Adjuvant chemotherapy for early stage breast cancer: Current trends and future directions

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women in the United States. The goal of administering adjuvant therapy to women with early-stage breast cancer is to eradicate clinically occult micrometastatic disease that may later lead to distant recurrence and subsequent death from metastatic disease. Adjuvant chemotherapy has become an integral part of the treatment of early stage cancer. This review highlights some of the major advances in adjuvant chemotherapy, including choice of agents, scheduling, targeted therapy, and the use of molecular profiling techniques.