A woman who took part in a study which found some people with breast cancer can safely avoid chemotherapy said receiving the news she did not need the treatment felt \u201clike Christmas\u201d.<\/p>\n
Mother-of-two Karen Bonham, from Cardiff, took part in an international clinical trial led by University College London (UCL), designed to identify patients who could be spared the \u201cphysical and emotional burden of chemotherapy<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n The study followed more than 4,400 patients aged 40 and over across the UK, Norway, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand and Thailand.<\/p>\n It used a gene test called Prosigna to measure the activity of genes involved in breast cancer growth.<\/p>\n Results suggest those aged 40 and over whose tumours had a low Prosigna test score \u2013 more than two-thirds of those who took part in the study \u2013 can be safely treated with hormone therapy alone.<\/p>\n The trial was designed to find out whether this method would lead to a \u201cmeaningful increase\u201d in the number of patients whose cancer<\/a> returned or died within five years.<\/p>\n It found chemotherapy had \u201clittle or no additional benefit\u201d, as outcomes were similar regardless of whether the treatment was used.<\/p>\n Regularly offered to people with early-stage breast cancer that has spread to the nearby lymph nodes, chemotherapy lowers the risk of it returning.<\/p>\n But it comes with significant side effects and clinicians are concerned it offers little benefit to those with the most common, hormone-sensitive type of breast cancer, UCL said.<\/p>\n The university said researchers estimate more than 5,000 NHS patients a year could avoid chemotherapy thanks to the trial.<\/p>\n Kylie Minogue says second cancer diagnosis left her a ‘shell of a person’<\/a><\/p>\n Nurse helps to shape future breast cancer care for other patients<\/a><\/p>\n After being diagnosed with breast cancer following a routine screening in June 2017, Ms Bonham was \u201cdreading\u201d the prospect of chemotherapy.<\/p>\n Ms Bonham, who worked as a speech and language therapist for four decades, agreed to take part in the trial in the hope that she could avoid chemotherapy.The 64-year-old had already cut her hair short when she got the news she would not require the treatment, while walking on a beach.Ms Bonham said: \u201cHow to describe the initial feeling? Immense relief? Like Christmas? Certainly a mixture of the two.\u201d<\/p>\n