Genetics: The Future of Cancer Treatment has Arrived

Genetics: The Future of Cancer Treatment has Arrived

A new and exciting discovery to provide real hope for late stage and complex cancer patients has arrived. For years, patients and doctors have been asking, “Why does chemotherapy only work for some patients?” For example, a patient may try a different chemo regiment over and over or may “respond” to chemotherapy and have a 30% shrinkage of a tumor only to find it returns even more aggressively later. Our new form of treatment aims to eliminate this problem altogether, meaning many patients will become cancer survivors.

Currently, the odds that a patient will respond to any given chemotherapy treatment are generally no better than the odds of flipping a coin. Chemotherapy drugs have historically been tested, dosed, and incorporated into treatment protocols based on trial-and-error approaches, resulting in a single or a range of recommended dosages based on averages from clinical studies in large populations.

The cancer patients who continue to receive chemotherapy drugs that they simply don’t respond to are unknowingly suffering through devastating side effects all while simultaneously wasting valuable time in their fight to survive against cancer.

The good news is that recent advances in pharmacogenetic research may eliminate the randomness in chemotherapy treatment. Through genetic testing, specific gene expression patterns can be identified that can better predict a patient’s drug response. These genetic indicators act to help physicians find the optimal drug or drug combination that will combat the precise tumor in a given individual with the benefit of optimal results along with greatly reduced side effects.

http://www.envita.com/cancer/finally-chemotherapy-game-changer-for-stage-cancer/