Re: Chemotherapy in early breast cancer


"J" <philmath@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:429280DC.7E0BBBD7@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Peter Moran wrote:
>
>> I confess to having had the suspicion that adjuvant chemotherapy was
>> being
>> used too readily
>> in early breast cancer in some quarters, especially in the US. I was
>> wrong.
>>
>> A recently published meta-analysis of fifteen year results published in
>> the
>> Lancet
>> shows that -
>>
>> "Allocation to about 6 months of anthracycline-based polychemotherapy
>> (eg,
>> with FAC or FEC) reduces the annual breast cancer death rate by about 38%
>> (SE 5) for women younger than 50 years of age when diagnosed and by about
>> 20% (SE 4) for those of age 50-69 years when diagnosed, largely
>> irrespective
>> of the use of tamoxifen and of oestrogen receptor (ER) status, nodal
>> status,
>> or other tumour characteristics."
>>
>> Effects of chemotherapy and hormonal therapy for early breast cancer on
>> recurrence and 15-year survival: an overview of the randomised trials M
>> Clarke, R Collins, S Darby, C Davies, et al. The Lancet. London: May
>> 14-May
>> 20, 2005.Vol.365, Iss. 9472; pg. 1687
>>
>
> Have they declared any conflicts of interest?
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3513791.stm
> J

No. And a number of different trials from different centres are included
in the meta-analysis.

Peter Moran



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