A study released by Northwestern Medicine has reported fewer side effects from a new type of chemotherapy used to treat cancer.
Northwestern Medicine is a non-profit healthcare system affiliated with the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, in Chicago, Illinois.
The research showed that a new combination immune therapy treatment extends cancer patients' lives better than other methods and that it is less toxic to their overall health than other drugs.
According to the study, all this contributes significantly to the so-called "added quality-of-life benefit" to those suffering from cancer.
Lead author David Cella, chair of the Department of Medical Social Sciences at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, told the news website Eurekalert.org that "historically in cancer, most new treatments that extend survival come at a cost".
"In this study, we found it's actually easier on patients, so it has the double benefit", he said, referring to the new chemotherapy.
Northwestern Medicine's research comes after the publication of a study in The New England Journal of Medicine, which focused on tackling kidney-related oncology.
The study found that a combination chemotherapy treatment of nivolumab plus cabozantinib doubled the survival rate in patients with previously untreated advanced renal-cell carcinoma, as compared to the current standard first-line treatment with sunitinib.
Touching upon the issue, Cella underscored that "iImmune therapy is revolutionising the treatment of advanced kidney cancer".
"For the first time in decades, we are seeing benefits to both survival and quality of life with these new treatments. People with kidney cancer have more effective treatment options than ever before. Not only are they living longer, they are living better", the researcher pointed out.
Grappling with the side effects of chemotherapy, such as nausea, anemia, hair loss, as well as fertility and kidney problems, remains part and parcel of scientists' efforts from all around the world to prevail over cancer.