The women, he discovered, did just as well when they had conventional chemotherapy.

But the women who had conventional chemotherapy in the South African study did far worse.

It is done when conventional chemotherapy would be ineffectual.

It enrolled 330 colorectal cancer patients whose disease was becoming worse despite conventional chemotherapy.

So far, patients have experienced none of the devastation associated with conventional chemotherapy, because the process takes place outside of the body.

This should result in fewer side effects than the toxic drugs of conventional chemotherapy produce.

Such so-called targeted drugs tend to have fewer side effects than conventional chemotherapy.

Before a transplant is considered, a woman is given a course of conventional chemotherapy.

And in some cases, the targeted therapy works best when used with conventional chemotherapy.

Marrow transplants cost from $60,000 to $200,000, while conventional chemotherapy runs about $5,000 to $25,000.