According to a report by NBC news, despite seemingly endless advancements in cancer treatment, many experts agree that chemotherapy is still a powerful and valid tool. In fact, many see a long life still ahead of chemotherapy as a treatment. What does chemotherapy have to offer that other treatments don’t? How is it staying relevant and effective? Keep reading to learn more, or follow the original story here.
Better Than Chemotherapy?
Cancer research is always moving. There are so many forms of cancer, and so many patients, the need for innovation and invention seems nearly endless. Recently we’ve seen immune therapies and new forms of personalized treatment. Much has also been discussed over the apparent rising star, CAR-T. Just among these developments, there has seemed to be an increases in what many would consider miracles.
Chemotherapy on the other hand seems more and more like a blunt tool. Portrayals in both media and art are unflattering, since the side effects can be so incredibly unpleasant. It’s a word patients hope never to hear.
Expert Opinion
Despite the negative reputation, chemotherapy has been the primary form of cancer treatment for decades. There’s a reason for that: millions of lives have been saved as a result of chemotherapy. Experts say that for many patients, it is still the best option.
And for many doctors it is still the primary treatment for their cancer patients. Some point out that since chemotherapy has been around so long, it gets overlooked or discredited. People gravitate towards new things. Some stay that a lot of the bad press chemotherapy gets is exactly that – press. Phrases like “burn, slash, and poison” are all often used by “the lay press” to describe chemotherapy, surgery, radiation treatments. And while chemo certainly can be difficult for patients, for many, it can be the choice that adds the most towards their chances of survival.
Safer Options?
Many alternatives to chemotherapy are lauded on their ability to be practically harmless to patients. Immune therapy, for example, is often described as both effective and nontoxic. Dr. Sumanta Pal (a board member with the American Society of Clinical Oncology) points out that this is only true of about 20% of patients. He also points to a Food and Drug Administration from last week which warned of the health risks and potential fatalities associated with two well known immune therapy options.
CAR-T is similarly lauded as being safer than chemotherapy. Yet it also comes with dangers. A reaction called cytokine release may occur, leading to fevers, and potential fatal drops in blood pressure. Some patients on CAR-T may still even require chemotherapy as part of their treatment. Neurotoxicity is another concern expressed by the American Cancer Society.
Another side effect of these new treatments is cost. According to one study, there were no new cancer drugs approved in 2017 which did not cost less than $100,000.
Is Chemotherapy Here to Stay?
Doctors in favor of chemotherapy point to cancers like breast cancer. Hormone therapy has become a bigger player in the treatment of breast cancer. What’s interesting about this new treatment plan though is that it still requires chemotherapy as part of its process. The new has not done away with the old, merely given it a different role.
Dr. Pal says that while other treatments have been developing over time, chemotherapy has done the same. According to Dr. Pal, chemotherapy is not the blunt instrument so many people think it is. Because it has been around so long, doctors have worked on perfecting the craft of treating with it. Dr. Pal mentions prostate cancer as an example. It used to be standard practice to refrain from using chemotherapy with prostate cancer until the last minute possible. Now, however, researchers have discovered that it’s much more effective if used early.
Though Dr. Pal and his colleagues are proponents of chemotherapy remaining a successful and well-used treatment, they agree that there is excitement in new options. Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in America. No one would be upset if a miraculous new cure came out tomorrow and worked for everything with no side effects. It just hasn’t happened yet.
