Is adjuvant therapy effective?

Adjuvant therapy is a type of additional treatment used by medical professionals to help improve the outcomes for people with certain types of cancer. It typically follows surgery, chemotherapy, and/or radiation therapy and its aim is to increase the success rate of treating cancer. The idea behind adjuvant therapy is to identify cells left behind after more traditional treatments that may not have been effectively eliminated or treated (called micrometastases). Adjuvant treatments are delivered to prevent these unrecognized metastases from becoming rapidly growing tumors or causing recurrence or relapse.

Studies show that adjuvant therapies can be highly effective in improving overall survival rates for cancers like breast cancer, melanoma and colon cancer. For example, one meta-analysis found that adding hormonal therapy after initial treatment increased five-year overall survival by 10 percent in people with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. A separate study on adenocarcinoma of the rectum found higher postoperative five year mortality rates without adjuvant therapies compared to patients who received them (46% versus 35%).

Overall, research suggests that adjuvant therapies can significantly reduce the risk of local recurrence as well as distant metastasis for many different types of cancers. However, it’s important to note that every patient’s situation is unique and will require individual consideration about their care plan before determining if an additional treatment – such as an adjuvant therapy - might be beneficial for them specifically.