Houston-based University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center researchers found 62 percent of women with two types of early-stage breast cancer responded well to chemotherapy and could forgo surgery.
The study, published in Lancet Oncology on Oct. 25, gave 50 women chemotherapy and measured the recurrence rates of their tumors. Thirty-one participants responded well and no longer needed surgery after the treatment.
Participants then went under radiation treatment. After more than two years, these 31 patients were still in remission.
Eliminating surgery for invasive breast cancer is "the ultimate form of breast-conserving therapy," Henry Kuerer, MD, principal investigator told the New York Times.