A new study suggests that doctors could improve cure rates by changing therapies before a tumor has a chance to recover. Rather than waiting for cancer to return after an initial treatment, the researchers propose switching to another therapy while the tumor is still shrinking.
The strategy is designed to address one of the biggest obstacles in cancer care: drug resistance.
Why Cancer Often Returns
Dr. Robert Noble, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Mathematics, City, St George's, University of London, led the study.
"Although tumors may at first shrink under therapy," he explains, "in many cases they eventually regrow. These relapses stem from a small number of cancer cells that have gained mutations making the cells resistant to the treatment."
