Re: Cure Rates /Re: gerson; Australian study: 22 Major cancers, Chemo 2.3% effective

[Guest guest]

Thank you, Dave!

Thank you so much for this source. I can't wait

to show it to my onc and hear her response to it.

Angel

From: " Dave "

Angel, it's more like 2.3% or less

Report comes from a group of oncologists in Australia who studied the

matter for several years, and came to the conclusion that chemo itself

is at most 2.3 % (etc) effective.

It's available in the medical archives in the US, but you didn't read it in any

US newspapers.

Here is the summary..

This message contains search results from the National Center for

Biotechnology Information (NCBI <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov>) at the

U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM <http://www.nlm.nih.gov>). Do not reply

directly to this message

Department of Radiation Oncology, Northern Sydney Cancer Centre,

Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

gmorgan1@...

AIMS: The debate on the funding and availability of cytotoxic drugs raises

questions about the contribution of curative or adjuvant

cytotoxic chemotherapy to survival in adult cancer patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We undertook a literature search for

randomised clinical trials reporting a 5-year survival benefit

attributable solely to cytotoxic chemotherapy in adult malignancies.

The total number of newly diagnosed cancer patients for 22 major

adult malignancies was determined from cancer registry data in

Australia and from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results

data in the USA for 1998. For each malignancy,

the absolute number to benefit was the product of (a) the total

number of persons with that malignancy; ( the proportion or

subgroup(s) of that malignancy showing a benefit; and © the

percentage increase in 5-year survival due solely to cytotoxic

chemotherapy. The overall contribution was the sum total of the absolute numbers

showing a 5-year survival benefit expressed as a

percentage of the total number for the 22 malignancies. RESULTS: The

overall contribution of curative and adjuvant cytotoxic chemotherapy

to 5-year survival in adults was estimated to be 2.3% in Australia

and 2.1% in the USA.

CONCLUSION: As the 5-year relative survival rate for cancer in

Australia is now over 60%, it is clear that cytotoxic chemotherapy

only makes a minor contribution to cancer survival. To justify the

continued funding and availability of drugs used in cytotoxic

chemotherapy, a rigorous evaluation of the cost-effectiveness and

impact on quality of life is urgently required.

PMID: 15630849 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Entrez PubMed Results

Item 1 of 1

*1: *Clin Oncol (R Coll Radiol). 2004

Dec;16(8):549-60.Cited in PMC

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Comment in:

Clin Oncol (R Coll Radiol). 2005

Jun;17(4):294.

<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=PubMed & Cmd=ShowDetailView & TermToSea\

rch=15997929 & ordinalpos=1 & itool=Email.EmailReport.Pubmed_ReportSelector.Pubmed_H\

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The contribution of cytotoxic chemotherapy

to 5-year survival in adult malignancies.

* G*

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Plus>,

*Ward R*

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us>,

*Barton M*

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