SCOT- Short Course Oncology Therapy - A study of Adjuvant Chemotherapy in colorectal ca by the CACTUS & QUASAR 3 Groups.

肠癌是一种常见病。大多数患者将接受手术切除癌症。不幸的是，癌症会在1/2的患者中复发。有证据表明，6个月的化疗可以通过杀死手术后可能留下的癌细胞来减少癌症复发的机会。在过去，患者接受了6个月的化疗治疗。化疗有副作用，随着治疗的进行，许多副作用会变得更糟。有证据表明，3个月的治疗提供了与6个月相同的益处，但从未直接比较过。这项研究的目的是找出3个月的化疗是否与6个月一样有效，副作用更少。这项研究将招募来自英国各地的9000多名患者。一半的患者将接受6个月的化疗，另一半将接受3个月的化疗。我们将密切跟踪这些患者多年，看看这两种治疗方法的效果是否相同。我们还将研究治疗的副作用，以及这如何影响生活质量，以及治疗费用是否受到影响。如果这项研究确实表明3个月的治疗与6个月的治疗一样有效，这将导致未来肠癌患者治疗方式的重大变化。治疗时间更短，副作用更少，成本效益更高。这对患者个人、医疗保健提供者和整个社会都有巨大的好处。

Bowel cancer is a common disease. Most patients will have an operation to remove the cancer. Unfortunately the cancer will come back in 1 out of 2 patients. There is evidence to suggest that a 6-month course of chemotherapy can reduce the chance of the cancer coming back by killing the cancer cells that may have been left behind after surgery. In the past, patients have received 6 months of chemotherapy treatment. Chemotherapy has side effects and many of these side effects get worse as the treatment goes on. There is some evidence that 3 months treatment provides the same benefit as 6 months, but this has never been directly compared. The aim of this study is to find out if 3 months of chemotherapy is just as effective as 6 months, with fewer side effects. This study will enrol over 9000 patients from all over the UK. Half of the patients will receive chemotherapy for 6 months and half will receive chemotherapy for 3 months. We will be following these patients closely for many years to see if the effect of the two treatments is the same. We will also be looking at the side effects of the treatment and how this affects quality of life, and whether the cost of treatment is affected. If this study does show that 3 months of treatment is as effective as 6 months it will lead to a major change in the way bowel cancer patients are treated in future. Treatment will be shorter with fewer side effects and will be more cost effective. This will be of enormous benefit to the individual patient, healthcare providers and society at large.