emaxcy
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Posts:1
I have had a fully resected (ULL) tumor. no lymph involvement. Tumor 6cm. Mop-up chemo recommended.
Can you point me in the direction of data or studies that discuss/examine the optimum number of chemotherapy cycles (Cisplatin/Alimta)? I know that 4 is the standard for my profile.
Also, are their any studies that weigh the impact/effectiveness of doing only some cycles instead of all 4?
emaxcy
Forums
Reply # - January 6, 2015, 10:06 AM
Hi emaxcy,
Hi emaxcy,
Welcome to GRACE. There is a discussion of the number of cycles of adjuvant chemo here: http://cancergrace.org/topic/3-rounds-versus-4-rounds-of-cisplatinviner… As you can see from the faculty comments, there isn't even evidence that four cycles are necessary for the best results.
JimC
Forum moderator
Reply # - January 6, 2015, 08:48 PM
The only real evidence we
The only real evidence we have is from the Canadian BR.10 trial. A post-hoc study looked at outcomes in patients who either had treatment discontinued or stopped treatment based on their own decision due to side effects, and compared results to patients who hadn't received any post-operative chemo or who had received the full 4 cycles. There was no difference in outcomes between the patients who stopped after 1-3 cycles and those who received 4 cycles: both groups benefited compared with patients who received no chemotherapy after surgery.
That said, we favor trying to get in 4 cycles if patients are tolerating it, but if patients want or need to stop earlier, they still seem to benefit.
Good luck.
-Dr. West