Cancer Research UK: Patients should be reassured
Tuesday, 22 Apr 2008 12:00
Cancer patients should be reassured that a new study linking a commonly-used chemotherapy drug to long-term brain damage was carried out in mice, Cancer Research UK has said.
The charity emphasised that the link was not made in studies using humans and advised that the benefits of the drug in question - 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) - far outweigh the side effects.
The research was carried out by scientists at the University of Rochester and Harvard Medical School and is published in the Journal of Biology.
It claims 5-FU caused healthy brain cells to die off long after treatment ended.
Martin Ledwick, Cancer Research UK's lead cancer information nurse, commented: "We must note that this research has taken place on mice and stem cells so it does not necessarily equate to real people's experiences of treatment.
"These studies look at the science behind the observed side effects of chemotherapy treatments which will help doctors continue to improve treatments for the future.
"But it must be remembered that this drug (5-fluorouracil) can offer significant benefits for people who need it which far outweigh the changes which some patients report."