Stable disease falls in the spectrum of treatment responses.
While stable disease can have significant meaning, there are some limitations when it comes to defining it.
Newer treatments (such astargeted therapiesandimmunotherapy) are also altering the ways doctors consider the idea of stable disease.
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Stable disease does not necessarily mean that the tumor is unchanged.
The reason for this is that the tools used to measure the size of a tumor do so indirectly.
The tumor may also be imaged from slightly different angles between scans, altering the perception of size.
Measuring the Response
Stable disease doesn’t necessarily mean that a treatment isn’t working.
This has changed, however, with the introduction of newer targeted therapies.
They do not, however, usually “cure” cancer.
Immunotherapy drugs work in a different way.
They “take the brakes off” theimmune systemso that your own immune cells can fight cancer.
During this time, the cancer may appear to worsen even if the condition is stable.
Even if your cancer is advanced, being told that you have stable disease should be reassuring.
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