Colorectal Cancer Treatment: Chemotherapy Resistance Testing

Chemotherapy Resistance Testing for Colorectal Cancer

Chemotherapy resistance testing can be an important part of creating the most appropriate chemotherapy plan for your colorectal cancer treatment. Through a sophisticated laboratory test, cancer doctors at Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) can best determine ideal combinations of chemotherapy drugs to use for your particular type of colon or rectal cancer. This test also helps determine the probability of a colorectal cancer tumor’s resistance to specific chemotherapeutic drugs.

In the chemotherapy resistance test, a sample of the tumor is tested against a panel of anti-cancer drugs. If tumor cells grow in the presence of extreme exposure to a particular chemotherapy drug, this indicates the presence of significant drug resistance. By understanding which drugs may or may not be effective in treating a tumor, your CTCA physicians can avoid unnecessary toxicity to you. This test also enables your cancer doctors to select the most appropriate chemotherapy drugs to use for your colorectal cancer treatment.

Chemotherapy resistance testing is generally used in patients who have previously undergone standard chemotherapy during their colorectal cancer treatment, and who are looking for alternative treatment options.

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