A tumor is a neoplasm of body resulting from abnormal proliferation and differentiation of cells in local tissues due to loss of normal regulation of their growth at gene level under influence of various oncogenic factors. Once formed, a new organism does not stop growing due to elimination of cause of disease, its growth is not regulated by normal physiology of organism, but destroys normal tissues and organs. In medicine, cancer refers to malignant tumors originating from epithelial tissue, and is most common type of malignant tumors.
I don't know when it started, tumor/cancer has become a word that people "usually talk about" and even "talk about cancerous discoloration". Tumor/cancer treatment is actually very painful, be it surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy or other treatments.
Many people know methods of treating tumors / cancer, which are usually surgical resection + radiation therapy / chemotherapy. So, do you know these treatments? Are there other ways?1. Open surgery
Surgery is best for treating cancer if you have a solid tumor in one area. It usually does not treat cancer that has spread or is in blood, such as leukemia. The surgeon makes an incision in skin with a scalpel or other sharp instrument to remove as much of tumor as possible. They may also remove lymph nodes and other tissues for testing. This is called open surgery.
2. Minimally invasive surgery
The purpose of this operation is same as open operation: to remove tumor and, if necessary, tissues and lymph nodes. Instead of one large wound, surgeon makes several small incisions. They insert a tube with a small camera into wound and insert instrument into your body. This is called laparoscopic surgery. Compared to open surgery, the advantages of minimally invasive surgery are a smaller incision, less trauma, and a shorter recovery period.
3. Other Operations
Cryosurgery. Very cold nitrogen or argon is used to freeze abnormal tissue. It can treat some early-stage skin cancers, retinoblastoma, and "precancerous spots" on skin or cervix.
Photodynamic therapy. Laparoscopic surgery places drugs next to tumor. The light activates drug, killing cancer cells.
Laser Surgery: cuts skin with intense light. Good for very small areas. Lasers can also sometimes shrink tumors.
4. Chemotherapy
This powerful drug can stop spread of cancer, slow it down, and even kill cancer cells. It can have side effects because it kills fast-growing cells in body, including those in blood, mouth, digestive system, and hair follicles. There are over 100 chemotherapy drugs. Your doctor will choose type of cancer that is best for you. You can take it as a tablet or capsule, apply it to your skin as a cream, or give it as an injection or intravenous injection at home or in a hospital.
5. Radiation therapy (external exposure)
This treatment method attacks cancer cells with high-energy particles (proton or particle therapy) or waves (X-rays). It kills or destroys cells in a specific area rather than entire body. The most common type comes from a machine outside body. This is called external beam radiation.
Radiation therapy (internal radiation)
You may hear doctors call this brachytherapy. They will place a radioactive implant size of a grain of rice inside body where tumor is located. Radiation kills cancer cells. This treatment makes you radioactive for a while, so you may need to avoid "staying away" from other people until it's over.
6. Stem cell transplant
These cells have not yet matured into their final form in blood and bone marrow. Doctors use them to replace cells in your bone marrow that are being killed by other treatments. This means that you may receive higher doses of these drugs. Sometimes stem cells can find and kill cancer cells. You can do a stem cell transplant through a catheter, just like a blood transfusion.
7. Precision Medicine
This new field, also known as personalized medicine, uses your genetic make-up and other factors to find best way to treat cancer. In a one-size-fits-all model, doctors choose option that works best for most cancers. Precision medicine can help take guesswork out of selection process. It is not widely used for all forms of disease. Many of people who receive it are in clinical trials.
8. Targeted Therapy
They are often combined with other treatments. It's a powerful drug, like chemotherapy, but instead of killing all fast-growing cells, they target part of cancer cells that makes them different from other cells. Targeted drugs can stop growth of blood vessels around cancer cells or turn off the signals that make cancer cells grow. They can also tell your immune system to destroy them or change their proteins, causing them to die.
9. Hormone therapy
Also known as endocrine therapy, it targets growth of cancer with help of hormones. There are two types of this therapy: one that stops production of hormone and another that prevents hormone from working way it should. You can take them as tablets or by injection. Sometimes surgery may be needed to remove hormone-producing organs, such as ovaries or testicles. Before surgery or treatment, doctors use hormone therapy and other methods to shrink tumors or kill cancer cells that have spread to other parts of body. It also reduces chance of cancer coming back.
10. Gene therapy
This treatment uses a special vector, usually a virus, to introduce RNA or DNA into your living cells. The doctor will remove some of your cells and place genetic material in a laboratory or give you a carrier directly. The altered cells either kill cancer cells and slow their growth, or help healthy cells fight cancer better. Doctors don't use it widely yet, but there are several gene therapies that can treat some diseases.
11. Immunotherapy
This type of biological therapy or biologic therapy uses your immune system to fight cancer. It either boosts your immune system or tags cancer cells so your immune system can more easily find and destroy them. You can take medicines by mouth, intravenously, etc.
Types of immunotherapy
Immune checkpoint inhibitors are drugs that help immune system find and attack cancer cells.
Cancer Vaccines. Initiate an immune response against cancer cells so your body can better attack them. They also protect against certain types of cancer.
Monoclonal antibodies. Drugs made in a laboratory that act like natural antibodies. They mark cancer cells as cells for your immune system to attack. They can also help chemotherapy and radiation get directly to cancer cells.
To summarize:In fact, there are many treatments for cancer/tumor. In addition to surgery (open surgery and minimally invasive surgery), radiation therapy (external and internal radiation), chemotherapy, cryotherapy, laser therapy, stem cell transplantation, immunotherapy, gene therapy, targeted therapy, hormone therapy and much more. You understand?
Science-based cancer/tumor treatment! Besides surgery + radiotherapy and chemotherapy, is there any other way out?
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