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Several new studies have provided hope for cancer patients after they were presented to the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
A raft of studies looked at the latest treatments and methods of improving quality of life for cancer sufferers at the society’s 44th annual meeting.
One found that placing a radioactive source inside a woman’s vagina is as effective as external beam radiation therapy at preventing the recurrence of cancer, and causes fewer side effects.
The chemotherapy drug gemcitabine (Gemzar) was shown in another study to significantly increase survival for patients who have had surgery on early-stage pancreatic cancer.
It is the first time chemotherapy has been shown to benefit patients with this type of resilient cancer.
An experimental therapy for kidney cancer involving everolimus, a drug usually used to prevent organ rejection after a transplant, also gave sufferers hope.
It was shown to improve survival for patients whose advanced kidney cancer has progressed after other treatments, which may mean it is used earlier in the course treatment.
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American Society of Clinical Oncology
