According to the results of a unique global clinical trial study, some patients with stage III colon cancer who undergo surgical resection of their tumors and lymph nodes may not require standard six-month chemotherapy after chemotherapy. In contrast, for many low-risk patients, three months of chemotherapy does not significantly increase the rate of cancer recurrence and can prevent harmful side effects, including nerve damage caused by the chemotherapy drug oxaliplatin, or permanent pain, numbness and tingling .
This is a global trial launched in 2007 on the International Duration Assessment of Adjuvant Chemotherapy (IDEA). Six parallel Phase III trials in 12 countries in North America, Europe and Asia enrolled 12,834 eligible patients. Patients with stage III kanser kolon usually use FOLFOX or CAPOX chemotherapy for standard treatment after surgery. The researchers randomly assigned patients to treatment groups of three or six months.
Results: Three months of chemotherapy is not suitable for all patients. Instead, the data shows that the duration of chemotherapy should be determined based on the combination of drugs used and the individual characteristics of the patient ’s cancer: the degree of tumor deposition on the colon wall and the number of lymph nodes that the cancer has spread to. For low-risk patients-those with shallow tumors and affected lymph nodes-treatment with CAPOX for 3 months has been shown to be safe and effective, with little side effects, the same as the progression-free survival (PFS) of six months of treatment. However, in some cases, a six-month course of treatment is better for high-risk patients.
Dr. Anthony Shields, seorang profesor di Sekolah Perubatan Universiti Negeri Wayne, mengatakan bahawa dalam praktiknya, saya telah menerapkan standard baru ini kepada pesakit dengan barah usus berisiko rendah, yang menjimatkan banyak masa rawatan dan juga dapat mencegah keracunan kesan kemoterapi selama enam bulan. Kira-kira 400,000 pesakit di seluruh dunia menganggap rawatan berasaskan oxaliplatin sebagai rejimen kemoterapi pasca operasi, jadi penemuan ini akan memberi kesan besar.
