why with all the donations and invetment in cancer fighting treatments are we still using such ineffective ways at fighting cancers. 5FU is a chemotherapy agent still being used and has a success rate of just 2% yes 2% and success is defined as survival of 5 years or more!!
why such abismal improvement?
2007-09-16 11:06:32 · 7 answers · asked by benji 3 in Health ➔ Diseases & Conditions ➔ Cancer
Not sure what you mean. There are many, many new drugs and the old ones have been improved. As far as success rate, you do know that chemotherapy is used in combination with surgery and radiation for treatment. Chemo serves its purpose which is to act as a systemic treatment to destroy microscopic disease and shrink large tumors so that they are more managable for surgery.
Please check out the newer drugs for diseases such as GIST or CML . . Imatinib and Sunitinib and their success rates.
While you are at it check out topoisomerase inhibitors, monoclonal antibodies, vinca alkaloids, taxanes, immunotherapy and homonal therapy, nanoparticles, and tyrosine kinase inhibitors.
Incidentally, my son had significant response from chemotherapy with 75 percent shrinkage with necrosis of multiple tumors in the abdomen, chest wall, liver, spleen, lungs, and diaphragm.
You can check out research and shared information about new cancer treatment from the recent ASCO meeting:
http://www.asco.org/portal/site/ASCO/menuitem.34d60f5624ba07fd506fe310ee37a01d/?vgnextoid=76f8201eb61a7010VgnVCM100000ed730ad1RCRD&vmview=abst_meeting_categories_view&confID=47
2007-09-16 12:53:51 · answer #1 · answered by Panda 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Excuse me?
Abysmal improvement in the treatment of cancer?
Donations and investment into cancer fighting treatments?
Ineffective ways of treating cancers?
40 year old drugs?
If you had a choice of a 2% chance of living, or a definite chance of death do you know which path you would take?
Even if you figures are correct for this type of drug, what are the figures if the drug is given in a combination? Would the other drugs have such a good rate without this one?
Cancer is so varied, and is so many diseases, that your statement and the questions that surround it need adjusting.
You need to look at:
Which cancer?
Combination treatments using this agent .
The success rates if used in combinations.
I would imagine that penicillin could take the same slating now. But you wouldn't be without your anti-biotics and combinations of those.
2007-09-20 03:12:08 · answer #2 · answered by bluebadger 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You have not provided any information that supports your contention that cancer treated with 5FU only produces a 2% cure rate.
Since cancer is about two hundred different diseases then you need to include what cancer you are talking about and what stage disease you are referring to. If a person has an incurable cancer to begin with and 5FU provides a 2% cure rate then I'd call this a small miracle rather than a failure.
Cancer in general is an abysmal disease and sometimes it is not curable. No cancer treatment is without risks but I will tell you that laetrile, coffee enemas or weird diets provide a cure rate of zero compared to the sometimes toxic drugs that have known and scientifically verifiable success rates that are used to treat cancer.
Sometimes with chemo you are just buying time and Drs do not hide that fact from you. I will also say that cancer is always easy to treat and cure if you are only dealing with it in a philosophical rant but not in real life with real tumors.
2007-09-16 12:57:23 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
It depends in which context you are using it, as your question is more than a little vague. 5FU is often used as adjuvant therapy for people with either proven mets, or nodes at resection increasing the chance of developing them. In many bowel cancers, Dukes C1 and C2, the use of 5Fu, often with another chemotherapeutic agent, has prevented many mets, and thus improved survival. Most chemotherapy is used to prolong life, and is not curative, with the exception of some for testes, lymphoma etc....so, in this context, it is unlikely to have much success. Given that, 2% in terminal cancer for a 5 year survival using 5Fu is pretty excellent.
2007-09-16 22:05:27 · answer #4 · answered by grizzler69 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Maybe they're waiting for you to come up with a new type of therapy, with a better success rate.
2007-09-16 11:37:39 · answer #5 · answered by micksmixxx 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I disagree. There are many new treatments available. If you have any evidence to prove your statement please share it? P.s. I bet more than 2% of people survive cancer.I feel sorry for you putting out a question like this......
2007-09-18 07:17:27 · answer #6 · answered by dod377 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it's a crap shoot -what works for one person doesn't work for another. there are too many variables.
2007-09-16 11:34:10 · answer #7 · answered by KitKat 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋