Scientists say that one dose of a new drug is more effective at treating testicular cancer than 2-3 weeks of radiation therapy. The new medication is called carboplatin and researchers believe it will soon be the preferred method of treatment for certain kinds of testicular cancer.
The results of the study were published in the most recent edition of the British medical research journal 'The Lancet.'
The study examined 1,500 men treated with either radiotherapy or carboplatin.
Two years after treatment 97.7 percent of the carboplatin group were free of cancer, compared to 96.7 percent of the radiotherapy group. In addition, those patients treated with carboplatin missed less time from work within three months of treatment and had more energy and vitality than those who were treated with radiotherapy.
The subjects treated with the medication were also much less likely to develop cancer in the other testicle. Only 1 patient in 200 treated with carboplatin developed cancer in the other testicle while 1 in 50 who had radiation treatments did.
Professor Tim Oliver, the leader of the study, indicated that 'This large trial establishes, after 20 years of research and uncertainty, that one dose of carboplatin in the short term is as safe as radiation and it's less toxic.'
'It might also open the way to enabling lumpectomy surgery for stage I seminoma and using chemotherapy for testis conservation.'
Additional studies are being conducted to chart the long term progress of patients treated with the new drug. At this point, however, it appears that carboplatin offers new hope to testicular cancer sufferers.
