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Prostate cancer treatment break 'safe'
28 Feb 2008
Men receiving chemotherapy for prostate cancer can safely take a 'holiday' from their treatment to improve their quality of life, research suggests.
A study by the Oregon Health and Science University Cancer Institute found that men in advanced stages of the disease can safely stop chemotherapy treatment for around 18 weeks.
Prior to this research, the effects of pausing chemotherapy on the body's resistance to further treatment were unknown.
The study, published in the journal Cancer, found that more than 45 per cent of the 250 men taking part responded well to treatment even after taking an average break of 18 weeks.
Scientists wanted to see whether time away from chemotherapy could improve the quality of life of prostate cancer patients involved.
"Essentially, what we proved is that in selected subjects, chemotherapy holidays are feasible and provided meaningful breaks from treatment," said lead author Dr Tomasz Beer.
"Because we know holidays are a good thing, we want to find ways to make them even longer," he added.
The team now wants to carry out further research into the addition of immunotherapy during the breaks between chemotherapy sessions.
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