It is no secret that great strides continue to be made in cancer treatment, but probably the most notable publicized development of 2023 thus far has been evolution of the treatment mind-set that, at least for some cancers, “aggressive” might not necessarily be better.

For many cancer patients, that might have been welcome news when that information was first delivered, although some patients might have preferred to remain skeptical regarding such a course of care.

Nevertheless, consider:

¯ Study findings published on March 11 in the New England Journal of Medicine suggested that many prostate-cancer patients with low-grade – and some with moderate-grade – localized cancer could choose surveillance over radical treatments such as surgery or radiation without compromising quality of life or longevity.

The study, which followed about 1,600 men in the United Kingdom diagnosed with localized prostate cancer for a median of 15 years, found that mortality was low whether patients received radiotherapy, a prostatectomy or active monitoring. Only 3% of patients in the study died from prostate cancer.

Matthew Smith, director of the Genitourinary Malignancies Program at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center in Boston, responded to the study result by saying in the Wall Street Journal that the length and breadth of the study confirms that surveillance is sufficient to manage early-stage prostate cancer for many patients.

¯ Research presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology conference in Chicago earlier this month revealed that some patients with cervical and pancreatic cancer can do as well with less invasive surgery. According to a report in the June 6 Wall Street Journal, the findings expand a body of evidence doctors are using to develop treatment plans aimed at reducing side effects and costs.

Doctors call the strategy de-escalation, which involves cutting back on some therapies to improve a patient’s quality of life without hurting the person’s odds of survival.

Meanwhile, other studies presented at the Chicago meeting revealed that some patients with rectal cancer or Hodgkin lymphoma can safely get less radiation.

A patient and his or her physician are the ones to ascertain qualification and preference regarding a more relaxed treatment regimen. However, as the Journal pointed out in its report, newer treatments and tests are moving cancer care away from a blunt, one-size-fits-all approach, while extending patients’ lives.

There also is optimistic news regarding treatment of people with what has been described as “a pernicious type of brain tumor.”

A study published June 4 in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that patients with low-grade gliomas who took the drug vorasidenib after surgery staved off cancer growth for more than twice as long as patients who did not take the drug.

“The median time without spread for patients on the drug stretched beyond two years, and the drug reduced the risk of cancer progression or death by 61 percent in the 331-person study,” said the drug’s manufacturer, Servier Pharmaceuticals.

“This is going to be a practice-changing study,” said Dr. Eric Winer, director of the Yale Cancer Center and president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Not many years ago, a cancer diagnosis was almost universally regarded as a death sentence; not so anymore.

Early detection still provides the best odds for survival, but even if a malignancy is diagnosed somewhat later, more ways to battle it exist now than ever before — and some of them less aggressive but just as effective.