Table 1.

Broad treatment options for early stage breast cancer patients⁴

Menopausal Status	Estrogen Receptor Status*	Surgical Treatment#	Chemotherapy†	Radiation Therapy‡	Endocrine Therapy§
Premenopausal	ER +	Mastectomy or Breast conserving	Chemotherapy†	Radiation‡	Tamoxifen Ovarian suppression with or without an aromatase inhibitor
Postmenopausal	ER +	Mastectomy or Breast conserving	Chemotherapy†	Radiation‡	Tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitor
Premenopausal Or Postmenopausal	ER −	Mastectomy or Breast conserving	Chemotherapy†	Radiation‡

^*Estrogen-receptor (ER) status (ER positive (ER+) or ER negative (ER−);

^#Surgical Treatment: Considered based upon tumor size;

^†Chemotherapy: May occur either before (neoadjuvant) or after surgical treatment depending upon a variety of clinical, pathologic, and genetic factors;

^‡Radiation Therapy: Considered based upon surgical procedures and stage of disease;

^§Endocrine Therapy: Considered when the tumor expresses either the estrogen or progesterone receptor