NEJM weight: half of chemotherapy time can improve the benefits and significantly reduce the side effects of colon cancer patients!

April 2, 2018 / BIOON / - according to a new global study, the chemotherapy course of some patients with colorectal cancer after surgery should be halved Patients with lymph node metastasis (stage 3) usually receive chemotherapy for 6 months after surgery Photo source: Cancer Research UK but researchers found that reducing the duration of chemotherapy to three months did not affect the risk of cancer recurrence in many patients At the same time, reducing the time of chemotherapy can also significantly reduce the side effects Chemotherapy after surgery to reduce side effects can prevent recurrence of colon cancer, but patients have to pay for it Professor Matthew Seymour, an expert on stomach cancer funded by Cancer Research UK, said "It's a very difficult treatment process, and many patients suffer from nerve damage as a result." The damage can cause lasting pain, numbness or tingling in the hands and toes "As a result of this new study, we can now confidently shorten the chemotherapy time of patients, which will significantly reduce the side effects of treatment." Professor Seymour said The research, involving 12834 patients from 12 countries, was recently published in New England Journal of medicine "This study shows that this is a very important question for patients, and doctors all over the world have worked together to get the answer This is a great achievement " Individualized treatment participants in the study received chemotherapy for three months or six months after surgery to remove the tumor The researchers found that three months of chemotherapy worked for many patients, and patients at high risk of relapse benefited more than the standard treatment - six months of chemotherapy The risk of cancer recurrence is determined by the depth of the tumor in the colon wall and the number of lymph nodes metastasized Dr Jeffery mayerhardt of Harvard Medical School, who participated in the study, said the results showed that the time of postoperative chemotherapy was not uniform "Personalized treatment options based on tumor characteristics are very important." He added Reference: duration of adjust chemotherapy for stage III colon cancer N Engl J Med Doi: 10.1056/nejmoa1713709