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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Andrew Gregory Health editor in Chicago

Bowel cancer patients could be spared radiotherapy, US study suggests

Bowel cancer screening test
The study was led by oncologists at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Photograph: Kay Roxby/Alamy

Thousands of bowel cancer patients could be spared radiotherapy, a study suggests, after doctors discovered they could rely on chemotherapy and surgery alone to treat their disease.

Radiotherapy has been used to treat bowel cancer patients for decades, but the side-effects can be brutal. It can cause problems that negatively affect quality of life, including infertility, the need for a temporary colostomy, diarrhoea, cramping and bladder problems.

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