The Median Duration of Response tells you how long your cancer can be expected to respond to the chemotherapy, before the cancer starts growing again. For most cancers where palliative chemotherapy is used, this number ranges from 3-12 months. The longer the response, the longer you can expect to live.
Based on the overall cohort, that included 905 chemotherapy-exposed vs 3390 chemotherapy-naïve patients, overall survival rates at 18 and 30 months were 76.3 vs 69.3% and 61.6 vs 54.3%, favoring chemotherapy-exposed patients ( Figure 1A ).
In advanced cancer, palliative treatment might help someone to live longer and more comfortably, even if they cannot be cured. Palliative treatment is not just about medicines to control symptoms - such as painkillers and anti sickness drugs. Cancer treatments can also reduce or get rid of symptoms.
Cancer survivors tend to have shorter telomeres than normal persons at the same age. This means that they are older than their actual years. It could be the intensive and toxic chemotherapy and radiation therapy that has led to this finding say researchers.
Many of the commonly used cancer treatments, such as radiation or chemotherapy, kill tumor cells. But sometimes, after those cells have died and been cleared away, a tumor will respond by growing faster and more aggressively. And scientists don't know why.
Recurrent cancer may be more aggressive than the original cancer if it's already spread to other parts of the body or if it's become resistant to chemotherapy or radiation therapy. The sooner the cancer returns, the biology of the tumor tends to be more aggressive.
Chemotherapy is one of many treatments for breast cancer. In some cases, the cancer may continue to grow and spread to other parts of the body despite the chemotherapy.
On average, chemotherapy accelerated aging by approximately 17 years of life span, with acceleration of 23 to 27 years for those treated with anthracycline-based treatment.
Most chemotherapy side effects are temporary and disappear once your treatment is over. For some people chemotherapy can cause long term changes in the body months or years after treatment. Many people feel more tired than usual for a long time after chemotherapy treatment.
By contrast, oncologists typically use the term palliative chemotherapy to refer to any chemotherapy administration that is not curative [1]. Consequently, the term is defined by what it is not, that is, curative, rather than specifying the intended palliation.
[14] confirmed that palliative chemotherapy is associated with increased aggressiveness of treatment, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation, mechanical ventilation, and dying in an intensive care unit.
Although it can include end of life care, palliative care is much broader and can last for longer. Having palliative care doesn't necessarily mean that you're likely to die soon – some people have palliative care for years. End of life care offers treatment and support for people who are near the end of their life.
Because of chemotherapy's considerable side effects, it may not be safe for individuals who have underlying conditions. If your oncologist worries that your body is not strong enough to withstand chemotherapy, they will likely recommend other treatment options.
If there's a high likelihood that chemotherapy may get rid of your cancer, that benefit may outweigh possible side effects. Some patients say they actually feel better and have more energy soon after starting chemotherapy because the symptoms of their cancer regress.
Which Type of Cancer Spreads the Fastest? The fastest-moving cancers are pancreatic, brain, esophageal, liver, and skin. Pancreatic cancer is one of the most dangerous types of cancer because it's fast-moving and there's no method of early detection.
Adults over age 65 with cancer can have a stronger reaction to chemotherapy treatments. This means that they may have worse side effects or take longer to recover after chemotherapy treatment ends. It is important to remember that chemotherapy can be a treatment option for patients of any age.
Does Radiation Oncology Have Fewer Side Effects Compared to Chemotherapy? Radiation oncology and chemotherapy are both effective cancer treatments; however, they are different in many ways. Radiation oncology is localized: it targets only the affected area of the body, and therefore, tends to have fewer side effects.
Chemotherapy and other drugs
Chemo drugs can cause side effects because they affect cells that are dividing quickly. Young adults can usually withstand higher doses of chemo than older adults, but these higher doses can also cause more short- and long-term side effects.
Some people will be cancer free after treatment but may experience late and long term side effects of treatment. Others may be cancer free after treatment but have their cancer come back and need to be treated again. Still others will need to continue with cancer treatment to keep their cancer under control.
After cancer drug treatment or radiotherapy
This can happen because the treatment didn't destroy all the cancer cells. Chemotherapy drugs kill cancer cells by attacking cells that are in the process of doubling to form 2 new cells. But not all the cells in a cancer divide at the same time.
Dead cancer cells are as tasty to a phagocyte as any other type of dead cell. The dead cells cannot “re-enter the bloodstream” once they've been digested by macrophages, because the digestion process breaks down the chunks into individual chemical components (amino acids, lipids, sugars, minerals).