Current Treatments of Cancer

Surgery Chemotherapy Radiation Biological (Immunotherapy) Hormonal

1. Method.

2. Requirement of Knowledge.

3. Effectiveness.

1. Involves the physical removal of a tumor, but only if it can be done without seriously compromising the patients health or appearance.

2. Requires an understanding of the cancer on a cellular level. The surgeon must distinguish between cancerous tissue and healthy tissue.

3. Effective at removing the bulk of the tumor mass, but does not guarantee complete recovery as cells can escape detection by the human eye and continue proliferation.
 

Chemotherapy

1. Application of drugs designed to prevent replication of cancer DNA and the multiplication of cancer cells, or to kill the cancer outright.

2. An understanding of the mechanism by which the drugs would chemically interact with the cells is an fundamental step in implementing and further developing chemotherapy.

3. Most effective when used in combination with other treatments, but carries several severe side effects. e.g.- affecting normal cells, cell resistance.
 

Radiation

1. Involves application of high energy radiation (e.g. x-rays ) to the growth in order to induce apoptosis ( regulated cell death).

2. An understanding of the mechanisms involved in radiation damage and apoptosis may be useful, but are not essential.

3. Can be very effective, especially when used in combination with other treatments, however it too causes many side effects.
 

Biological (Immunotherapy)

1. Uses antibodies to target and kill cancer cells, or vaccines to illicit a natural immune response.

2. Immunotherapy tends to be very trial and error, but a molecular understanding of the processes involved in the immunoresponce system is a vital part in development of this treatment.

3. A relatively new field of study, but it is very promising. The treatment is very specific to cancer cells, and the side effects are relatively mild.
 

Hormonal
 

1. Used only for breast and prostate cancer, it involves inhibition or an increase of the hormones involved in these glands to fight the cancer.

2. To properly implement this treatment, a physiological and biochemical understanding of hormonal mechanisms is a prerequisite.

3. Can be a very effective, specific treatment, with little side effects. However it is limited in that not all the cancer cells are hormone dependent and can be treated as such.
 

Bone marrow transplant

1. Used to fight leukemia and to combat the side effects of chemo and radiation therapies by replacing stem cells which are precursors of blood components.

2. The procedure is a surgical transfer of tissues, but a clear understanding of the bodies immune response to foreign material and tissue is necessary to make decisions about implementing the technique.

3. Bone marrow transplants can be very effective in specific cases, however care must be taken because the potential side effects can be lethal.