Cancer treatment includes some of the following:
- Surgery
- Chemotherapy
- Radiotherapy
- Iodotherapy
- Endocrine therapy or hormone therapy
- Immunotherapy and vaccines
- Therapy with radiopharmaceuticals
- Therapy with molecular targeted drugs
Surgery
Surgical treatment in general is very important in cancer treatment, as it is responsible for tumor removal.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is a drug treatment that works on malignant cells.
There are many chemotherapy drugs and each one has characteristic action that
characteristic that damages a certain cellular mechanism - in general, damage that
involves the DNA and causes the death of the malignant cell.
Some chemotherapy drugs, however, cause side effects, since they also acts on cells that are not cancerous. This somewhat explains hair loss, mouth sores (mucositis), diarrhea, a transient decrease in the amount of white blood cells, anemia, nausea, vomiting, and other effects.
Among chemotherapy methods used are:
- Neoadjuvant chemotherapy - performed before surgery in order to reduce the size of the tumor, providing a greater chance of completely removing the tumor.
- Adjuvant chemotherapy - performed after surgery to tackle cells that could have entered the bloodstream or lymphatic system while the tumor was present.
- Palliative chemotherapy - used in the treatment of cancers which are in very advanced stages, when a cure is not possible. Such treatment is designed improve the patient's quality of life and increase survival time.
Sometimes, however, some drugs become ineffective in certain tumors as they develop resistance to intracellular mechanisms. That is, the tumor responds to treatment initially, but over time progresses again.
Hence, the medical oncologist, who in general advises on chemotherapy, suggests a change in the chemotherapy drug for the tumor to be attacked again.
Chemotherapy also can be performed in combination with other treatments, such as molecular targeted drugs. Some types of cancer today are tackled with the combination described above. Among them are certain types of breast, lung, intestinal, pancreatic and stomach cancer.
Some scientific research, which has studied the association between chemotherapy and molecular targeted drugs, has shown encouraging results, providing greater efficiency in the combination of treatments without a loss in quality of life and no major side effects.
Radiotherapy
Radiotherapy consists of directing energy through a device to a particular region or organ of the body.
This energy comes from a radioactive source (stored and distributed through a radiotherapy apparatus) and its dose and fractionation (the number of treatment sessions) are designed and supervised by a medical specialist in radiation therapy.
Radiation therapy has applications in many types of tumors, including cancers the breast, prostate, rectum, stomach, pancreas, bladder, lung, head and neck, central nervous system (brain, cerebellum and spinal cord) and sarcomas, among others.
Some metastases (malignant cell implants in tissues or organs far from the site where the tumor began) can also be treated with radiotherapy. These are the cases of bone metastasis (to control pain using the process), metastatic lymph nodes or metastasis in the central nervous system.
Iodotherapy
Iodotherapy is a treatment that uses radioactive iodine I-131.It is used in certain types of thyroid gland tumors, as cells in this gland use iodine in their metabolism.
Endocrine Therapy
Approximately 70% of patients diagnosed with cancer can be treated at some point with endocrine therapy (popularly known as hormone therapy).For this, the tumor must have estrogen or progesterone receptors. These receptors are investigated by immunohistochemical examination.
This type of treatment, in general, has increased efficiency and leads to fewer side effects, and can be performed following initial treatment or for patients who present localized disease in other organs and tissues far from the breast (metastases).
In addition, hormone therapy is still a reasonable option for preoperative treatment in patients of a very advanced age.
The most widely used endocrine therapy in breast cancer is Tamoxiphen. Although uncommon, some side effects may arise. Flushing or hot flashes, vaginal discharge, decreased libido (sexual desire), decreased intimate lubrication and dry skin are among them.
There are other medications that can be prescribed, such as aromatase inhibitors, for example Letrozole, Anastrozole and Exemestane.These medications, however, can only be used by patients who are in menopause. They can, infrequently, cause side effects such as hot flashes or increased body temperature heat, decreased libido and joint pain.
Endocrine therapy can also be used in men diagnosed with prostate cancer, but other medications are used, usually Goserelin, Leuprolide Acetate, Bicalutamide, Flutamide, Cyproterone Acetate, and Diethylstilbestrol, among others.
These drugs are involved in the metabolism of the hormone testosterone. This hormone performs its normal functions, but paradoxically stimulates the proliferation of malignant cells involved in prostate cancer.
With a decrease in the interaction between testosterone and the malignant cells the proliferation of the tumor is inhibited.
