Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter


4

New Cancer Strategy: Don't Cure It, Manage It

Radiologist takes 'if you can't beat them, join them' approach

Share

(Newser) – The standard care for cancer patients is to kill tumors by blasting them with chemotherapy. Radiologist Roger Gatenby proposes a different approach in Nature: Forget about curing cancer and eliminating the tumors. Just keep them at a manageable size through drugs instead of chemo. "It just makes common sense," he tells Scientific American.

Think about cancer not as an infection in a body but as an "invasive species." Ecologists have learned it's impossible to destroy all the pests, but they can keep them to a "tolerable level," says Gatenby. Aggressive chemo, on the other hand, kills only the weakest cells, leaving the stronger cells with the room and resources to multiply faster.

Some tumor cells almost always survive chemotherapy, and grow into stronger, more resistant strains.
Some tumor cells almost always survive chemotherapy, and grow into stronger, more resistant strains.   (©euthman)
Olga Barrantes, who had a mastectomy to remove breast cancer, receives radiation treatment for skin cancer at a clinic in San Jose, Tuesday, May 26, 2009.
Olga Barrantes, who had a mastectomy to remove breast cancer, receives radiation treatment for skin cancer at a clinic in San Jose, Tuesday, May 26, 2009.   (AP Photo/Kent Gilbert)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

The psychology will inevitably be a significant problem for the acceptance of a therapy that explicitly does not aim for a cure. - Robert Gatenby, who believes that treatment should simply aim to manage the size of tumors

We fixed the tumor size and give only enough drug to keep the tumor stable. With progressively smaller doses of therapy, we were able to keep the animal alive indefinitely without symptoms. - Robert Gatenby, on animal trials of his new cancer-fighting approach

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
OFF THE GRID
11.6.09
Galleon Scandal: Shocked, Shocked by Insider Trading
11.5.09
Rupert Murdoch Is Mad but Cute
4 comments
VIEWING:
 
PaleRider
May 29, 09 11:50 AM CDT
Because "Managing" the tumor will enable the pharmaceutical companies to make drastically more money than curing the condition. Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
+4
IN RESPONSE:
Fondue
May 29, 09 12:08 PM CDT
Agreed. Can we revoke Gatenby's license now?
Vote up! Vote down!
+2
IN RESPONSE:
RobN
May 29, 09 12:41 PM CDT
I don't think most people care how much money the pharm companies make if their loved ones live longer and with a better quality of life. If the therapy works better, it should be fully tested and used. Curing the condition is always going to be the first option; but there are a lot of cases where that isn't going to happen. This may help an awful lot of people if it works.
Vote up! Vote down!
+6
kokuaguy
May 30, 09 2:17 AM CDT
When an elderly person in a care facility is diagnosed with cancer the management strategy may make far more sense than radical surgery followed by extensive chemo, radiation, etc. Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
0
LEAVE A
COMMENT Comment Policy
Facebook ConnectPost this comment to Facebook?

After connecting you will have the option to post your comment on your Facebook profile.

 

Related Newser Stories

80 Stories

 'Nanobees' Sting Cancer Cells 

Scientists abuzz over treatment using bee venom and nanoparticles

Sep 29, 09 4:58 AM CDT
(Newser) - Scientists working to harness the power of bee venom in the fight against cancer have created "nanobees" that can actually sting a tumor to death. Melittin, an ingredient in bee venom with anti-tumor properties, was attached to tiny spheres that sought out and attacked cancerous cells in mice. Previous... More »

MORE ABOUT:
cancer • bees • cancer research • tumor • nanotechnology • red blood cells

 Chemo Killed Swayze: Somers 

Cancer survivor Suzanne Somers believes 'poison,' 'toxins' killed Patrick Swayze

Sep 18, 09 7:28 AM CDT
(Newser) - Suzanne Somers thinks she knows what killed Patrick Swayze, and it wasn’t cancer—it was chemotherapy, she tells the National Post. “They took this beautiful man,” says Somers, a cancer survivor who has a book about the disease coming out next month, “and they basically... More »

MORE ABOUT:
cancer • entertainment • chemotherapy • celebrity • Patrick Swayze • Suzanne Somers • celebrity death

 Report Revives Fears
of Cell Phone-Tumor Link

Industry is downplaying cancer risks, charges group

Sep 10, 09 4:17 AM CDT
(Newser) - A new report charges that health organizations and the cell phone industry are downplaying clear links between cell phone use and brain cancer, reports the Los Angeles Times.  The latest research shows that cell phone use significantly increases the risk of some kind of tumors, and that young people... More »

MORE ABOUT:
cancer • cell phones • tumor • carcinogens • radiation • cell phone industry • brain cancer • brain tumor

(Newser) - A breakthrough with cancer stem cells may lead to more potent drugs—ones that pair with chemotherapy in the sort of drug cocktail used against AIDS, reports the New York Times. If borne out, the development—in which researchers figured out how to screen for chemicals that attack only cancerous... More »

MORE ABOUT:
cancer • stem cells • chemotherapy • cancer treatment

 Child Cancer  
 Survivors Risk
 Heart Trouble
 Years Later 

Weakening starts to show in young adults

Jul 28, 09 8:10 AM CDT
(Newser) - Kids who’ve conquered cancer can end up battling the effects of treatment years later as young adults, the Wall Street Journal reports. Some 10% of kids treated with drugs called anthracyclines, powerful against leukemia and other cancers, later suffer from progressive  weakening of the heart that can lead to... More »

MORE ABOUT:
cancer • chemotherapy • heart • cancer treatment • heart health • cardiomyopathy • childhood cancer

80 Stories


The scientific paper
Nature

Make peace with cancer, and live longer?
Wired

A collection of quotes from Gatenby
Discover

Minnesota boy begins chemo treatment
Minneapolis Star Tribune


Science & Health 
TwitterFollow @NewserScience on Twitter

 
cancer • health • chemotherapy • tumor • radiology

from our news partners