A large clinical trial shows that chemotherapy given directly into the stomach as well as into a vein can improve the survival of women with advanced ovarian cancer by about sixteen months. The results of the study, which appear in this week's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, prompted the National Cancer Institute to issue a statement supporting doctors to employ this plan of attack for appropriate patients. Did.
A large clinical trial shows that chemotherapy given
directly into the stomach as well as into a vein can improve the survival of
women with advanced ovarian cancer by about sixteen months. The results of the
study, which appear in this week's issue of the New England Journal of
Medicine, prompted the National Cancer Institute to issue a statement
supporting doctors to employ this plan of attack for appropriate patients. Did.
Why is this new treatment so important? Ovarian cancer is
the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths in women, affecting more than 22,000
women in 2005 and killing more than 16,000. Although the disease is treatable
if detected early, almost all cases go unnoticed until they have progressed
beyond limits. Ovary. Since many ovarian cancer patients are diagnosed at a
later stage, it is important to find better treatment methods for advanced
disease.
What is already known about ovarian cancer? Almost all
women with advanced ovarian cancer are given chemotherapy followed by surgery
to get rid of the tumor. Chemotherapy is usually given into a vein and reaches
the tumor cells in the abdomen through the bloodstream. Doctors have also
experimented with delivering chemotherapy directly into the abdomen through a
catheter, a system called intraperitoneal (IP) chemotherapy. Eight clinical trials
of this approach have been conducted, and most have shown benefit over IP
chemotherapy. But according to the study's author, Deborah Armstrong, MD, this
technique is not widely used.
"There has been a predisposition against IP
treatment in ovarian disease since it's an old thought, it requires expertise
and involvement in medical procedure and chemotherapy, and it's IV," said
Armstrong, a clinical oncologist and partner. "is extra confounded than
chemotherapy." Teacher at the John Hopkins Kimmel Malignant growth
Community in Baltimore.
How the study was conducted: Women with stage III ovarian
cancer were randomly assigned to receive either standard chemotherapy in the
vein (210 women), or a combination of chemotherapy in the vein and IP
chemotherapy (205 women). The women had already had surgery in which all or
most of the tumor was successfully removed; None had residual tumor that was
larger than 1 cm in diameter. All women were treated with the same drug,
cisplatin and paclitaxel. Six cycles of chemotherapy were planned for both
groups.
what did you get? Women who had IP chemo operated longer
without their cancer coming back and lived the longest overall. Women who
received conventional chemotherapy into a vein lived about 4 years after
treatment, while women who received chemotherapy into the stomach as well as an
abdominal vein lived about five and a half years after treatment.
Stephen A. The improvement is "one of the largest
benefits ever seen for a new therapy in gynecologic oncology," based on
the data from Cannistra, MD, who wrote an editorial published with the study.
He is a professor at Harvard Medical School and managing director of the
division of gynecologic medical oncology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical
Center in Boston.
However, IP treatment was much more difficult for
patients. Women who took this treatment had several additional terrible or
life-threatening side effects, including low white blood cell counts,
infections, fatigue, and pain. Many side effects were associated with the
catheter that must be inserted into the abdomen to deliver chemotherapy. These
problems were so severe that less than half of the women designated to undergo
IP chemotherapy completed all six designed treatment cycles. “This prolongs
survival significantly,” Cannistra wrote.
Women who received IP therapy reported significantly
worse quality of life during and immediately after treatment. Yet, after a
year, both groups described similar quality of life.
FAQs
Is cancer cured after chemo?
Chemotherapy drugs help kill cancer cells and in many
cases, such as blood cancer, it helps cure the cancer completely.
What are the chances of surviving ovarian cancer?
For all types of ovarian cancer combined, about 78% of
people with ovarian cancer survive for at least 1 year after diagnosis. More
than 60% of patients survive for at least 3 years after diagnosis, and more
than 50% of ovarian cancer patients survive for at least 5 years after
diagnosis.
Has anyone recovered from ovarian cancer?
About 20% of women with advanced stage ovarian cancer
survive for 12 years after treatment and are effectively cured.
How long is the treatment for ovarian cancer?
For ovarian cancer, the drugs are usually given in
repeated cycles over 4–5 months, but this can vary.
How long can chemo extend life?
For many metastatic tumors, even if incurable, survival
with chemotherapy and best treatment is now more than a year and often much
longer. Colorectal cancer survival often exceeds 24 months, with 10% of
patients surviving more than five years.
How long does it take to recover after chemo?
Return to normal is common, but it takes some time – usually six months or more. “Individuals who have done chemo are at long last back to ordinary," Patricia said. “Breast cancer treatment can take a full year, but six months after it's over, life comes back – the incisions have healed, the hair grows back, the brain fog from chemo goes away."
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