Improved survival found for breast cancer patients with dose-dense chemotherapy

Dose-dense adjuvant chemotherapy can enhance survival for sufferers with high-risk breast most cancers, in response to a workforce of researchers that features the Karolinska Institutet. The worldwide PANTHER trial, which studied greater than 2,000 sufferers the place 97% had metastasis to the lymph nodes within the armpit, in contrast two totally different chemotherapy regimens and located that the dose-intensive remedy lowered the chance of recurrence and unfold of the illness.

The outcomes are offered within the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Adjuvant chemotherapy is a sort of remedy given after major remedy, often surgical procedure, to cut back the chance of most cancers recurrence. By administering chemotherapy after surgical procedure, the expansion of metastases may be delayed or prevented, which might enhance a affected person’s probabilities of survival.

Chemotherapy each two weeks (dose-dense remedy) after surgical procedure for high-risk breast most cancers has been proven to be simpler than the identical remedy each three weeks. However, beforehand revealed research used paclitaxel each three weeks as a management remedy. This kind of remedy is not thought of acceptable, and subsequently the researchers needed to match dose-dense remedy with the present optimum remedy.

“Our research exhibits for the primary time that dose-dense chemotherapy results in higher survival in comparison with optimum chemotherapy with anthracycline and docetaxel each three weeks,” says Alexios Matikas, Associate Professor on the Department of Oncology-Pathology and the research’s first creator.

The PANTHER research confirmed that sufferers who acquired dose-intensive remedy had a 20% decrease threat of recurrence in comparison with the present optimum remedy. The dose-intensive remedy additionally improved disease-free survival by 22%. Despite enhancements in recurrence threat and disease-free survival, the distinction in total survival was not statistically vital.

The research, led by Professor Jonas Bergh and Associate Professor Theodoros Foukakis, additionally on the Department of Oncology-Pathology, emphasizes the significance of continuous to discover and optimize remedy methods to enhance the prognosis for breast most cancers sufferers.