Prof Lawrence Young, Professor of Molecular Oncology, University of Warwick, said:

“Preventative chemotherapy (also called adjuvant therapy) is often used after primary therapy, such as surgery, to reduce the chance of cancer coming back and spreading. Even after successful removal of all visible cancer by surgery, microscopic cancer cells can remain lurking in the body and can’t be detected by current tests. The sort of chemotherapy and the time length of treatment depends on the type and stage of cancer as confirmed by examining the cancer removed at surgery. The side effects of chemotherapy also depend on the type of drugs used but commonly include tiredness, nausea, increased risk of getting an infection and loss of appetite. Cancer survival is generally higher in younger people e.g. those diagnosed under 40 years of age. A combination of early diagnosis and better treatments (including different drug combinations and novel targeted therapies) is resulting in improved outcomes with survival rates doubling in the last 50 years. An incidental finding of cancer during surgery for other conditions is often associated with the tumour being detected at an early stage when subsequent chemotherapy is much more effective.”