The process of removing tissue for diagnostic examination. Bone marrow is removed from a healthy donor and is given to the cancer patient after receiving a very high dose of chemotherapy. In Autologous BMT the patient's own bone marrow is removed, and later infused back after receiving a very high-dose chemotherapy. The use of special drugs that kill cells that grow quickly, such as cancer cells. The breast contains several ducts and glands, ductal carcinoma originated in a duct.
Receptors are specific proteins that sit on the surface of cells and combine with substances.
Many breast cancer cells will contain receptors that can combine with the hormone estrogen or progesterone. The presence or absence of these receptors is important when making treatment decisions. A therapy that targets this receptor, trastuzumab or Herceptin TM , has been recently approved by the FDA for treatment of metastatic breast cancer. Transmitted from a parent to an offspring. Hormone therapy might decrease the levels of estrogen in your body, block the cancer cells directly, or work in other ways that are not entirely understood.