Neoadjuvanttherapyreferstothetreatmentgivenasafirststeptoshrinkatumorbeforethemaintreatment,whichisusuallysurgery.Thisapproachiscommonlyusedincancercare,particularlyforcancerslikebreast,lung,andrectalcancers.Thegoalofneoadjuvanttherapyistoreducethesizeofthetumor,makingiteasiertoremovesurgically,andtoeliminateanymicroscopiccancercellsthatmayhavespreadbeyondtheprimarytumor.Itcaninvolvechemotherapy,radiationtherapy,hormonetherapy,ortargetedtherapy,dependingonthetypeandstageofcancer.Neoadjuvanttherapyalsoprovidesanopportunitytoassesshowthetumorrespondstotreatment,whichcanhelpguidefurthertherapydecisions.Insomecases,agoodresponsetoneoadjuvanttherapymayimprovethechancesofsuccessfulsurgeryandbetterlong-termoutcomes.
