Difference Between Adjuvant and Neoadjuvant Therapy

Neoadjuvant therapies are delivered before the main treatment, to help reduce the size of a tumor or kill cancer cells that have spread. Adjuvant therapies are delivered after the primary treatment, to destroy remaining cancer cells.

1. What is the difference between chemotherapy and adjuvant chemotherapy?
2. What is the main benefit of neoadjuvant therapy?
3. What does neoadjuvant therapy mean?
4. What is the purpose of adjuvant therapy?
5. Do you lose your hair with adjuvant chemotherapy?
6. Should I have adjuvant chemotherapy?
7. Is neoadjuvant chemotherapy successful?
8. How long is adjuvant chemotherapy?
9. How quickly can a tumor shrink?
10. How soon after neoadjuvant chemo do most get surgery?
11. When is neoadjuvant chemotherapy used?
12. What is primary therapy?

What is the difference between chemotherapy and adjuvant chemotherapy?

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is delivered before surgery with the goal of shrinking a tumor or stopping the spread of cancer to make surgery less invasive and more effective. Adjuvant chemotherapy is administered after surgery to kill any remaining cancer cells with the goal of reducing the chances of recurrence.

What is the main benefit of neoadjuvant therapy?

The advantages of neoadjuvant chemotherapy are 1) overall survival and recurrence-free survival rate are the same as post-operative chemotherapy, 2) serves as an in vivo sensitivity test, 3) increases the rate of breast conserving therapy, 4) facilitates the study of cancer biology.

What does neoadjuvant therapy mean?

Listen to pronunciation. (NEE-oh-A-joo-vant THAYR-uh-pee) Treatment given as a first step to shrink a tumor before the main treatment, which is usually surgery, is given. Examples of neoadjuvant therapy include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and hormone therapy.

What is the purpose of adjuvant therapy?

Additional cancer treatment given after the primary treatment to lower the risk that the cancer will come back. Adjuvant therapy may include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hormone therapy, targeted therapy, or biological therapy.

Do you lose your hair with adjuvant chemotherapy?

Most of the time, hair loss from chemotherapy is temporary. If you experience hair loss as a side effect, it will probably start to grow back within three to six weeks of finishing treatment.

Should I have adjuvant chemotherapy?

If the cancer is at a very early stage — before it has had time to spread — then the chance of cancer recurring after surgery may be very small. Adjuvant therapy may offer little benefit in this case. But if a cancer is at a later stage or it has spread to nearby lymph nodes, adjuvant therapy may be more beneficial.

Is neoadjuvant chemotherapy successful?

In conclusion, neoadjuvant chemotherapy provides a significant survival advantage to patients with LABC. Those patients who have clinical downstaging are candidates for BCT and have the best long-term outcome.

How long is adjuvant chemotherapy?

Adjuvant chemotherapy (therapy after surgery has removed all visible cancer) may last 4-6 months. Adjuvant chemotherapy is common in cancers of the breast and colon. In cancers of the testis, Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and leukemias, length of chemotherapy treatment may be up to a year.

How quickly can a tumor shrink?

For tumors that divide slowly, the mass may shrink over a long, extended period after radiation stops. The median time for a prostate cancer to shrink is about 18 months (some quicker, some slower).

How soon after neoadjuvant chemo do most get surgery?

One of the therapy strategies is the neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) which allows disease downstaging and higher rates of breast-conserving therapy [2]. According to German guidelines, the operation following NACT should be performed 2–4 weeks after the end of NACT to bypass the leukocyte nadir [3].

When is neoadjuvant chemotherapy used?

Chemotherapy is most commonly used after breast cancer surgery to kill any cancer cells that may be left in the breast or lymph nodes or in other parts of your body. When it is used after surgery, it is referred to as adjuvant chemotherapy.

What is primary therapy?

Listen to pronunciation. (PRY-mayr-ee THAYR-uh-pee) The first treatment given for a disease. It is often part of a standard set of treatments, such as surgery followed by chemotherapy and radiation.