Breast Cancer
Treatment in Malaysia

At Onco Life Centre, our team takes a personalized approach to treating breast cancer. We focus not only on treating the disease, but also on supporting the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of our patients every step of the way.

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More women are diagnosed with breast cancer than any other cancer. Since 1990’s, the number of women who have died of breast cancer has steadily decreased thanks to early detection and treatment improvements. Even if it is advanced breast cancer, new treatments can help many people with advanced breast cancer maintain a good quality of life with good disease control.

Why Choose Onco Life Centre?

Expertise You Can Trust, Innovation You Can Count On

Over 20 Years of
Experience

Our highly-qualified consultant oncologists boast extensive experience treating a vast array of cancers. Their training at prestigious institutions in Australia and the UK ensures exceptional expertise that you can trust.

Collaboration with
Leading Genomics Experts

For complex cases, our oncologists collaborate with leading genomics specialists in the US. This ensures access to the latest treatments for all cancer types.

Unmatched
patient experience

You and your healthcare experience are at the centre of what we do at Onco Life Centre. Our core values of Empathy, Dedication, Professionalism and Service Quality have driven us since our earliest days.

Treatment Methods

Treatment options and treatment plans for early breast cancer and metastatic breast cancer follow the recommendations by our breast cancer specialists at Onco Life Centre based on the global NCCN and FDA guidelines. The best way to treat breast cancer, or even to cure breast cancer, depends on several factors such as stage of the tumor, tumor’s subtype (ER, PR, HER2, PDL1 and PIK3CA gene mutation status), genomic markers, patient’s age, patient’s menopausal status, the presence of BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations. Along with staging investigations, other tools can help estimate prognosis and help our specialists make decisions about adjuvant therapy. Onco Life Centre arranges tumor profiling tests at renowned genomics and genetic laboratories in the USA and Europe, which can determine the most optimum type of treatment protocol with the maximum benefits.

Surgery for breast cancer

For both DCIS and early-stage breast cancer, surgery is recommended to remove the tumor. Women with a very high risk of developing a new cancer in the other breast may consider a bilateral mastectomy. This includes women with BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations and women with cancer in both breasts.

For larger cancers, or those with rapid growth, our oncologists at Onco Life Centre will recommend systemic treatment with chemotherapy or hormonal therapy for breast cancer before surgery (neo-adjuvant therapy), which could result in breast conserving surgery if the tumor shrinks appreciably before surgery. Treatment given after surgery is called adjuvant therapy. Adjuvant therapies may include radiation therapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and/or hormonal therapy.

For recurrent and metastatic cancer, treatment options depend on how the cancer was first treated and tumor characteristics such as ER, PR, HER2, PDL1 and PIK3CA gene mutation.

Radiation therapy for breast cancer

The most common type of radiation treatment for breast cancer is called external-beam radiation therapy. Most commonly, radiation therapy is given after a lumpectomy, and following adjuvant chemotherapy if recommended. This helps lower the risk of cancer recurrence in the breast. In fact, with modern surgery and radiation therapy, recurrence rates in breast cancer are now less than 5%.

Adjuvant radiation therapy may also be recommended for some women after a mastectomy, depending on the age of the patient, tumor size, the number of positive lymph nodes, ER, PR, and HER2 status.

There are three categories of systemic therapy used for breast cancer, namely, chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, and targeted therapy.

Chemotherapy for breast cancer

Chemotherapy can be used to treat Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3 and Stage 4 breast cancer. Chemotherapy destroys cancer cells by stopping the cancer cells’ ability to grow and divide. Chemotherapy may be given before surgery to shrink a large tumor (neo-adjuvant chemotherapy). It may also be given after surgery to reduce the risk of recurrence (adjuvant chemotherapy). Chemotherapy is also given for metastatic breast cancer. There are many different types of chemotherapy schedules. Research has shown that combinations of certain drugs are sometimes more effective than single drugs for adjuvant treatment. The number of chemotherapy cycles will depend on the chosen treatment protocol.

Hormonal therapy for breast cancer

Hormonal therapy is an effective treatment for ER and PR expressing tumors in both early-stage and metastatic breast cancer. Blocking the hormones can help prevent a cancer recurrence and death from breast cancer when used for early-stage disease. Hormone therapy for breast cancer shrinks the cancer and improves cancer-related symptoms in metastatic breast cancer.

Options for adjuvant hormonal therapy for premenopausal women include five or more years of a certain class of selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) drug and switch to an AI after menopause begins. Ovarian suppression for 5 years along with SERM or an AI may be recommended in women who are diagnosed with breast cancer at a very young age or in women with a high risk of cancer recurrence.

Options for hormonal therapy used in metastatic breast cancer include SERM, ovarian suppression and AIs. A selective estrogen receptive degrader (SERD) drug may work better when combined with CDK4/6 inhibitor, an AI or PI3K inhibitor for PIK3CA gene mutated breast cancer.

Targeted therapy for breast cancer

Targeted therapy for breast cancer targets the cancer’s specific genes, proteins, or the tissue environment that contributes to cancer growth and survival. Anti HER2 monoclonal antibody treatment is approved for both adjuvant therapy and advanced HER2-positive breast cancer. A combination of two different types of monoclonal antibody and chemotherapy improves the treatment effectiveness, and lengthen lives in the first-line setting. Additionally, there are other second-line approved anti HER2 options available for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer after failure of first-line treatment.

A new drug has been recently FDA approved for breast cancer patients with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer that has a PIK3CA gene mutation. You may ask more about this new drug during consultation with our oncologists.

Drugs that target the CDK4/6 protein are approved for women with ER-positive, HER2-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer and may be combined with AI.

PARP inhibitors, which destroy cancer cells by preventing them from fixing damage, may be used for patients with metastatic HER2-negative breast cancer and a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation.

Please click here to learn more about Targeted Therapy

Immunotherapy for breast cancer

Immunotherapy for breast cancer is designed to boost the body’s natural defenses to fight the cancer. In 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a combination of Immune checkpoint inhibitor and a plus-protein-bound chemotherapy drug for advanced PD-L1 expressing triple-negative breast cancer.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors are also approved by the FDA to treat metastatic breast cancer with a molecular alteration called microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) or DNA mismatch repair deficiency (dMMR).

Please click to learn more about Immunotherapy.

Osteoclast targeted therapy for breast cancer (drugs that block bone destruction)

Bisphosphonates are drugs that block the cells that destroy bone, called osteoclasts. Bisphosphonates can be used for bone metastasis. Research suggests that it may reduce breast cancer recurrences, particularly in bone, when given in postmenopausal women.

There is another osteoclast-targeted therapy called a RANK ligand inhibitor, may be better than bisphosphonates at controlling the symptoms of bone metastases.

Treatment By Stage

Guiding Your Personalized Treatment Journey

Oligodendroglioma

For people with grade II or III oligodendroglioma with a 1p/19q co-deletion and an IDH genetic mutation, ASCO recommends radiation therapy in combination with the chemotherapy drugs, which together are called PCV.

Astrocytoma

ASCO recommends that people with grade II astrocytoma with an IDH genetic mutation and no 1p/19q co-deletion be offered radiation therapy followed by chemotherapy with either oral chemotherapy or PCV. People with grade III astrocytoma with an IDH genetic mutation and no 1p/19q co-deletion should be offered radiation therapy followed by oral chemotherapy or both of these treatments given at the same time. Likewise, people with grade IV astrocytoma with an IDH genetic mutation may be offered radiation therapy followed by oral chemotherapy or both of these treatments given at the same time. Some astrocytomas without an IDH mutation may be treated the same way as grade 4 glioblastoma that also does not have an IDH mutation.

Glioblastoma

For most people with newly diagnosed grade IV glioblastoma or a grade II or III astrocytoma and no IDH genetic mutation, ASCO recommends treatment with radiation therapy and oral chemotherapy given at the same time. After this treatment, 6 months of oral chemotherapy is recommended.

Transparency You Can Trust

At Onco Life Centre, we understand the financial burden associated with Breast Cancer treatment. We are committed to transparency and will provide you with a personalized cost estimate during your initial consultation. Here is an estimate:

Chemotherapy

At Onco Life Centre, the cost for treating breast cancer using chemotherapy for most of our patients range from MYR4,000 to MYR 6,000 per cycle.

Targeted Therapy

Using Targeted Therapy can range from MYR4,000 and above, depending on the specific type of targeted therapy drug used.

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy can range from MYR8,000 and above depending on the specific type and dosage of immunotherapy drugs used.

Your Journey

Start Your Recovery

Our dedicated Patient Navigator will assist you with appointment scheduling. Contact us at +6012-3993260 (Call or Whatsapp ).

First Consultation

On appointment day, bring along all the medical reports and your identity documents, ie. identity card or passport. Our team will help you organize the medical reports for our oncologist to review. Our oncologist will discuss the treatment plan with you. Tele-consult is available for overseas patients.

Treatment Day

Come to our center on an agreed date and time for the treatment. Our team will take good care of you. You will be discharged on the same day. Yes, you will get to go home after every treatment visit as no overnight admission is required.

Stay on Track

Our dedicated patient navigator will be following up with you post treatment to check on your condition, to ensure that you are doing well. You will receive a reminder message on your phone for the next appointment date.