Fw: The Best Treatment for Breast Cancer?

[Guest guest]

----- Original Message -----

From: " ilena rose " <ilena@...>

<Recipient List Suppressed:>

Sent: Monday, January 07, 2002 9:37 PM

Subject: The Best Treatment for Breast Cancer?

> http://www.ivanhoe.com/docs/newsflash/thebesttreatmentforbreastcancer.html

>

> The Best Treatment for Breast Cancer?

>

> Jan. 4, 2002 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- New research suggests breast cancer

patients

> with tumors less than a centimeter in size may be better off in the end if

they

> forego treatment with chemotherapy and/or tamoxifen after their surgery.

>

> Doctors know women with larger tumors benefit from additional, or

adjuvant,

> therapy after initial treatment for their cancers. However, they are not

sure

> whether women with very small tumors really need this treatment, since the

risk

> of recurrence for them is so low. In this study, investigators from UCLA

found

> the risk of a long-term decline in physical functioning caused by the

> treatments outweighed any benefits of the additional therapy among women

with

> very small tumors.

>

> The study involved about 760 women who were an average of 6.3 years past

their

> initial diagnosis of cancer and who had remained disease-free. Each filled

out

> an extensive questionnaire on quality of life issues ranging from physical

and

> social functioning to sexual desire and body image.

>

> Results show breast cancer survivors report an excellent quality of life

> overall. However, when researchers compared results for women with very

small

> tumors who had received additional treatment with chemotherapy and/or

tamoxifen

> to those who had not received additional treatment, they found those who

> received additional therapy scored lower on physical functioning measures.

>

> Ganz, M.D., from UCLA, is quoted as saying, " The question has

been

> asked: Should every woman, even those with very small tumors, receive

> chemotherapy or tamoxifen or both after surgery? I think, in light of this

> research, the answer may be no. This study shows there are some subtle

costs to

> be paid with adjuvant therapy. But the only place this would carry any

weight

> would be in women with tumors less than a centimeter in size. "

>

> SOURCE: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 2002;94:39-49

>

>

>

>