New research presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting finds that scaling back treatment can be better for some cancer patients without compromising outcomes.
Studies on ovarian cancer, esophageal cancer, and Hodgkin lymphoma found less intensive treatment was equally effective or sometimes better than standard treatment.
For ovarian cancer, not removing lymph nodes during surgery provided similar survival rates with fewer complications compared to standard lymph node removal.
A German study found chemotherapy and radiation was equally effective as chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation for some esophageal cancers, with the less intensive approach having better quality of life.
A trial across several countries found less harsh chemotherapy was more effective and had fewer side effects than standard chemotherapy for Hodgkin lymphoma.
The research is part of a trend toward exploring if less aggressive treatment can still achieve good outcomes while improving patient experiences and life quality. Experts say treatment should be optimized and not necessarily more intensive than needed.
Source: apnews
