Cancer
The Latest Advances in
Diagnosis and Treatment
Cancer is treated by surgery,
chemotherapy, radiation, or a combination of these methods.
Diagnoses and treatment have become increasingly
individualized in recent years. Early detection and the
precise staging of therapies have contributed to higher
success rates in the battle against
cancer.
Many cancers that only recently had poor
prognoses are now considered curable. Potentially curable
cancers now include acute lymphocytic leukemia in children,
Burkitt's lymphoma, Ewing's sarcoma (a form of bone cancer),
Wilm's tumor (a kidney cancer in children), Hodgkin's
disease, rhabdomyosarcoma (a cancer of certain muscle
tissues), testicular cancer, choriocarcinoma (placental
cancer), osteogenic sarcoma, and breast
cancer.
Current developments also show the
promise of improved treatment for many other forms of cancer.
For example, the recently discovered importance of
oncogenes--the genes in a tumor cell that are associated with
the transformation of normal cells into cancerous
ones--promises to help predict which tumors are likely to
return after surgery. This knowledge can also help identify
family members who are at risk.
It has also been found that cancer cells
fused genetically with normal cells produce special
antibodies that seek out cancer cells. These monoclonal
antibodies are being studied for their potential use in
diagnosis and treatment.
There are many other advances,
including:
-
Adjuvant treatment in which drugs
are administered postoperatively in early breast and
colon cancers to eradicate remaining cancer cells and
thus increase cure rates
-
Neoadjuvant chemotherapy in which
drugs are given to shrink the cancer before
surgery
-
Synthetic retinoids (cousins of
vitamin A) to prevent cancer in high-risk groups or the
recurrence of cancer after surgery
-
Removal and replacement of sections
of bone in bone cancer instead of amputation of entire
limbs
-
New high-tech diagnostic imaging
techniques (magnetic resonance imaging [MRI] and
computerized tomography [CT] scans) instead of
exploratory surgery in some cases
-
Immunotherapy to enhance the body's
disease-fighting capabilities (naturally occurring bodily
substances, such as interferon, interleukin-2, and
biologic response modifiers, are all in trials for this
purpose)
-
Bone marrow transplants for the
treatment of leukemia
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