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| {{SI}}
| | #REDIRECT [[Adjuvant therapy]] |
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| ==Overview==
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| '''Adjuvant chemotherapy''' is a term used to describe the role of [[chemotherapy]] relative to other cancer treatments.
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| The terms ''adjuvant'' and ''neoadjuvant'' have special meanings in [[oncology]]. Adjuvant therapy refers to additional treatment, usually given after surgery where all detectable disease has been removed, but where there remains a statistical risk of relapse due to occult disease. If known disease is left behind following surgery, then further treatment is not technically "adjuvant".
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| For example, [[radiotherapy]] or [[chemotherapy]] is commonly given as adjuvant treatment after surgery for a breast cancer. Oncologists use statistical evidence to assess the risk of disease relapse before deciding on the specific adjuvant therapy. The aim of adjuvant treatment is to improve disease-specific and overall survival. Because the treatment is essentially for a risk, rather than for provable disease, it is accepted that a proportion of patients who receive adjuvant therapy will already have been cured by their primary surgery.
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| Adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy are often given following surgery for many types of cancer, including [[colon cancer]], [[lung cancer]], [[pancreatic cancer]], [[breast cancer]], [[prostate cancer]], and some gynaecological cancers.
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| [[Neoadjuvant therapy]], in contrast to adjuvant therapy, is given ''before'' the main treatment. For example, chemotherapy that is given before removal of a breast is considered neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
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| Finally, concomitant or concurrent chemotherapy refers to administering medical treatments at the same time as other therapies, such as radiation.
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| ==External links==
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| * {{MeshName|Chemotherapy,+Adjuvant}}
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| [[Category:Oncology]]
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