Guest guest Posted January 18, 2007 Report Share Posted January 18, 2007 Hmmmmmmm, wonder if this is why adjuvant therapy is supposed to begin no later than 3 months post surgery? http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1599731 Ruth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 18, 2007 Report Share Posted January 18, 2007 >Hi Ruth: I haven't been around here for awhile, but was glad I checked in today and saw your post. Thanks for sharing this interesting article from the German study. The origin of the micrometastasis and the ultimate development of the mets is obviously where the focus needs to be, if lives are to be saved. This study seems to point out that millions of cells are shed into the blood stream, even when benign tumors are resected. But the cells shed after the malignant tumors are removed seem to hang around in the blood stream a lot longer, and seem to be in a dormant state until they are somehow signaled to begin the development of new tumors in their new distant homes. (Sometimes many, many years later.) The purpose of the chemo is to kill these cells, so probably this is why the chemo is most effective when given during the 3 months after the tumor is removed. But I wonder if the neo-adjuvant chemo (given before the tumor is resected) actually results in less shedding of tumor cells into the blood stream; the word is still out on this, and I noticed that the authors of this study didn't comment on it. Also, since the tumor cells that were shed into the blood stream are often in a dormant state, and since they would not be in a rapidly-dividing state while they were dormant, does the chemo even kill most of these cells?! (Since the chemo really works on rapidly dividing cells.) Just some thoughts I had while reading the article. Its all so scary to think about, and makes one feel like the horrors of the chemo experience might not even be worth it. But for now, its all we got!! So I guess we just need to hang in there and hope that some real smart researchers and some profit-loving pharmaceutical companies are on the verge of finding a magic bullet that will attack our specific tumor cells when/if they form those nasty mets. Best wishes, Anne V. > Hmmmmmmm, wonder if this is why adjuvant therapy is supposed to begin > no later than 3 months post surgery? > http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1599731 > Ruth > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 18, 2007 Report Share Posted January 18, 2007 Anne, You raise some interesting questions? Thank you for your thoughts Hopefully, studies such as these will take research in the direction it needs to go to prevent or at least better deal with these sorts of unexpected consequences attributef to conventional therapy. It occured to me that their should have been something in the informed concent regarding this issue. Death was one of the consequences listed on the informed concent, I signed. I would have liked to have known about this possibility as well. Ruth > >Hi Ruth: I haven't been around here for awhile, but was glad I checked in today and saw > your post. Thanks for sharing this interesting article from the German study. The origin of > the micrometastasis and the ultimate development of the mets is obviously where the > focus needs to be, if lives are to be saved. This study seems to point out that millions of > cells are shed into the blood stream, even when benign tumors are resected. But the cells > shed after the malignant tumors are removed seem to hang around in the blood stream a > lot longer, and seem to be in a dormant state until they are somehow signaled to begin > the development of new tumors in their new distant homes. (Sometimes many, many years > later.) The purpose of the chemo is to kill these cells, so probably this is why the chemo is > most effective when given during the 3 months after the tumor is removed. But I wonder if > the neo-adjuvant chemo (given before the tumor is resected) actually results in less > shedding of tumor cells into the blood stream; the word is still out on this, and I noticed > that the authors of this study didn't comment on it. Also, since the tumor cells that were > shed into the blood stream are often in a dormant state, and since they would not be in a > rapidly-dividing state while they were dormant, does the chemo even kill most of these > cells?! (Since the chemo really works on rapidly dividing cells.) Just some thoughts I had > while reading the article. Its all so scary to think about, and makes one feel like the > horrors of the chemo experience might not even be worth it. But for now, its all we got!! > So I guess we just need to hang in there and hope that some real smart researchers and > some profit-loving pharmaceutical companies are on the verge of finding a magic bullet > that will attack our specific tumor cells when/if they form those nasty mets. Best wishes, > Anne V. > > > > > Hmmmmmmm, wonder if this is why adjuvant therapy is supposed to begin > > no later than 3 months post surgery? > > http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1599731 > > Ruth > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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