United States: A groundbreaking study published in JAMA Oncology suggests that up to 60% of early-stage breast cancer patients may not need surgery as part of their treatment. The clinical trial found that breast cancers showing no signs after chemotherapy and radiation did not tend to return, as reported by HealthDay.
Positive Results from a Small Clinical Trial
Thirty-one women participated in the study, receiving chemotherapy and radiation without undergoing surgery. The results were promising, with five-year survival data demonstrating that patients remained cancer-free.
According to Dr. Henry Kuerer who leads the study and serves as a professor of breast surgical oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center the five-year recurrence-free status indicates powerful possibilities in surgery-free treatment.
Challenging a Long-Standing Standard of Care
The treatment of breast cancer through surgery has remained the established practice for more than a hundred years. The necessity of mastectomy for breast cancer treatment is being questioned by researchers because chemotherapy and radiation therapy achieve successful results. The combined method of preoperative chemotherapy therapy with radiation therapy produces tumor elimination in more than 60% of breast cancer cases.
Testing a New Approach
The trial enrolled 50 women over 40 with early-stage breast cancer. These patients received chemotherapy, shrinking their tumors to less than two centimeters. Doctors then performed needle biopsies to check for remaining cancer cells. When tests confirmed that 31 women were cancer-free, they were able to avoid surgery.
On average, patients remained cancer-free for 4.5 years after treatment.
Looking Ahead: Could Surgery-Free Treatment Become the Norm?
“These continued promising results suggest that eliminating breast surgery for invasive breast cancer could become the new standard of care, offering women the opportunity to preserve their bodies,” Kuerer said.
The clinical trial continues to recruit 100 more patients while South Korean healthcare professionals conduct independent research about this method. The expert noted there should be additional trials to establish this therapy as standard medical practice, as reported by HealthDay.
Data from the research appears at the Society of Surgical Oncology meeting held in Tampa.