"Cancer can be treated by surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hormonal therapy, targeted therapy (including immunotherapy such as monoclonal antibody therapy) and synthetic lethality."
This topic covers the different treatment modalities used for cancer, including surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy.
Chemotherapy: The use of drugs to kill cancer cells.
Radiation therapy: The use of high-energy radiation to kill cancer cells.
Surgery: The removal of cancerous tumors or tissue.
Immunotherapy: The use of the body's immune system to fight cancer.
Hormone therapy: The use of medications to block hormones that fuel cancer growth.
Targeted therapy: The use of drugs that target specific molecules or genes linked to cancer growth.
Stem cell transplant: The infusion of healthy stem cells into the body to replace damaged or destroyed ones.
Palliative care: Specialized medical care focused on providing relief from symptoms and stress for patients with serious illnesses.
Supportive care: Care provided to patients to help manage the side effects of cancer treatment, such as pain management or nutrition support.
Integrative therapy: The use of complementary therapies, such as acupuncture or meditation, alongside traditional cancer treatment.
Surgery: This involves removing cancerous tumors or tissue from the body.
Chemotherapy: This uses medication to destroy cancer cells throughout the body.
Radiation therapy: This uses high energy x-rays to destroy cancer cells.
Immunotherapy: This helps the body’s immune system fight cancer cells.
Targeted therapy: This targets specific proteins within cancer cells.
Hormone therapy: This blocks hormones that feed certain types of cancer.
Stem cell transplant: This uses stem cells to replenish bone marrow destroyed by high-dose chemotherapy or radiation therapy.
Palliative care: This focuses on reducing symptoms and improving quality of life for patients living with cancer.
Alternative and complementary therapies: These include acupuncture, yoga, and dietary supplements, and are used alongside traditional treatments to manage symptoms or side effects of cancer treatment.
Integrative oncology: This is an approach that combines complementary therapies with traditional medical treatment.
"The choice of therapy depends upon the location and grade of the tumor and the stage of the disease, as well as the general state of the patient (performance status)."
"Cancer genome sequencing helps in determining which cancer the patient exactly has for determining the best therapy for the cancer."
"Under current estimates, two in five people will have cancer at some point in their lifetime."
"Complete removal of the cancer without damage to the rest of the body (that is, achieving cure with near-zero adverse effects) is the ideal, if rarely achieved, goal of treatment."
"The propensity of cancers to invade adjacent tissue or to spread to distant sites by microscopic metastasis often limits its effectiveness."
"Chemotherapy and radiotherapy can have a negative effect on normal cells."
"Cure with nonnegligible adverse effects may be accepted as a practical goal in some cases."
"(1) Suppressing the cancer to a subclinical state and maintaining that state for years of good quality of life (that is, treating the cancer as a chronic disease), and (2) palliative care without curative intent (for advanced-stage metastatic cancers)."
"Because 'cancer' refers to a class of diseases, it is unlikely that there will ever be a single 'cure for cancer' any more than there will be a single treatment for all infectious diseases."
"Angiogenesis inhibitors were once thought to have potential as a 'silver bullet' treatment applicable to many types of cancer."
"...but this has not been the case in practice."
"...most commonly as a series of separate treatments (e.g. chemotherapy before surgery)."
"The propensity of cancers to invade adjacent tissue or to spread to distant sites by microscopic metastasis often limits its effectiveness."
"Cure with nonnegligible adverse effects may be accepted as a practical goal in some cases."
"...suppressing the cancer to a subclinical state and maintaining that state for years of good quality of life (that is, treating the cancer as a chronic disease)."
"Palliative care without curative intent (for advanced-stage metastatic cancers)."
"The choice of therapy depends upon the location and grade of the tumor."
"Chemotherapy and radiotherapy can have a negative effect on normal cells."
"...suppressing the cancer to a subclinical state and maintaining that state for years of good quality of life."