Cancer treatment: A Clinician's View
Several different types of therapy are used to cure cancers or to relieve symptoms (palliation). Still the first line of attack is to remove the tumor cells by surgery if possible. Other treatments done by themselves or in conjunction with other methods such as surgery are very effective. Radiation treatment or chemotherapeutic agents can be used to kill tumor cells. Hormone treatments are effective for some cancers; biologic therapies use substances derived from the body's defense (immune) system. Bone marrow transplantation can be used for leukemias and for cancers where very high doses of chemotherapy are needed. Many of the therapies used have been developed based on empirical observations and testing. New treatments are being developed and tested using our increased understanding of the biology of cancer.How successful are we in curing specific cancers? Some cancers are very curable, while we generally fail to cure others.
