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April 3rd, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda TUESDAY, April 3 (HealthDay News) — Adding the drug cetuximab
(brand name Erbitux) to standard chemotherapy after surgery for stage 3
colon cancer did not improve disease-free survival in patients, a new
study concludes.
Patients with stage 3 colon cancer who undergo surgery have a 50
percent chance of cure, and clinical trials have found that chemotherapy
with the drugs leucovorin, fluorouracil and oxaliplatin (a regimen known
as FOLFOX) after surgery can cut the odds for colon cancer’s return.
Staging refers to the severity of cancer. A stage 3 cancer has spread
nearby, while a stage 4 cancer has spread to another organ.
This study of almost 2,700 patients investigated the addition of
cetuximab to the FOLFOX regimen and found that it provided no extra
benefit.
Three-year disease-free survival for patients who received the FOLFOX
regimen alone ranged from 67 percent to 75 percent, compared with 65
percent to 72 percent for those who also received cetuximab, the study
found.
The study appears in the April 4 issue of the Journal of the
American Medical Association.
The time to cancer recurrence and overall survival was similar in both
groups, said Dr. Steven Alberts, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.,
and colleagues in a journal news release.
It’s not clear why the addition of cetuximab to the FOLFOX regimen did
not benefit patients, the researchers noted.
Dr. Richard Whelan, chief of colorectal surgery at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt
Hospital in New York City, explained that the drug had shown promise with
other patients.
“Cetuximab was added to the FOLFOX regimen based on promising results
noted when this agent was given to stage 4 colon cancer patients either
alone or with other chemotherapy agents,” said Whelan, who was not
involved in the new study. “Unfortunately, what works in one setting may
not prove equally effective in a different population of patients.
Researchers will continue to search for new drug combinations that are
more effective than the present regimens.”
Cetuximab still has a role in the treatment of certain patients with
stage 4 cancer, Whelan said.
And another expert said that, even though the drug failed to help these
patients, important lessons have still been learned.
“Although this is a negative study, there is a benefit to patient
care,” said Dr. David Bernstein, chief, division of gastroenterology at
North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, N.Y. “The increased
toxicity [side effects] seen with the addition of cetuximab did not
translate into increased survival, and therefore this drug can be removed
from the treatment cocktail without sacrificing outcome, and by its
removal, lessen patient adverse events on therapy.”
More information
The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more about colon cancer treatment.
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