Posted on 08/04/2022 10:10:45 PM PDT by ConservativeMind
Changing the order of treatments given to breast cancer patients could reduce side effects and improve outcomes, according to a study.
Researchers found that switching the sequence of treatments given to breast cancer patients was safe, without any increase in complications and could lead to patients receiving faster and more effective care compared to current methods.
Women with breast cancer requiring a mastectomy—an operation to remove a breast or breasts to treat cancer—and post-mastectomy radiotherapy, were recruited.
They were given chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy before having a mastectomy and a breast reconstruction. The team found that this approach was feasible and safe. They also found that side effects were low and that 12 months after surgery patients reported high levels of satisfaction with their breast reconstruction.
Maxine Myers caught up with the authors: Daniel Leff and Paul Thiruchelvam, to find out more.
Daniel Leff (DL): The research we are undertaking seeks to tackle major issues associated with reconstructive surgery, following a mastectomy and radiotherapy for breast cancer patients.
DL: The type of complications we see are shrinkage and loss of symmetry in the reconstructed breasts. Some women also experience a firm hard lump in their breast following radiation called "fat necrosis.”
Paul Thiruchelvam (PT): Specifically, our results demonstrate radiation therapy did not impact the ability of surgeons to perform complex breast reconstructions such as using tummy tissue to create a new breast mound that comes as close as possible to the form and appearance of the natural breast or breasts.
Also, there was no increase in the problems we see after breast surgery such as infections of the wound, necrosis (death of body tissue) of the mastectomy skin or with the reconstruction failing to pick up a blood supply. Finally, none of the patients' reconstructions failed (had to be removed).
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
This protocol isn’t exactly new. But it was definitely a new approach 15+ years ago @ Slone.
>> @ Slone
Sloan-Kettering
That is how they treated my sister-in-law’s cancer 14 years ago and she had inflammatory breast cancer
which is the deadliest.
How is she today?
My reservations include that a large number of chemotherapeutic agents work on cells that are actively dividing and metabolizing (e.g. cancer cells). This has changed somewhat with the advent of immune checkpoint targeted therapies, kinase inhibitors, etc., but there are still a number of agents used that target actively dividing and metabolizing cells.
That said, I would be concerned that giving radiation first could cause: 1) a reduction in blood supply to the tumor and surrounding areas in the radiation field - thus reducing the ability of chemotherapeutic agents to reach the targeted cells, and 2) induce some malignant cells into a lower replicative and metabolic rate, without killing them, and thus make them less susceptible to traditional chemotherapeutic agents.
On the other hand, it could work just as well, with the benefits as stated.
How about NO radiation OR chemo EVER as they are both toxic killers that do not heal people
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