think it is not necessary. Then she said if I want to maximize my chance of longer term DFS, it is worth going for it. And the more we talked about it, the more enthusiastic she became. So it feel like it transformed from not being mentioned to optional to slightly preferred within a few minutes of conversation. I am still digesting all this information days after.

  • parakeetsrule
    parakeetsrule Member Posts: 605
    edited October 2022
    If you are still feeling uncertain I'd definitely say get a second opinion. I wouldn't like my doctor being so wishy washy about it like that!
  • ruthbru
    ruthbru Member Posts: 47,534
    edited October 2022

    I would get a second option.