Current State of Breast Cancer Diagnosis, Treatment, and Theranostics

Abstract

Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related morbidity and mortality in women worldwide. Early diagnosis and effective treatment of all types of cancers are crucial for a positive prognosis. Patients with small tumor sizes at the time of their diagnosis have a significantly higher survival rate and a significantly reduced probability of the cancer being fatal. Therefore, many novel technologies are being developed for early detection of primary tumors, as well as distant metastases and recurrent disease, for effective breast cancer management. Theranostics has emerged as a new paradigm for the simultaneous diagnosis, imaging, and treatment of cancers. It has the potential to provide timely and improved patient care via personalized therapy. In nanotheranostics, cell-specific targeting moieties, imaging agents, and therapeutic agents can be embedded within a single formulation for effective treatment. In this review, we will highlight the different diagnosis techniques and treatment strategies for breast cancer management and explore recent advances in breast cancer theranostics. Our main focus will be to summarize recent trends and technologies in breast cancer diagnosis and treatment as reported in recent research papers and patents and discuss future perspectives for effective breast cancer therapy.

Keywords: breast cancer; breast specific gamma imaging; imaging modalities; mammography; theranostics; triple-negative breast cancer.

Figure 1

Representation of the various imaging techniques that can be used in breast cancer diagnosis.

Figure 2

Novel FDA-approved targeted therapies for the treatment of molecular subtypes of breast cancer.

Figure 3

Schematic diagram representing theranostic approaches in breast cancer management.