Kate Middleton's cancer: what is “preventive chemotherapy”, also called “adjuvant chemotherapy” ?

Kate Middleton a pris la parole sur son état de santé vendredi 22 mars. MAXPPP – Alpha Press

In a video published Friday March 22, the Princess of Wales explains that she has been receiving “preventative chemotherapy” since February, without specifying the nature of her cancer. What does this treatment consist of ? We take stock.

The chilling news fell on Friday March 22 in the early evening: Kate Middleton, 42, has cancer. It was the Princess of Wales herself who spoke on camera to give news of her health, after weeks of speculation. In this video of just over two minutes, Kate Middleton explains that she has been following preventive chemotherapy since February , without specifying the nature of his cancer. What does this treatment consist of ?

This type of chemotherapy, also called adjuvant chemotherapy, is usually given after surgery. According to the University Hospitals of Geneva, treatment begins three to six weeks after surgery and aims to reduce “the risk of developing metastases and increase the chances of recovery”. It can, in certain cases, be associated with immunotherapy, and applies to several types of cancer.

“When a cancer is diagnosed at a localized stage, that is to say when there is no has no metastases elsewhere in the body, surgery is done to remove it. But there are sometimes cells that have gone elsewhere, without us seeing them. The interest of preventive treatments is to destroy these cells”, explains Professor Nicolas Girard, head of the medical oncology department at the Institut Curie, interviewed by Le Parisien.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy

“Preventive chemotherapy regimens tend to last three to six months. And it sometimes takes weeks, even months, to recover from the treatment”, adds 20 Minutes.< /p>

The Geneva university hospitals specify that there is also neo-adjuvant chemotherapy. This treatment is administered before an operation: it “aims to treat the tumor and stop its progression or, sometimes, aims to reduce the size of the tumor in order to allow surgery conservative”.