Solid tumors
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is a group of cancers arising in breast tissue. Stage and tumor features, including hormone-receptor and HER2 status, strongly influence treatment; it is not ordinarily a disease treated by replacing the marrow.
Other names and abbreviations
breast carcinoma · mammary cancer · high-risk breast cancer · metastatic breast cancer · Carcinoma of the breast · mammary carcinoma
Where transplant fits
High-dose chemotherapy with autologous stem cell rescue is not routine breast cancer treatment. Some highly selected settings have been studied, but an overall-survival benefit has not been established across routine care. It uses the patient’s cells, and registry donor transplantation is not a standard pathway.
Treatment depends on the exact diagnosis, disease stage, prior treatment and the person’s health. These categories are not estimates of donor demand.
Treatment at a glance
- Who it affects
- Breast cancer primarily affects women and becomes more common with age; men can also develop it.
- Other treatment options
- Treatment can include surgery, radiation, endocrine therapy, chemotherapy, HER2-directed treatment, immunotherapy or other targeted medicines according to subtype and stage.
- Cells used for transplantation
- The patient’s own collected blood-forming cells for autologous stem cell rescue, when that procedure is appropriate.
Questions to bring to your care team
What is the exact diagnosis or subtype? What is the goal of each treatment option? If transplant is being considered, why does it fit this situation, which cells would be used and what are the alternatives?
Sources and further reading
- Breast Cancer Treatment (PDQ)
NCI · Accessed 2026-09-05 - Indications for haematopoietic cell transplantation and CAR-T: 2025 EBMT practice recommendations
EBMT / Bone Marrow Transplantation · Accessed 2026-09-05 - Stem Cell and Bone Marrow Transplants for Cancer
NCI · Accessed 2026-09-05
Understanding can become action.
Some patients need a blood stem cell donor. Others receive different treatment. Wherever your interest began, you can help JBF reach more people who may be able to donate.
Explore the official registry serving where you live. It explains who can join, how registration works and what donation involves.
Find your official registryIf joining is not right for you, a gift to the Jada Bascom Foundation supports education, outreach and referrals to official registries.
Donate to JBFKeep learning
Why matching is hard: an interactive leukemia story
More in solid tumors. Sharing a group does not mean sharing a treatment plan.
