Chemotherapy for Some Breast Cancer Patients Discouraged - Study Shows

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The University of Hawaii Cancer Center is the leader in a groundbreaking national study that found that early-stage breast cancer patients with the most common form of the disease do not benefit from chemotherapy.

The center helped develop the largest breast cancer study, enrolling 172 Hawaii patients onto the TailorX clinical trial, which found that hormone therapy alone produced results as good as both chemotherapy and hormone treatment for 70 percent of women post-surgery, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported.

"We're able now to spare a large group of women side effects of chemotherapy," said Dr. Randall Holcombe, director of the University of Hawaii Cancer Center. "We now know with this study that women in this intermediate group will have the same chance of a cure by treating with a hormone pill alone. There are some side effects to hormone pills but a lot less than chemotherapy."

It could significantly change the standard of care, he added.

The five-year survival rate was 98 percent for women who received hormone pills alone and 98.1 percent for those who received both therapies. At nine years, the rates were 93.9 percent and 93.8 percent, respectively.

The findings were based on 10,273 women who participated in the study from 2006 to 2010.

ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group based in Philadelphia conducted the clinical trial, supported by the National Cancer Institute, a number of foundations and sales of the breast cancer research postage stamp, which provided more than $5 million.