Breast Cancer: Treatment part 3

Treatment may also involve radiation therapy, chemotherapy (before or after surgery), hormone therapy (e.g., selective estrogen response modifiers, aromatase inhibitors, ovarian ablation), or/or targeted therapy. Postmenopausal women with early stage breast cancer that tests positive for hormone receptors benefitCancer Facts & Figures 2013  11from treatment with an aromatase inhibitor (e.g., letrozole, anastrozole, or exemestane) in addition to, or instead of, tamoxifen. For women whose cancer tests positive for HER2/neu,approved targeted therapies include trastuzumab (Herceptin) and, for advanced disease, lapatinib (Tykerb) and pertuzumab (Perjetal). The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) revoked approval of bevacizumab (Avastin) for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer in 2011 because of evidence showing minimal benefit and some potentially dangerous side effects.