starting chemo after excisional biopsy

Re: starting chemo after excisional biopsy

Virginia Campbell — Tue, 21 Oct 2014 12:51:47 GMT

Thanks Martin and Gerry. Will let O know.

Re: starting chemo after excisional biopsy

Gerry Polton — Tue, 21 Oct 2014 12:30:51 GMT

Hi Virginia

I echo Martin's comment. There is no reason to delay treatment. Some high grade cutaneous lymphomas will not respond to conventional COP or CHOP chemotherapy. But, in my opinion, they would remain your best options if you were planning to manage this one yourself. Alternative protocols do exist but the balance between risk and benefit of choosing one of these as though at random is unlikely to work in your favour. There needs to be more of an investigative process to determine what would be the best choice if we are going to choose from one of the alternatives. My answer to the pred question is to revert back to the dose that your chosen chemo protocol dictates. That may or may not be the 40mg/sqm dose suggested above.

Yours

Gerry

Re: starting chemo after excisional biopsy

Martin Atkinson — Tue, 21 Oct 2014 11:12:18 GMT

I was always told that if you give corticosteroids first it reduces the subsequent response to chemotherapy presumably because you'd reduced the mitotic division rate of the tumour cells. However that notwithstanding I don't wait for 100% healing of surgical wounds. I'd just crack on with whatever protocol you've chosen and put the preds back up to initial chemotherapeutic levels i.e.40mg/msq daily, the side effects are the least of its worries to start with.