Tuesday, 22 January 2013

Cancer Treatments

Source(google.com.pk)
Cancer Treatments Biography
Cancer treatments are very diverse and depend on many factors, such as type, location and extent of the disease, the general condition of the patient. The drugs aimed at the destruction of either / displacement cancer cells, or to deprive the cells of signals of cell division, which eventually leads to death, or to stimulate the body's own defenses.

Drugs can be divided into several groups, based on the goals and methods of their actions. Often use a combination of of various types of drugs. Simultaneously or sequentially. The following paragraph describes some of the most common ways to treat cancer; they are arranged in the order in which they are most often used. The type of treatment and order products choose doctor and patient. Surgery: It is usually the initial step in the treatment of many large tumors. If the cancer is detected at an early stage of development then surgery is sufficient to remove all cancer cells and cure the patient. Benign tumors can be removed surgically.

Surgical procedures are reduced to the removal of the affected tissues within normal tissues (including partial removal of organs with surrounding tissues, such as lymph nodes). The aim of surgery is to remove the source, preventing the spread of metastases, Unlocking and (or) the restoration of the bodies. Unlocking and (or) rehabilitation of the organs, which is blocked, because of tumor. In extensive tumors lesions, the above mentioned goals are unattainable, because large volumes of surgery (removal of organs, parts and tissues) can make the organism viable. In most cases, surgery combined with chemotherapy or radiotherapy, which slowing growth tumor and metastasis.

Radiation therapy: Can be used in conjunction with surgery and / or treatment with drugs. The purpose of radiation is killing cancer cells by damage to their high-energy rays.

Radiation therapy is a local cancer treatment methods, because targets only the tumor cells in the irradiated region. Radiation therapy is usually used in early stages of tumor to cure the patient. In addition, this method can be used before surgery to reduce the size of the tumor or after surgery to prevent recurrence (return) of the disease. Radiation therapy may be used to relieve pain, caused by tumor growth or metastasis, for example in bone. In some cases, radiation therapy can be carried out prophylactically, without obvious signs of tumor growth, but when there is a high probability of the process in the field. An example is cranial radiation in patients with small-cell cancer lung, when the risk of brain damage is high.cancer Ionizing radiation is divided into two main types: 1) photons (X-rays and gamma rays). 2) radiation particles (electrons, protons, neutrons, alpha particles and beta particles). Some types of radiation have more energy than others. The higher the energy of the radiation, the deeper in the tissue penetrating rays. For each patient selected individual method of radiation exposure.

The most common types radiation therapy are as follows:

1. High-energy photons from radioactive sources (cobalt, cesium) or linear accelerator.

2. Electron beams to irradiate superficial tumors.

3. Proton irradiation – efficiently affect for deep tumors, without damaging the tissue through which they pass.

4. Neutron irradiation – is used for the treatment of tumors of the head, neck and prostate.

Chemotherapy: This term is used to refer to a large number of drugs used to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy drugs damage the dividing cancer cells and prevent their further division.



Modern chemotherapy is a very effective method of cancer treatment with drugs. However, chemotherapy drugs are extremely toxic, causing undesirable effects: disruption of the vital organs, hair loss, stomatitis. But the application of this method is justified, because after chemotherapy patients experience a regression of the tumor or a cure for cancer, complete disappearance of the disease. Prescribe a course of chemotherapy should very careful, because the drugs affect not only cancer cells but also healthy, including, causing irreversible changes in the body. Distinguish polychemotherapy monochemotherapy. It is important that cancer chemotherapy can significantly reduce the risk of further tumor development. Chemotherapy is the most affordable and effective method of treatment. In general, the duration of chemotherapy depends on the stage of the disease and complications.

Hormone therapy: These drugs inhibit the growth of cancer cells due to the fact that not allow cells to receive signals necessary for their continued growth and division.

Hormone therapy is used to treat cancer breast and prostate.

Breast cancer: About 70% of breast cancers are more or less hormone-dependent. In other words, the emergence and growth of these tumors a leading role was played by the female sex hormones estrogen and progesterone. Based on this, we can conclude that if we can stop this effect, the tumor growth stopped. How can we know whether this type of tumors dependent on hormones? And, if so, to what extent? The answer to this question have specialist histology. Professionals getting pieces of the tumor, taken by biopsy, paint them with special dyes and under the microscope see on the surface of cells traces of paint. This is not a simple color, this biological product that is able to recognize on the cell surface specific receptors for hormones. Through these receptors and cell receives signals from the hormones. Under normal conditions, these signals lead to a simple cell growth but in the conditions malignant growth – rapid, and most importantly, uncontrolled growth and division of cancer cells. Influencing on hormone or the receptor. Stopping the hormone synthesis or blocking the action of the hormone on the receptor, we can stop the hormonal effect on tumor cell and, thus, to stop their uncontrolled division.

Hormonal drugs used in the treatment of breast cancer can be divided into groups according to the method of their impact on tumor cell. The first group, known in oncology for decades, called conditionally anti-estrogens. These drugs affect not affect hormones, they affect hormone receptors. Drugs attach to receptors block them and do not allow signal from hormone penetrate into cell. Other drugs not only block the receptors, and completely destroy them. Another type of drugs disrupt the synthesis (creation) of hormones. In recent years, hormone therapy has made a very big step forward.

For prostate cancer: The use of hormone therapy In advanced stages of the disease gives good results. The use of hormone therapy in the treatment of early forms of prostate cancer is ineffective, as shown by recent studies. Hormone therapy is widely used in the treatment of advanced prostate cancer, accompanied by the spread of metastases. The purpose of hormone therapy is to block the effects of the male sex hormone (testosterone) in the cells of the prostate. Basic principles of hormone therapy is either to suppress the production of testosterone in the male, or to prevent its effects on prostate tissue.

Specific inhibitors: This class of drugs is relatively new in the treatment of cancer. They act on specific proteins or processes, which are mainly localized in the cancer cells. Inhibition of these processes prevents the growth and division of cancer cells.

- Specific inhibitors of protein kinases – one of the most promising areas of cancer therapy.

- Inhibitors mTor (mammalian target of rapamycin).  mTor is a key signaling protein, who is responsible for the signaling pathways of malignant cells. MTor inhibition of protein reduces tumor growth and to increase the sensitivity of tumors to the damaging effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Using the initial drugs of this class is associated with a number of limitations – toxicity of the drug, a low sensitivity of some types of cancer to this method. But now developed and conducted clinical trials of new drugs in this class that have less toxicity. These anticancer agents have shown high efficiency both as a monotherapy and in combination with chemotherapy; today, these drugs are used to treat cancer of the lung, breast, stomach, kidney, lymphoma (defeat lymphatic tissue) and glioblastoma (an aggressive type of brain tumor).

- Inhibitors tyrosine protein-kinases. Tyrosine kinases act on the cells of the body to react with tyrosine (aromatic amino acid) which participates in neoplastic processes. Inhibition of individual kinases leads to a pronounced positive effect.

Additional methods of cancer treatment

Antibodies: This treatment is based on the use of antibodies to attack cancer cells. While antibodies are naturally occurring proteins in our body, antibodies used to treat cancer, been adapted for use as drugs. Antibodies may work by different mechanisms, or depriving cancer cells required signals or causing cell death. Due to its specificity antibodies can be classified to specific inhibitors.

Biological response modifiers: These products use natural normal proteins to stimulate the body's own defenses in response to the cancer.

Vaccines: The purpose of vaccines is stimulation of the body's defenses. Vaccines typically contain proteins found on cancer cells or produced by them. Acceptance of these proteins is increase the response of the organism to the occurrence of cancer cells.

Antioxidants: It has long been known that oxidative stress is a cause of cancer or a booster. Antioxidants are removed from the body of free radicals (which cause oxidative stress). And improve the patient's condition. There were cases of complete recovery. These mechanisms are not yet fully understood. Many scientists do not accept this cancer treatment (treating it as ineffective). But the possibility of a positive effect of antioxidants on cancer been proved in some studies and reviews of people.
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