To what extent do we know how chemotherapy kills cancer cells? Not always that good, our researchers show in their latest work. Taxanes, a commonly used type of chemotherapy, appear to kill cancer cells in a completely different way than previously thought. This surprising discovery will hopefully enable the doctors of tomorrow to use taxanes in a much smarter way: more effectively and with fewer side effects.
Many cancer patients receive taxanes as part of their treatment. But not everyone benefits from adding this type of chemotherapy. For example, for patients with the triple negative form of breast cancer, it only slightly increases the 5-year survival: from 80% to 83%. And that while the side effects, such as hair loss and persistent nerve pain, can be significant.
“I think that 3 percent is very little, we would like to improve that”, says researcher and professor Jacco van Rheenen. “And for that we need to better understand how the drug works.”
2023-06-13 15:25:38
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