Conventional Cancer Treatments
By Jeannine Walston
What are the most common types of conventional cancer treatments?
- Surgery
- Radiation
- Chemotherapy
- Immunotherapy
- Targeted therapy
- Tumor Markers
Cancer patients may receive combinations of conventional cancer treatments to target as many cancer cells as possible both visible through diagnostic testing and those not detectable. The goal is to receive cancer treatments supporting the highest level of potential efficacy with the lowest level of potential harm. Cancer side effects associated with each cancer treatment must be very carefully considered.
Decisions about conventional cancer treatments depend on many factors, including the type, stage, location(s), size, the overall health of the person with cancer, age, previous cancer treatments, available scientific evidence, clinician’s experience and preferences, as well as the patient’s values and expectations.
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Brief information about this topics provide minor basics. I provide some resources to further explore in your knowledge and research.
Surgery
Surgery, when used to treat cancer, is a procedure in which a surgeon removes cancer from your body. Surgeons are medical doctors with special training in surgery. Surgeons often use small, thin knives, called scalpels, and other sharp tools to cut your body during surgery. Surgery often requires cuts through skin, muscles, and sometimes bone. After surgery, these cuts can be painful and take some time to heal. There are other ways of performing surgery that do not involve cuts with scalpels, such as cryosurgery, lasers, hyperthermia, and photodynamic therapy.
Radiation
Radiation therapy (also called radiotherapy) is a cancer treatment that uses high doses of radiation to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. At low doses, radiation is used in x-rays to see inside your body, as with x-rays of your teeth or broken bones.
At high doses, radiation therapy kills cancer cells or slows their growth by damaging their DNA. Cancer cells whose DNA is damaged beyond repair stop dividing or die. When the damaged cells die, they are broken down and removed by the body.
Radiation therapy does not kill cancer cells right away. It takes days or weeks of treatment before DNA is damaged enough for cancer cells to die. Then, cancer cells keep dying for weeks or months after radiation therapy ends.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy (also called chemo) is a type of cancer treatment that uses drugs to kill cancer cells.
Chemotherapy works by killing or stopping the growth of cancer and other fast-growing cells. Chemotherapy is used for two reasons:
- Treat cancer: Chemotherapy can be used to cure cancer, lessen the chance it will return, or stop or slow its growth.
- Ease cancer symptoms: Chemotherapy can be used to shrink tumors that are causing pain and other problems.
Chemotherapy is used to treat many types of cancer. For some people, chemotherapy may be the only treatment you receive. But most often, you will have chemotherapy with other cancer treatments. The types of treatment that you need depend on the type of cancer you have, if it has spread and where, and if you have other health problems.
When used with other treatments, chemotherapy can:
- make a tumor smaller before surgery or radiation therapy (called neoadjuvant chemotherapy)
- destroy cancer cells that may remain after surgery or radiation therapy (called adjuvant chemotherapy)
- help other treatments work better
- kill cancer cells that have returned or spread to other parts of your body
Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy is a cancer treatment that utilizes your body’s own immune system to identify, target, and destroy cancer cells. It is distinct from chemotherapy, which directly targets cells, and is used to cure, control, or ease symptoms. Immunotherapy has transformed the way many cancers are treated, offering new options for patients at different stages of their disease. These treatments work by helping the immune system better recognize cancer cells, strengthening immune responses, or removing the “brakes” that stop immune cells from acting. More than 40 immunotherapy drugs have been approved to treat over 30 cancer types. Find resources at Cancer Research Institute and the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy.
Targeted Therapy
Targeted therapy is a type of cancer treatment that targets proteins that control how cancer cells grow, divide, and spread. It is the foundation of precision medicine. As researchers learn more about the DNA changes and proteins that drive cancer, they are better able to design treatments that target these proteins.
Tumor Markers
A tumor marker is anything present in or produced by cancer cells or other cells of the body in response to cancer or certain benign (noncancerous) conditions that provides information about a cancer, such as how aggressive it is, what kind of treatment it may respond to, or whether it is responding to treatment.
Tumor markers have traditionally been proteins or other substances that are made at higher amounts by cancer cells than normal cells. These can be found in the blood, urine, stool, tumors, or other tissues or bodily fluids of some patients with cancer.
Resources
NIH National Cancer Institute Types of Cancer Treatments with information from the U.S. government.
National Comprehensive Cancer Network is an alliance of leading cancer centers devoted to patient care, research, and education.
Cancer & Integrative Support Center to help provide extensive cancer information for the cancer journey.