London: Women with
advanced ovarian cancer have fewer side effects and tend to have a better
quality of life if given chemotherapy before surgery, according to a Cancer
Research UK funded study published in The
Lancet. 550 women with
the disease took part in the trial, with 276 given the standard treatment of surgery
followed by six cycles of chemotherapy, and 274 had surgery after three cycles of
chemotherapy. The Cancer
Research UK funded trial found that post-surgery complications and death within
28 days of surgery was most common among women given surgery first. Women who
received delayed surgery suffered fewer symptoms, a reduction in overall side
effects and had a lower death rate.
Delaying
surgery also reduced the amount of time the patient spent in the hospital after
surgery – a benefit to both the patient and NHS resources.
The CHORUS trial
is the largest surgical trial of its kind in the UK and second largest in the
world. It aimed to see if this new treatment
strategy was a good alternative to the traditional approach.
"CHORUS is the result of many years’ work at a large number of centres across the UK. It is this sort of collaborative effort that provides the best clinical evidence and will ultimately lead to improved outcomes for patients." Matthew Nankivell
Professor
Sean Kehoe, study author and professor of gynaecological cancer at the
University of Birmingham, said: “The trial showed that shrinking the tumour
before surgery reduced side effects and hospital stay – meaning improved quality
of life, without compromising survival, which is better for patients. We are so
thankful to the women who took part in the trial and their families, as we
couldn’t have done this important research without them. Because of their generosity we can improve
the lives of others.”
Ovarian
cancer is the most common cause of death amongst gynaecological cancers and the
fifth most common cause of cancer death among women in the UK.
Lead author
Matthew Nankivell (MRC CTU at UCL) said: “CHORUS is the result of many years’
work at a large number of centres across the UK. It is this sort of
collaborative effort that provides the best clinical evidence and will
ultimately lead to improved outcomes for patients.”
- See more at: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0515/200515-chemo-before-surgery-safer#sthash.D6E2ioXO.dpuf