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What Is The Difference Between Standard Chemotherapy And Chemotherapy With Bevacizumab?
Dear Sirs,
My mom (57 years, 80kg.) had a gynecological surgery and it was radical: ovaries, uterus, fallopian tubes, and omentum, was removed. She had an abdominal dropsy as well. Her diagnosis is ovarian cancer IV stage. Now she goes through a chemotherapy (paclitaxel and carboplatin every 3 weeks for 6 cycles). Liver analysis data are within the norm range. I read about bevacizumab and while combining this drug with chemotherapy it increases chances to survive. My concern is that our physician did not even mention this option of treatment. We live in Ukraine and I worry about lack of medical trials results (or maybe even absence of such results), lack of information and I doubt in the level of medicine in our Country especially when talking on such serious disease. Please be so kind to give me your professional support while discovering the efficiency of “standard chemotherapy” and “chemotherapy+bevacizumab” treatment. Thank you in advance!
My mom (57 years, 80kg.) had a gynecological surgery and it was radical: ovaries, uterus, fallopian tubes, and omentum, was removed. She had an abdominal dropsy as well. Her diagnosis is ovarian cancer IV stage. Now she goes through a chemotherapy (paclitaxel and carboplatin every 3 weeks for 6 cycles). Liver analysis data are within the norm range. I read about bevacizumab and while combining this drug with chemotherapy it increases chances to survive. My concern is that our physician did not even mention this option of treatment. We live in Ukraine and I worry about lack of medical trials results (or maybe even absence of such results), lack of information and I doubt in the level of medicine in our Country especially when talking on such serious disease. Please be so kind to give me your professional support while discovering the efficiency of “standard chemotherapy” and “chemotherapy+bevacizumab” treatment. Thank you in advance!
posted on
Fri, 14 Mar 2014
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Fri, 24 Jul 2015
Answered on
Fri, 24 Jul 2015
Last reviewed on
Hi,
Thanks for writing in.
Cancer as we all know is the uncontrolled proliferation of abnormal cells in any organ or system of the body. The same happens in cancer of breast. Surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy are given to treat cancer as per the disease stage and response to treatment.
Chemotherapy is treatment with medicines that destroy the cancer cells. When bevacizumab is combined with chemotherapy then along with destruction of cancer cells, there will be inhibition of neoangiogenesis in the cancer area. Cancer spreads by formation of new blood vessels in the disease area and this is called neoangiogenesis. Therefore bevacizumab prevents neoangiogenesis and chemotherapy destroys the cancer cells and the treatment response is better. Please do not worry.
Thanks for writing in.
Cancer as we all know is the uncontrolled proliferation of abnormal cells in any organ or system of the body. The same happens in cancer of breast. Surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy are given to treat cancer as per the disease stage and response to treatment.
Chemotherapy is treatment with medicines that destroy the cancer cells. When bevacizumab is combined with chemotherapy then along with destruction of cancer cells, there will be inhibition of neoangiogenesis in the cancer area. Cancer spreads by formation of new blood vessels in the disease area and this is called neoangiogenesis. Therefore bevacizumab prevents neoangiogenesis and chemotherapy destroys the cancer cells and the treatment response is better. Please do not worry.
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