There are several key differences between cancer that is in remission and cancer that is considered cured. (Image credit: FatCamera via Getty Images)
After completing cancer treatment, a patient may be told that the disease is either in “remission” or that they are “cured.” However, there are differences between these terms.
So what does cancer remission mean, and what does cure mean?
First of all, it is important to understand that there are two types of cancer remission: “complete remission” and “partial remission.” Complete remission means that the patient’s cancer is treatable and there are no signs or symptoms of the disease, and there are no detectable cancer cells left in the body, for example, through a scan or blood test.
Partial remission means that treatment is working, but tests show that some cancer cells are still present in the body. In contrast, if a patient has “stable disease,” it means that their condition is neither improving nor getting worse in response to treatment.
Doctors cannot predict how long remission will last, so there is a chance that the cancer will return. Remission can last from weeks to years.
If a patient maintains complete remission for five years or more, some doctors may declare the patient “cured,” which implies a prolonged absence of symptoms or signs of cancer.
However, even if a patient is considered cured, there may be undetectable cancer cells left in the body that could eventually cause the disease to return. Doctors are more likely to say a patient is “cured” if they have a type of cancer that has a high five-year survival rate when diagnosed early, such as breast cancer or melanoma, a type of skin cancer.
Cancer remission can last from a few weeks to several years, but there is still a chance of relapse.
Epidemiologists may also use a term known as “statistical cure” in this context, which means that the patient has lived long enough for their risk of dying from cancer to return to the mortality rate in the general population, Dr. Vijay Trisal, a surgical oncologist at City of Hope Cancer Research Center in California, told Live Science.
For example, if someone had colon cancer 10 years ago and is now considered cured, then their risk of dying from the disease is effectively the baseline level that would be expected for other people their age, plus
Sourse: www.livescience.com
