[cancercured] Australian Oncologists: Chemo at most 2.3% effective against 22 most prevalent cancers ?? (Lengthy)

Australian Oncologists say:

Chemo at most 2.4% effective?

Department of Radiation Oncology, Northern Sydney Cancer Centre,
Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

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; (b) the proportion or subgroup(s) of that
malignancy showing a benefit; and (c) 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]

See:

Entrez PubMed Results

Item 1 of 1

*1: *Clin Oncol (R Coll Radiol). 2004 Dec;16(8):549-60.Cited in PMC
<http://www.pubmedcentral.gov/tocrender.fcgi?action=cited&tool=pubmed&pubmedid=15630849&itool=Email.EmailReport.Pubmed_ReportSelector.Pubmed_HVAbstractPlus&ordinalpos=1>,
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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&TermToSearch=15997929&ordinalpos=1&itool=Email.EmailReport.Pubmed_ReportSelector.Pubmed_HVAbstractPlus>

The contribution of cytotoxic chemotherapy to 5-year survival in
adult malignancies.

*Morgan G*

<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=PubMed&Cmd=Search&Term=%22Morgan%20G%22%5BAuthor%5D&itool=Email.EmailReport.Pubmed_ReportSelector.Pubmed_HVAbstractPlus>,

*Ward R*

<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=PubMed&Cmd=Search&Term=%22Ward%20R%22%5BAuthor%5D&itool=Email.EmailReport.Pubmed_ReportSelector.Pubmed_HVAbstractPlus>,

*Barton M*

<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=PubMed&Cmd=Search&Term=%22Barton%20M%22%5BAuthor%5D&itool=Email.EmailReport.Pubmed_ReportSelector.Pubmed_HVAbstractPlus>.

PMID: 15630849 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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