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.

Adjuvant therapy targets cancer cells that primary treatment didn’t destroy, and is typically used for breast, colon and lung cancer. The goal of adjuvant radiation therapy is to reduce the risk of local or regional recurrence after surgical excision. In general, adjuvant radiation therapy is offered when the risk of recurrence is high or the likelihood of successful salvage surgery is relatively low. There are, however, some factors to take into account when recommending adjuvant therapy, including: tumors at an early stage, where studies show that adjuvant therapy helps reduce the chance of recurrence; Tumor at a later stage making it more likely that still have cancer cells even after initial treatment is complete. And even in cases of detecting cancer cells in lymph nodes, in which tumors are more likely to recur.