Breast Cancer Chemotherapy – Chemotherapy Resistance Testing
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Chemotherapy Resistance Testing for Breast Cancer
If chemotherapy is part of your integrated breast cancer treatment plan, your breast cancer team at CTCA will do everything possible to target the therapy to your individual needs.
Chemotherapy resistance testing (also called chemoresistance or Extreme Drug Resistance Assay) is used for solid breast cancer tumors to help determine the probability of the tumor’s resistance to specific chemotherapeutic drugs.
First, your doctor will remove a sample of the tumor, often as a part of a biopsy or other surgery. Then, your doctor will test a series of chemotherapy drugs on the sample to learn which drug may work best. If the tumor cells grow in the presence of extreme exposure to a drug, this indicates the presence of significant drug resistance.
Advantages of Chemoresistance
By testing the drugs outside of the body, your care team can determine whether the drugs will work if administered in the body, thereby avoiding unnecessary toxicity to you. This test also helps your CTCA care team determine the best combinations of chemotherapy to use for your particular type of breast cancer.
Chemotherapy resistance testing is generally recommended for breast cancer patients who have been previously treated with chemotherapy and are looking for additional breast cancer treatment options.
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