Every year, more than 5 lakh people in the world succumb to the hazardous disease, Cancer. Surveys say that, the disease ranks 2nd in killing people in abundance every day and year. From the year 1990, the disease has gulped a sum of more than 5 million sufferers. Despite of being almost 2 decades old, the disease has not let us won over it. Though there are treatments like chemotherapy and many other medications, still, the survivors call themselves lucky to survive it.
Periodically, doctors and researchers keep on suggesting the improved methods to fight this monster. Like this time, a study have appeared suggesting that if the head and neck cancer patients are provided with radiation therapy treatment as least two times a day, in combination with chemotherapy, it can boost the patient’s health more rapidly, hence saving more lives.
The death percentage can be cut down by 20 percent with this method, which suggests the practice of hyper-fractioned radiotherapy along with the chemotherapy. The research was manifested at the meet of European Cancer Congress 2017 held at Amsterdam.
Dr. Claire Petit conducted this study who is a dweller in resident radiation oncology in Gustave Roussy cancer centre of Paris. The study mainly focused on patients suffering from tumours in their throats, mouths and voice boxes which is spreading rapidly to neighbouring tissues.
Dr. Petit talk on it and says, “There are a number of new treatments that have shown promise in head and neck cancer trials.
This large study has enabled us to compare several of these treatments to see which is best overall in terms of reducing mortality”.
The treatment is likely to benefit the patients better who were detected at very early stage.
Under the research, radiotherapy was conducted dividing every day treatment into two parts because of which patients savoured on a more effective and higher dose. Resultantly, the risks of intensifying the disease reduced by 23%
On this, professor Poortmans of Radbound university medical center in the Netherlands said that, “Before we can apply these very interesting results into daily clinical practice, we need to wait for the outcome of the next stage of this research – namely the evaluation of the short and long-term side effects. This is of utmost importance for the quality of life of the patients and their relatives”.
