The findings — presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago — could allow doctors to “focus on the patients we think would truly benefit from chemotherapy and avoid the side effects for patients for whom it’s likely unnecessary,” one expert said.
After surgery, some cancer patients can safely skip radiation or chemotherapy, according to two new studies exploring shorter, gentler cancer care. One study used a blood test to determine which colon cancer patients could skip chemotherapy after surgery. The results of the other research suggest that some low-risk breast cancer patients can do without radiation after having a lumpectomy. The findings — presented at the yearly meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago — could allow doctors to “focus on the patients we think would truly benefit from chemotherapy and avoid the side effects for patients for whom it’s likely unnecessary,” said Dr. Stacey Cohen of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, who reviewed the colon cancer findings and wasn’t involved in the research. Many colon cancer patients are given chemotherapy after surgery even though they might already be cured. The drugs can cause side effects such as nausea, anemia and memory problems. But pinpointing which patients might not need further treatment has been tricky.
