What is the role of maintenance therapy in cancer care?
Maintenance therapy is used for the following reasons: To prevent or delay the cancer’s return if the cancer is in complete remission after the initial treatment. “Complete... To slow the growth of advanced cancer after the initial treatment. This can help shrink the cancer, which is called a...
What is the most effective treatment for cancer?
Oct 26, 2011 · Immunotherapy drugs approved for maintenance therapy include: Keytruda (pembrolizumab) Tecentriq (atezolizumab) Imfinzi (durvalumab)
How to recover from treatment for cancer?
To help extend the time before cancer returns, another option is maintenance treatment, which is given after a complete or partial response to platinum-based chemotherapy and may offer a chance for more time without cancer recurring. ZEJULA is approved as a maintenance treatment for women with both newly diagnosed and recurrent ovarian cancer who respond completely or …
What are the costs of cancer treatment?
8 rows · Jan 23, 2022 · Maintenance therapy for ovarian cancer. Maintenance therapy may be given to some women after ...
What is maintenance therapy?
Maintenance therapy is ongoing therapy for a disease that is administered after the acute phase of treatment has been completed. In the case of lung cancer, you would undergo first-line chemotherapy for a limited period of time, and then you might receive maintenance therapy to keep the cancer in check. The goal is to improve quality of life ...
What type of medication is used for maintenance therapy?
The combination can include a non-platinum-based chemotherapy drug; an immunotherapy drug that boosts your immune system; and/or a targeted therapy drug.
What are the side effects of Imfinzi?
That said, the most common side effects of the immunotherapy drug Imfinzi, for example, are: 6 1 Cough 2 Fatigue 3 Lung inflammation 4 Upper respiratory infections 5 Shortness of breath 6 Rash
Does immunotherapy help with cancer?
Immunotherapy drugs boost the immune system to help you fight cancer, but once the immune system is revved up , it may also attack healthy tissue. This can affect the pulmonary, intestinal, and renal systems, among others.
What is the treatment for NSCLC?
Standard treatment for NSCLC includes several cycles of chemotherapy that may include platinum drugs, like carboplatin, combined with targeted therapy and/or immunotherapy. 1 Beyond that, most patients would experience unacceptable levels of toxicity and side effects that would severely impact their health.
How long does it take for a rash to appear after EGFR treatment?
The most common is skin rash. Approximately 90% of patients on targeted therapy drugs that act on EGFR mutations develop an acne-like skin rash within two weeks of starting treatment. 5 For the most part, though, the skin rash can be managed with over-the-counter creams or prescription treatments.
Is Avastin a good drug for chemo?
Avastin, like other targeted therapy drugs, offers the chance for good outcomes without the more inconvenient or serious side effects associated with chemotherapy. There are still some drawbacks to these drugs, though. The most common is skin rash.
What is the treatment for a tumor?
As you discuss any future treatment plans with your doctor, it’s important to know the options. Your treatment may include surgery and chemotherapy, and will be individualized based on your specific condition, with the goal of removing or shrinking your tumor.
Can cancer come back after chemotherapy?
Even if treatment with chemotherapy is successful, many women will still see their cancer come back in their lifetime. This is called recurrence, and it can happen even when it seems like you’re in remission.#N#The possibility of recurrence can be scary, but understanding what recurrence means—and learning about your treatment options—is a crucial step in taking a more active role in your care.#N#After your cancer has responded to chemotherapy, one option you have is to watch and wait. This means that your doctor will perform regular tests and exams to look for signs of cancer returning rather than prescribing you medicine.#N#To help extend the time before cancer returns, another option is maintenance treatment, which is given after a complete or partial response to platinum-based chemotherapy and may offer a chance for more time without cancer recurring.
Can you wait to see if ovarian cancer comes back?
But there may be more you can do than just watch and wait to see if the cancer comes back . With maintenance therapy, you can take action after your advanced ovarian cancer has responded to chemotherapy or if you’ve already experienced a recurrence.
What is maintenance therapy for ovarian cancer?
Maintenance therapy may be given to some women after they complete chemotherapy treatment to decrease the chance that the cancer will come back, or to delay the cancer from coming back. Two types of targeted therapies are used for maintenance therapy, Avastin (bevacizumab) and PARP inhibitors.
What is Lynparza used for?
Lynparza, Rubraca and Zejula may be used as maintenance therapy for women with ovarian cancer who have received two or more lines of chemotherapy who had either a complete or partial response to the most recent line of recurrence therapy. These PARP inhibitors may be given to women with or without a BRCA mutation, and regardless of their HRD status.
What is a PARP inhibitor?
PARP inhibitors are a type of targeted therapy that can be used as treatment or as maintenance after treatment. PARP inhibitors are only used for maintenance therapy to treat women who had a complete or partial response to their most recent treatment with chemotherapy. Three PARP inhibitors have received FDA approval for ovarian cancer maintenance ...
Can Lynparza be used with Avastin?
Lynparza may also be used in combination with Avastin (see above) for women whose tumor is HRD-positive. Zejula is approved to be used as maintenance therapy for any woman regardless of her BRCA or HRD status.
Is Avastin a maintenance drug?
Avastin (bevacizumab) may be used as maintenance therapy for women who received Avastin with chemotherapy as part of their initial treatment and had a complete or partial response. There are two ways that Avastin may be used for maintenance therapy:
Why is maintenance therapy important?
For maintenance therapy to be as effective as possible, it is important to maintain the regular treatment schedule, as directed by your healthcare professional, without delays or skipping treatments.
What are the side effects of BCG?
Common side effects caused by BCG immunotherapy include: 1 Bladder irritation 2 Blood in the urine 3 Bladder inflammation and possible infection 4 Fever and general discomfort
Can bladder cancer recur?
Recurrence is not uncommon among patients who have been treated for non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Because treatment tends to be more effective when recurrence is detected early, healthcare providers will monitor patients regularly after treatment to check for signs that the cancer cells have started growing again. Maintenance therapy may also be used to potentially help reduce the risk that the bladder cancer will recur, or start growing again after the initial treatment is finished.
What is maintenance therapy for ovarian cancer?
Two types of maintenance treatments, angiogenesis inhibitors and PARP inhibitors, work in different ways to control ovarian cancer. Doctors recommend maintenance therapy based on which treatments a person has had, how advanced their cancer is , and which gene mutations are present in tumors. People with ovarian cancer are usually treated first ...
What is the treatment for ovarian cancer?
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved two types of ovarian cancer maintenance treatments: angiogenesis inhibitors and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors — usually called PARP inhibitors. Each of these classes of medications work in different ways to slow the growth of tumors.
How long does it take for ovarian cancer to go away?
Unfortunately, around 70 percent of women with advanced ovarian cancer have a relapse within three years.
Who is Howard Goodman?
Howard Goodman, M.D. is certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and specializes in the surgical management of women with gynecologic cancer. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.. Learn more about him here.
How often is Avastin given?
Avastin is administered by an intravenous (IV) infusion every two to three weeks. Some people with ovarian cancer receive Avastin along with their chemotherapy. Avastin may also be used by itself as maintenance therapy after chemo.
Is Zejula a PARP inhibitor?
A few PARP inhibitors have also been studied as possible maintenance therapies. Zejula was studied in people who had already gone through platinum-based chemotherapy with good results. Like many other trials studying maintenance therapies, this trial judged success based on progression-free survival (PFS). This term measures how long it takes for a cancer to get worse or come back. Zejula led to a longer PFS, meaning that cancer took longer to grow back. Zejula worked especially well for people who had a BRCA mutation.
What is the PARP inhibitor for ovarian cancer?
Another trial called ARIEL3 studied the PARP inhibitor Rubraca in people with ovarian, peritoneal, or fallopian tube cancer. People with BRCA mutations had the longest PFS after taking Rubraca, meaning they saw the most benefit from this therapy.
Key Points Regarding Maintenance Therapy for Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
Maintenance therapy is here to stay in the management of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).
References
1. Koopman M, Lieke HJ, Simkens AJ, et al. Maintenance treatment with capecitabine and bevacizumab versus observation after induction treatment with chemotherapy and bevacizumab in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC): the phase III CAIRO3 study of the Dutch Colorectal Cancer Group (DCCG). J Clin Oncol. 2013;31 (suppl):abstr 3502.
Evidence in NSCLC Questioned
- “The argument that patients need a chemotherapy holiday to feel better is not a strong one,” she said. “Patients tend to feel better when they’re on a chemotherapy that’s working.”Offering a counterpoint during the debate at the Lung Cancer Congress was Glenwood Goss, MD, FCPSA, FRCPC, professor of Medicine and director of Clinical and Translational Research at the Ottawa …
Mt Established in Some Breast Cancers
- “I think the reason there’s so much criticism, and that you haven’t seen wholesale adoption of maintenance therapy, is the lack of mandatory crossover of the control arm to the maintenance therapy drug at progression,” which would have protected against inadvertent bias, Langer said. “That was done in the Fidias trial [immediate versus delayed docetaxel],” Langer said, “and if it h…
Mt in Other Cancers
- Alessandra Gennari, of Galliera Hospital in Genoa, Italy, and coauthors provided an overview of the value of maintenance chemotherapy in MBC in 2011.15 In a meta-analysis, Gennari et al evaluated the results of 11 randomized clinical trials that included a total of 2269 patients, with a focus on the duration of first-line chemotherapy regimens and patient outcomes. Some of the regimens i…
Costs Versus Benefits
- “Although MT is being increasingly investigated in the setting of metastatic solid tumors, it is becoming an established concept only in a few,” they wrote. “With agreement in terminology and with trials designed to specifically evaluate the effect of MT, future trials will be able to better address the role of maintenance therapy in metastatic solid tumors.”With MT playing a growing …
References
- American Society of Clinical Oncology. Explaining Maintenance Therapy. Cancer.Net. Updated February 22, 2010. Accessed March 28, 2013.
- Smit M-A, Marshall JL. Maintenance therapy in solid tumors. Community Oncology. 2012;9(8):247-258.
- Paz-Ares LG, DeMarinis F, Dediu M, et al. PARAMOUNT: phase III study of maintenance peme…
- American Society of Clinical Oncology. Explaining Maintenance Therapy. Cancer.Net. Updated February 22, 2010. Accessed March 28, 2013.
- Smit M-A, Marshall JL. Maintenance therapy in solid tumors. Community Oncology. 2012;9(8):247-258.
- Paz-Ares LG, DeMarinis F, Dediu M, et al. PARAMOUNT: phase III study of maintenance pemetrexed (pem) plus best supportive care (BSC) versus placebo plus BSC immediately following induction treatmen...
- Patel J, Socinski MA, Garon EB, et al. A randomized, open- label, phase 3, superiority study of pemetrexed (Pem)+ carboplatin (Cb)+bevacizumab (B) followed by maintenance Pem+B versus paclitaxel (P...
