What Are The Most Common Cancer Treatments?

What are the most common cancer treatments?

Cancer Treatments

The three most common cancer treatments are chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery (NHS 2008). The type of treatment given is dependant on the type of tumour, size, anatomical location and the staging of the disease.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is treatment with anti-cancer drugs, given to destroy or control cancer cells (NHS 2008). This form of treatment may be used with a single drug/medication or multiple, in which case the treatment is called combination chemotherapy.

In contrast to radiotherapy and surgery, chemotherapy reaches all parts of the patient’s body. This means that this form of treatment can kill cancer cells which have metastasized or spread to different parts of the body away from the primary tumour by travelling in the bloodstream (American Cancer Society 2008). Although chemotherapy is given to kill cancer cells, it may also damage normal cells. The cells which are most commonly affected are the ones which divide rapidly. Patients are likely to experience side effects with this treatment; however the experience varies with the given treatment and the individual patient (American Cancer Society 2008). Some of the most common side effects include neutropenia, fatigue, vomiting, nausea, hair loss and blood disorders (American Society of Clinical Oncology 2006).

In a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine (2005), Winton et al showed that chemotherapy after surgery improves the five-year survival rate by 15% for lung cancer patients compared with surgical excision alone. This was considered to be one of the world’s most important breakthroughs in cancer research in 2005. (Canadian Cancer Society)

Radiotherapy

Radiotherapy is the use of ionizing radiation to kill cancer cells and reduce tumour size (National Cancer Institute 2004). About half of all the treatments applied to cancer patients are radiation therapy. High-energy radiation is applied specifically to the cancerous area, thus limiting the effects on healthy cells (Journal of the American Medical Association). The high-energy beam which is applied works by breaking up the genetic material inside cancerous cells, consequently killing them and stopping eventual metastasis. Radiation is applied in one of two ways, either with an external beam or internal. (National Cancer Institute 2004)

External beam treatment is applied with the use of a machine which aims radiation specifically at the areas of cancerous involvement. (National Cancer Institute) In internal radiation treatment a radiation source is sealed in a small holder, known as an implant. This is then placed at the site of the tumour, either very close by or in the tumour itself. (American Cancer Society 2009) One of the advantages compared to external treatment is that it allows for a high dosage of radiation to be applied to a very specific area. The implant may be left in the cancerous area for a short time only or on a permanent basis.

In terms of radiotherapeutic side effects, the severity is dependant on patient dosage, application and patient tolerance. One of the most common side effects is a sunburn-type reaction to the skin, where the radiation beam passes through. (American Society of Clinical Oncology 2009) Other common side effects are fatigue and loss of appetite. Less commonly, more severe side effects occur. These include infections, impotence, infertility and secondary cancers.

In a clinical trial by Bezjak et al (2002) it was concluded that that five days of lower radiation compared with one day of high dosage radiation gave the patients a higher incidence of symptom relief in relation to lung cancer and a decrease in side effects. The patients treated with five treatments contra one also showed an increase in ability to perform normal activities, better global quality of life and an average increase of two months in patient life span.

Surgery

Surgery, also known as cancer excision treatment, is the most common form of cancer treatment. (Mayo Clinic 2009) It may be used in a number of different ways, both as a diagnostic tool and as a curative measure. Please see the attached list of the most common types of surgeries performed.

Preventive Surgery

Preventive surgery is performed to remove tissue which has a high risk of becoming malignant, even though there might be no signs of cancer at the time of the procedure (American Cancer Society 2009). One of the most common types of preventive surgery is prophylactic mastectomy. This is an option for women who have recurrent breast cancer in their family history, which has been found to be heavily linked with a mutation in the breast cancer gene BRCA1 or BRCA2 (Yang & Lippman, 1999).

Diagnostic Surgery

In diagnostic surgery a part or in some cases the whole tumour is removed to allow for microscopic analysis studies (Mayo Clinic 2009).

Curative / Primary Surgery

Curative, also known as primary surgery is in many cases the main treatment for cancer (American Cancer Society 2009). It is performed when the tumour is localised to only one area, and therefore is likely that the whole tumour can be removed. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy may be used in addition to the surgical procedure.

Debulking Surgery

Debulking surgery is performed when the tumour is dangerously close to organs or vital tissue. Some parts of the tumour are removed, but not the parts which are too close to surgically remove without risking the patient’s life. (American Cancer Society 2009) The remaining cancer cells are then in most cases treated with radiation therapy or/and chemotherapy.

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These are the three most common cancer treatments per se (2010), research has indicated that there might be other non-traditional treatments which might be beneficial for people affected by cancer, these include amongst others antioxidant supplementation.