Women and men with metastatic breast cancer are typically told their cancer can be treated but not cured. This is true for most patients. But there are some patients who have only a small number of metastatic sites who doctors think may potentially have a different outcome. These patients have what is called oligometastatic breast cancer (OBC, oligo is Greek for few).
It is estimated that up to 20% of metastatic breast cancer patients have OBC. Oligometastases is not unique to breast cancer; it is seen in patients with other types of cancers as well. Studies have shown that tumors found in patients with oligometastatic cancer (OC) are biologically different from those seen in patients who have multiple sites of metastases. Whether OC responds to treatment better or is just slow growing isn’t clear.
Some of the articles below discuss OC in general. Others discuss OBC specifically. Each can help you better understand this subset of metastatic cancer and why researchers believe it could, potentially, be cured.
Oligometastatic Breast Cancer (OBC)
- Cancer.gov: A More Treatable Kind of Metastatic Cancer?
- Indian Journal of Medical and Paediatric Oncology: OBC: A Mini-Review
- Breast Care: OBC: Shifting Treatment Focus
Oligometastatic Cancer (OC)
- Targeted Oncology: OC: Broadening Path to Cure
- Cancer World: Pushing the Boundaries of Curative Treatment
- OncLive: Stereotactic Radiotherapy for OC
- Clinical Oncology: The Dandelion Dilemma Revisited for Oligoprogression
Visit Metastatic Trial Search to find trials for oligometastatic breast cancer.
Last Modified on March 17, 2021