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What is medical oncology & how does it treat cancer?
Medical oncology is a cancer treatment that involves medicines or procedures used for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of cancer. The treatment is done by a medical oncologist. Medical oncologists are the primary care doctor and are a part of a patient’s entire cancer journey.
Medical oncology is a procedure involving the usage of medicines for the treatment of cancer in the infected region.
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Medical oncology involves the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of cancer. It uses procedures such as chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, immunotherapy (biological therapy), and targeted therapy to treat cancer.
Upon complete diagnosis, a medical oncologist suggests the necessary treatment plan. It may be accompanied by other cancer treatment procedures such as surgical oncology or radiation oncology depending upon the diagnosis.
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Contact UsTypes of medical oncology
Different types of medications used to treat cancer are -
Chemotherapy: A medication under medical oncology, chemotherapy uses powerful drugs to kill cancer cells present in the body. It slows and stops the growth of rapidly growing cells including cancer cells in the body.
There are two categories of Chemotherapy -
Neoadjuvant chemotherapy
Involves the administration of chemotherapy drugs before radiation therapy or surgical oncology to slow down cancer spread and increase the patient’s tolerance. It also helps in reducing recurrence rates and enhances overall survival percentage.
Adjuvant chemotherapy
Involves administration of chemotherapy drugs after radiation therapy or surgical oncology to reduce recurrence and improve survival rate by positively impacting the clinical outcome.
Chemotherapy is also used to stop the cancer infection from affecting healthy body organs (metastasis). Apart from traditional chemotherapy drugs, there are several innovative chemotherapy approaches including metronomic chemotherapy used today.
Hormonal therapy:Hormonal therapy is used to treat cancers that feed on hormones, often referred to as hormone-dependent or hormone-sensitive cancers. During the procedure, the patient is injected with a specific drug responsible for either blocking or reducing the generation of responsible hormones, thus stopping or delaying the growth of cancer. Hormonal therapy is combined with other treatments such as radiation therapy or cancer surgery to enhance the positive outcome of the treatment.
Hormonal therapy is commonly used to treat -
Immunotherapy:Also known as biological therapy, immunotherapy involves using the body’s immune system to combat and destroy cancer cells. This approach uses the body’s defense mechanism aka the immune cells to kill cancer cells. The body’s immune cells or modified immune cells synthesized in a lab are used to enhance the patient’s immune response against cancer.
There are various personalized approaches in immunotherapy such as -
Monoclonal Antibody Therapy
It uses lab-generated antibodies that work by halting cancer cell division or by stimulating the immune system to defend the body against cancer cells.
Dendritic Cell Therapy
It uses the extraction of dendritic cells from the patient’s body and then modified in the lab which is injected back into the patient’s body. The re-programming helps these modified dendritic cells attack cancer cells and kill them.
T-cell Therapy
It uses modified T-cells, a type of immune cell. These cells are extracted, re-programmed, and injected back into the patient’s body. The modified cells target and destroy cancer cells.
Oncolytic Virus Therapy
It uses the addition of a special type of virus in the patient’s body. The virus is injected into the patient’s body where it kills cancer cells without causing any harm to the healthy cells.
Cytokine Therapy or Immune System Modulators
It uses a special group of proteins named cytokines to stimulate the immune system. The stimulation helps in regulating the growth of cancer cells along with destroying them.
Cancer Vaccine
It uses vaccinations for the prevention and treatment of cancer. The process involves injecting dead cancer cells or protein components in the form of a vaccine. These vaccines help in triggering the body’s immune system to produce antibodies against cancer cells.
Targeted therapy:As the name suggests, it is a form of precision cancer treatment. The process involves a complete physical checkup of the patient and a detailed assessment of the tumor. Post assessment, oncologists determine a targeted treatment plan to slow the development and spread of cancer cells.
Targeted therapy uses multiple mechanisms to regulate cancer growth, such as -
- It stops the growth of cancer cells by blocking responsible chemical signals.
- It alters the DNA of cancer cells which leads to their destruction.
- It stops the production of new blood vessels that cancer cells feed upon.
- It stimulates the body’s immune system to fight and destroy cancer cells.
- It delivers toxins responsible for the destruction of cancer cells.
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Contact UsTypes of cancer that can be treated using medical oncology
It is used to treat varied forms of cancer. However, a few common ones are -
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Contact UsSide-effects of medical oncology
Since medical oncology involves different therapies to treat cancer, the side effects may also vary. However, a few common short-term downsides to cancer treatments such as chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, immunotherapy (biological therapy), and targeted therapy involves -
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Contact UsWhat is the cost of medical oncology
Medical oncology is a combination of diagnosis, treatment plus prevention plans against cancer, thus it is not cheap. However, the pricing depends upon several factors such as geographical location, cancer type, tumor size, cancer stage, therapy involved, number of sessions, etc.
It is important to discuss and understand the treatment plus finances involved beforehand.
FAQs
Yes, breast cancer examinations can be done at home. However, one must be aware of the correct technique. Use the flatness of your palm to palpate the breast in a clockwise direction and carefully check all the quadrants of the breast.
However, in doubt, do consult a doctor.
Breast cancer can occur at any age post-puberty in both males and females. However, it is prevalent in the age group of 40-70 years.
A breast lump can be present in the body for several years before it becomes palpable. However, they can be detected early through mammograms. Generally, mammograms are advised annually or once in two years for women above 40 years.
