sleepy832
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My husband, 47, stage 1b, fully resected (3/6/14-bilobectomy), squamous cell, tumor 3.6cm, current ecog 1, begins chemo next week. Originally we were told it would 4 rounds of wk1: Cis/navel wk2: Cis/navel wk3: Navel only wk4: navel only. Repeat for four rounds.
The actual schedule will be this:
Wk1: Cis/navel
wk2: navel only
Wk3: off
Repeat for 4 rounds.
Is this regimen less aggressive? Why would it change? Of the studies I've read the benefits can be 5-15%but I'm concerned that this regimen is weak.
Any advice?
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Reply # - April 12, 2014, 06:19 PM
Reply To: Determining how aggressive the chemo regimen is?
It's almost certainly just a minor modification of the schedule that would not be expected to have any significant effect on the efficacy. Many/monst experts feel immensely comfortable with minor modifications of the common regimens -- I personally do variations of some quite routinely -- and since almost all platinum-based doublets have remarkably comparable efficacy, it's quite unlikely that such a change would have any substantial negative effect. It is also commonly very challenging to get all of the intended therapy in safely, and it is routine to need to drop doses on various permutations of these regimens, so it may well be very reasonable to make slight changes in hopes of actually being able to deliver treatment more reliably. That's why I make such changes.
Good luck.
-Dr. West
Reply # - April 12, 2014, 06:19 PM
Reply To: Determining how aggressive the chemo regimen is?
It's almost certainly just a minor modification of the schedule that would not be expected to have any significant effect on the efficacy. Many/most experts feel quite comfortable with minor modifications of the common regimens and some latitude for oncologist judgment. I personally do variations of some quite routinely. And since almost all platinum-based doublets have remarkably comparable efficacy, it's quite unlikely that such a change would have any substantial negative effect. It is also commonly very challenging to get all of the intended therapy in safely, and it is routine to need to drop doses on various permutations of these regimens, so it may well be very reasonable to make slight changes in hopes of actually being able to deliver treatment more reliably. That's why I make such changes.
Good luck.
-Dr. West