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Treatment of cancer is usually associated with chemotherapy, which is the use of cytostatic drugs that destroy cancer cells. However, the side effects of cytostatic drugs can be excruciating as drugs destroy healthy cells in the body in the process. In recent years, more and more patients have been receiving alternative cancer treatment options.
- Chemotherapy is not an ideal option for treating cancer
- It destroys cancer cells, but also weakens the body
- Other drugs that allow targeted treatments are starting to enter the market
- The new methods spare patients the side effects of cytostatic treatment
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During treatment with chemotherapy, the cells of important health centers are destroyed – the bone marrow, digestive and reproductive systems, and the cells of the hair follicles are also broken. Additionally, nausea and persistent vomiting often occur after taking the drug. Patients often lose their appetite and develop gum problems.
Chemotherapy is offered to fewer and fewer women. More advantageous options are beginning to emerge on the market, including estrogen blockers and drugs that kill the tumor by targeting specific proteins on the surface of the tumor. The new methods spare patients the side effects of cytostatic treatment.
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Herceptin started changing
20 years ago, herceptin was invented – the first drug designed to target specific proteins on the surface of a breast cancer tumor. It started with chemotherapy, and it cut the chance of the disease coming back in half and the risk of dying from breast cancer by a third.
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As doctors argue, this was the beginning of changes. As the years went by, an increasing number of oncologists became interested in new research and treatments.
Genetic tests that check the types of proteins on the cancer cells determine whether a woman can benefit from alternative treatment options.
Research shows that new methods are more effective – The median survival for women with metastatic breast cancer who qualify for herceptin treatment has increased from 20 months in the early 90s to around 57 months. For women with tumors who are treated with estrogen, median survival increased from around 24 months in the 70s to almost 64 months. Scientists expect further improvement as new drugs emerge.
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There are currently at least 14 new drugs on the market that target breast cancer – three of which were approved just last year. Dozens more are in clinical trials, and hundreds are in preliminary development.
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Hope for people with lung cancer
In 2010, targeted therapies also began to appear for people with lung cancer. Three out of nine such drugs were approved in May this year.
Dr. Robert Vonderheide, a lung cancer specialist who heads the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania, recalls what work looked like 20 years ago. – We discussed whether to give patients two different types of chemotherapy, or three. There have even been clinical trials to see if the four types of chemotherapy will be more effective, he told The New York Times. – Now we come to patients with advanced lung cancer and tell them there will be no chemotherapy Dr. Vonderheide said.
About a quarter of lung cancer patients can only be treated with these drugs, and more than half of the patients who started treatment with a targeted drug five years ago are still alive. The five-year survival rate for patients with advanced lung cancer is now close to 30%.
Breast cancer and lung cancer – statistics
Breast cancer is the most common malignant tumor among women. In Poland, breast cancer is diagnosed in 19 thousand. women every year. It accounts for about 23 percent. of all illnesses and is responsible for about 14 percent. deaths from malignant neoplasms in women. It is estimated that around 1,7 million women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. Over 500 people die because of it.
Lung cancer is responsible for one in five deaths among cancer patients worldwide. In Poland every year doctors detect 22 thousand illnesses. Lung cancer causes over 23 deaths annually. Additionally, it is one of the worst malignant neoplasms because 5-year survival in Poland is only 13,4%.
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