Neoadjuvant chemotherapy may boost cancer treatment outcomes: Experts

NEW DELHI: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy -- used to shrink tumours before cancer surgery -- can significantly improve treatment outcomes and boost survival rate, said experts here on Saturday.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is a type of cancer treatment where chemotherapy drugs are administered before surgical extraction of the tumour just before primary cancer treatment. It can shrink a cancerous tumour before moving on to other treatments such as surgery. It can also allow doctors to test a chemotherapy drug to gauge how the body responds to it.

According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), the treatment shrinks cancerous tumours which then helps surgeons to remove them easily.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy may also kill cancerous tissue that is not yet visible on imaging tests. The effectiveness of neoadjuvant chemotherapy depends on many factors, including the type and stage of cancer a person has, as well as their response to different drugs.

“When chemotherapy is your first treatment for cancer, it’s called ‘neoadjuvant therapy’. It’s often used for advanced breast cancer or large tumours that complicate surgery and it has other equally important benefits,” Dr. Ashish Gupta, Chief of Medical Oncology at Unique Hospital Cancer Centre in New Delhi, told IANS.

“Oncologists recommend neoadjuvant chemotherapy depending on various factors, including, cancer type, cancer progression, and treatment goals, such as easing symptoms or slowing growth. Neoadjuvant therapy is widely used across the world and it has the potential to improve cancer treatment outcomes and boost survival in India,” he added.

The use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy is gaining popularity in both the US and Europe, particularly for older and frail patients, because it is associated with less surgical toxicity.

A prospective randomised study of neoadjuvant chemotherapy from the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer found that it has the potential to improve survival rates.

"Neoadjuvant chemotherapy can revolutionise cancer treatment in India by shrinking tumours before surgery,” Dr. Rahul Bhargava, Principal Director of Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplant at Fortis Memorial Research Institute told IANS.

He added that the line of treatment also helps reduce cancer recurrence, and improves survival rates.

“Scaling its use nationwide would allow more patients to access this life-saving intervention, ultimately enhancing the quality of care and outcomes in oncology," Bhargava said

Gupta further informed that Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is particularly used when a tumour is too large for a major operation or is affecting vital organs. It helps doctors target cancerous growths more easily at a later stage.