Breast Cancer: From Etiology to Therapeutic Interventions

Abstract

Breast cancer, a prevalent malignancy affecting women globally, is characterized by the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in the breast tissue with various risk factors such as age, genetic predisposition, hormonal influences, and lifestyle choices, early detection remains paramount for effective treatment. Diagnostic modalities, including mammography, ultrasound, and biopsy, play crucial roles in identifying the disease at its nascent stages. Therapeutic approaches for breast cancer encompass a multidisciplinary strategy, incorporating surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, and targeted therapies. Surgical interventions, such as lumpectomy or mastectomy, aim to remove the tumour, while radiation therapy targets residual cancer cells. Chemotherapy utilizes cytotoxic drugs to destroy rapidly dividing cancer cells, and hormonal therapies modulate hormone receptor-positive tumours. Targeted therapies, including monoclonal antibodies and small molecule inhibitors, focus on specific molecular pathways implicated in cancer progression. Advancements in precision medicine have led to the development of personalized therapies tailored to individual patients based on genetic and molecular profiling. Immunotherapy, harnessing the body's immune system to combat cancer cells, emerges as a promising frontier in breast cancer treatment. In this review article, we have studied how breast cancer is evolved and how we can cure it together with the therapies involved in the management of breast cancer.