Chemotherapy after surgery extends survival for patients with
advanced endometrial cancer
December 06, 2005
Laptop Battery A new study has shown for the first time that giving two
chemotherapy drugs to women with advanced endometrial cancer after
surgery reduced the risk of recurrence by 29% and extended survival
by 32% compared with women who received whole abdominal
irradiation. The findings could improve the care for the 15% to 20%
of patients with endometrial cancer who have advanced disease. The
study will be published online December 5 in the Journal of
Clinical Oncology (JCO).
Patients with advanced cancer have been reported to have improved survival and fewer side effects from taking chemotherapy when given melatonin plus chemotherapy vs. chemotherapy alone.84. Coenzyme Q10 In an unpublished report, after one year, 10 of 15 prostate cancer patients experienced a 78% decrease in the level of PSA—a marker of cancer activity.85 The amount of coenzyme Q10 given to these men was 600 mg per day; after four months, PSA scores began to decline.86 Such undocumented case reports require confirmation from published research trials.
Thinkpad Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecologic cancer in the
United States - the American Cancer Society estimates that in 2005,
40,880 women will be diagnosed with the disease, and 7,310 will
die.
By 1999, Dr. Lissoni’s group had progressed to a study of 250 patients with tumors that had metastasized. day plus chemotherapy, or chemotherapy alone. This was a large group of patients with cancers in a variety of tissues, and who received a variety of chemotherapy regimens. Even in this very diverse group of patients, year survival and greater tumor regression rates than those who received chemotherapy only. In addition, associated toxicity such as low platelet counts, neurotoxicity and cardiotoxicity, and mouth sores.
Microsoft "For the first time, adjuvant chemotherapy has been shown to
extend survival in patients with advanced endometrial cancer," said
the study's lead author, Marcus E. Randall, MD, Director of the Leo
W. Jenkins Cancer Center at the Brody School of Medicine at East
Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. "These findings
were surprising, given that previous studies showed that single
chemotherapy agents do not have a significant impact on the
disease."
The medical establishment admits its failures Despite enormous research dollars committed to finding a cure for cancer, very little improvement in survival has occurred over the past 50 years against most cancers. It is well known that chemotherapy drugs have a high rate of failure. This was brought out in the January 10, 2002 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, 3 where it was noted that 20 years of clinical trials using chemotherapy on advanced lung cancer have yielded survival improvement of only two months. This editorial pointed out that while new chemotherapy regimens appear to be improving survival, when these same regimens are tested on a wider range of cancer patients, the results have been disappointing. In other words, oncologists at a single institution may obtain a 40% to 50% response rate in a tightly controlled study, but when these same chemotherapy drugs are administered in the real world setting, response rates decline to only 17% to 27%.
Laptop Computers Researchers from the Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) compared
the rate of recurrence and overall survival between 194 women with
advanced endometrial cancer who received chemotherapy with the
drugs doxorubicin and cisplatin over a period of five months and
202 women who received radiation therapy to the entire abdomen over
a period of approximately 1.5 months. Patients were enrolled in the
trial from 1992 until 2001. Researchers followed patients for a
median of just over six years, and used a statistical model to
estimate five-year recurrence and survival rates.
up. The primary treatment for endometrial cancer is surgery (hysterectomy) to remove the uterus, cervix, ovaries, and fallopian tubes. Pelvic lymph nodes may also be removed. Other treatments may be used depending on the stage of cancer and whether you are at high risk of having the cancer return. These treatments include radiation therapy, hormone therapy, and chemotherapy.
Laptop Computer After five years, 50% of patients who received chemotherapy were
estimated to be free of disease compared with 38% of those who
received whole abdominal irradiation. Moreover, 55% of patients who
received chemotherapy were estimated to be alive after five years,
compared with 42% of patients in the radiation therapy group.
Early stage lung cancer is primarily treated with surgery, often accompanied by radiation and chemotherapy. In more advanced stages of the disease, chemotherapy and surgery may still be used, although the surgery is no longer likely to achieve a cure. Top
Desktop Computer However, serious adverse side effects were more common in the
chemotherapy group. The most common serious side effects included
reduced blood cell counts and problems with the digestive and
nervous systems, liver, and heart. Treatment-related deaths were
also twice as common in the chemotherapy group (4%, vs. 2% of
radiation patients).
Notebooks Another GOG study is underway to see if the chemotherapy drugs
carboplatin and paclitaxel will be as effective, but with fewer
serious side effects. A less toxic regimen could help a greater
number of patients with advanced disease, many of whom are elderly
or have other illnesses that might prohibit the use of the
aggressive chemotherapy regimen.
Lenovo In addition, another GOG study evaluated the use of combination
chemotherapy after "involved field" radiation therapy (radiation to
less than the whole abodomen) to see if these patients might
benefit more than those who receive either treatment alone. Results
from this study are not yet available.
Hard Drive "This study represents a major advance in the treatment of
advanced endometrial cancer," noted Gini F. Fleming, MD, Director
of the Medical Oncology Gynecologic and Breast Cancer Programs at
the University of Chicago, and author of an accompanying editorial.
"Future trials need to address treatment of earlier-stage disease,
optimization of chemotherapy regimen, integration of radiotherapy,
and application of newer targeted agents."
Travelstar American Society of Clinical Oncology
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