A new groundbreaking study has given a new hope for the early-stage breast cancer patients, as they no longer needed a surgery.
According to HealthDay, a breakthrough research revealed surgery might not be needed to treat as many as 60% of early-stage breast cancers.
A small-scale clinical trial led by the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center professor and published in JAMA Oncology tracked 31 women whose cancer was treated with chemo and radiation.
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Lead investigator of the study Dr Henry Kuerer said, “The absence of detectable breast cancer recurrences at the five-year mark highlights the tremendous potential of this surgery-free approach to breast cancer management.”
All of the women whose breast cancer had been eliminated without surgery remained alive and cancer-free five years and, on average, 4.5 years after the treatment.
Notably, it was a first trial that tracked whether women could avoid surgery if their breast cancers respond to chemotherapy.
Kuerer added that their innovative, precise method of detecting cancer in patients included in the study has successfully demonstrated that they can treat them while avoiding surgery.
Kuerer noted, “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.”
Researchers of the study are hopeful that the new approach will become a routine in the future. However, they emphasised that more clinical trials are required before this standard therapy.
The findings of the research were also presented at a meeting of the Society of Surgical Oncology in Tampa, Fla.
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