Chemotherapy first approach reduces risk of colon cancer return

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Chemotherapy before surgery reduces the risk of colon cancer returning in two years by 28%, according to a new study.

The FOxTROT trial, led by scientists at the University of Birmingham and the University of Leeds, involved 1,053 colon cancer patients from 85 hospitals in the UK, Denmark and Sweden.

The researchers say their findings, published last night in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, could be easily adopted by health systems across the world and would benefit thousands of patients.

For the Cancer Research UK-funded trial, colon cancer patients were divided into two groups. The first group received six weeks of chemotherapy, followed by surgery, then 18 weeks of chemotherapy. The second group had standard treatment for colon cancer, which was surgery followed by 24 weeks of chemotherapy.

Patients in the first group were significantly less likely to see their cancer return, compared with those in the second group who had standard care.