Don't Kill Cancer, Live with It

Cancer has been crippling us, killing us, causing pain for decades. A new study done on mice suggests that the way forward may be adaptive therapy — a high dose of chemotherapy first, then dialing it back — rather than trying to eradicate every last cancer cell at maximum dose.

Chemotherapy, the most used methodology to kill cancer cells, also completely paralyses the immune system of the patient. Not only does it try to kill cancer cells, it also causes hair loss, nausea and extreme fatigue in patients. A new breakthrough in the field suggests a high dose of chemotherapy in the first round and then decreasing the intensity of the chemotherapy. The idea behind this is to build the body's immune system to fight the cancer cells on its own. In this approach some of the cancer cells are left so that the body can fight them.

The study led by Dr. Robert Gatenby of the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute in Tampa, Florida, used the chemotherapy drug paclitaxel on mice to treat two different kinds of breast cancer.

Writing in the journal Science Translational Medicine, Dr Gatenby said: "Our results suggest that this adaptive therapeutic strategy can be adapted to clinical imaging and can result in prolonged progression-free survival in breast cancer.

"Finally, we note that the evolutionary principles that govern AT may be applicable to a wide range of breast cancer treatments including hormonal manipulation and immunotherapy, although they will need to undergo further testing in those settings."

It is still a long way before these findings could be used to control cancer in patients. But the direction is promising: instead of completely avoiding the allergen, as with food allergies where patients are exposed to modest quantities to build tolerance, adaptive therapy may let the body's immune system fight the remaining cancer cells on its own. This may be a way forward in dealing with cancer too.

General information only, not medical advice. Cancer treatment decisions should always be made with a qualified oncologist.