New research has found a way to save patients from undergoing Chemo.
According to scientists at University College London, some men with advanced prostrate cancer are more likely to be treated with Chemo than other men.
The treatment is usually offered to all men with advanced Prostate Cancer.
Over 47,500 men are diagnosed with the cancer each year.
The new research, presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's Annual Conference in Chicago this month, found some men with advanced stage Prostate Cancer don't benefit from chemotherapy at all.
When a person is diagnosed with a large number of secondary tumours, they are more likely to benefit from Chemo.
38 percent of men who had a large number of metastases who received docetaxel were alive after five years, compared with 26 percent who had hormone therapy alone.
The survival rate for those with larger tumours was 58 per cent compared to 19 per cent on hormone therapy alone.
Men with less metastases that had been diagnosed at an earlier stage did not benefit from the treatment.
Docetaxel was prescribed less frequently in favor of newer hormone therapies due to the potential impact of Chemo on the Immune System during the Pandemic.
Between April and December 2020, there was a 74 per cent reduction in the number of men getting docetaxel.
This research will allow doctors to target the most beneficial patients with Chemo, while others could be offered alternative, life-extending, treatments.
Patients undergoing treatment for cancer experience a number of side effects.
It's extremely rare to find such clear links between the characteristics of the patient and how effective their treatment is. We want to make sure that the evidence is incorporated into clinical practice as soon as possible.
This is exciting because it shows how we can treat smarter, not harder, and get the most from existing treatments.
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