Gastroenterology Cancer

The treatment is usually determined by the stage and extent of tumor. The usual treatment methods include:

• Surgery which involves the surgical removal of tumor along with normal tissue from around the cancer is one of the mainstay of treatment. Liver transplant is an option for a small subset of patients with early-stage liver cancer.

Localized treatments that include the treatment of the cancer cells only sparing the normal cells. These include:

• Heating cancer cells
• Freezing cancer cells
• Injecting alcohol in the tumor
• Injecting chemotherapeutic drugs into the tumor
• Placing beads filled with radiation in the liver

If the tumor cannot be resected, then drugs and radiation can be used. The drug used is levatinib.

The advanced treatments include the use of targeted therapy. Since the genetic alterations of around 25% of patients is different, the researchers can study them by molecular cloning. Targeted therapy attacks only the cancer cells present, while sparing the normal cells.

Alternative treatments may include use of traditional herbs and repurposed uses of the over-the-counter medications. These should be used along with the standard medical treatment and not as single mode of treatment.

The treatment outcome depends on the stage and the extent of the tumor. Significant advances have been made that help to reduce morbidity and mortality from this cancer.

Depending on the stage, different types of strategies are used to treat the cancer. Surgery is the main form of treatment for Stage III cancer. Some may have their symptoms alleviated while some may be cured. Chemotherapy or radiation or both before the surgery might be used to shrink the tumor. This makes surgery easy and better prognosis.

Stage IV cancer is usually not cured and treatment aims at relieving the symptoms to improve the QoL (Quality of Life) of the patient till he/she lives. This might involve surgery along with chemotherapy.

The treatment outcome of any cancer usually depends on the stage at which the cancer has been detected and its extent that is whether it has spread to the neighbouring tissues. In case of esophageal cancer, the prognosis is usually poor and approximately 10% of the diagnosed patients survive for 5 years after the diagnosis. Total surgical resection of the tumor is possible only for around 50% of the patients that too with eventual complications like anastomotic fistulas, subphrenic abscesses and cardiopulmonary complications. When employing chemotherapy, significant reductions in the measurable size of tumors in 15-20% of patients on single agent and around 30-60% of patients given drug combinations where one of the drugs is platinum based (cisplatin, carboplatin, etc.)

The treatment modalities depend on the stage and extent of the tumor. Early stage cancers can be treated by surgical removal of the cancerous tissue where chemotherapy and radiation may or may not be used. Advanced stages however have poor prognosis and treated by chemotherapy and radiation.

Diets high in fat and cholesterol, especially red meats (beef, lamb and pork) have been linked to the development of colon cancer. Processed meats are also shown to cause colon cancer.