Cancer treatments

surgery

anatomical removal of part or all of the tumor/lesion/organ/tissue

• typically high success rate

• goal(s): cure, manage illness, paliative care

chemotherapy

kills any rapidly dividing cells

• ‘non-specific’

• targets healthy and unhealthy cells

targeted therapies

drugs targeted to specific proteins that are unregulated in cancer

tamoxifen

• targeted therapy

• estrogen with a receptor → promotes cell growth

• targets estrogen receptor, preventing estrogen from binding…prevents growth of cancer/tumor

radiation

particles or waves of energy targeting tumor cells to promote cancer cell death

• multiple types; tends to be very successful

• goal: target tumor cells to promote cancer cell death

  • external: radiation at appointment

  • internal: implant gives off radiation

• limitations

  • affected organ has to be reachable

  • sometimes tumor radiation → other new tumors

immunotherapies

vaccines used to treat cancer; using one’s immune cells to identify and eliminate cancer, or using antibodies to target certain drugs to an area to promote cancer elimination

Gleevac

targeted therapy

• targets BCRABL protein

• cures 90%+ patients

• inhibits protein from promoting cell division

Sputum Cytology

study of cells from a collected sample

thorascopy

removing a sample of a tumor

wedge resection

surgical removal of a lung tumor and surrounding tissue

cisplatin

binds to DNA, preventing replication

paclitaxol

halts cells in M phase; prevents mitosis

carboplatin

derivative of cisplatin

• “non-cell cycle specific drug”

• damages cells at different stages

Taxol (paclitaxol)

used to treat cancer of ovaries, treat, NSCLC