Is tumor treatment easy?
Jan 12, 2022
Source: Cainiu Health
Dr. Liu Dahai
Introduction
1. Surgical treatment is most effective for early-stage tumors that have not metastasized and are not severely adherent to vital organs or major blood vessels.
2. Radiotherapy is ineffective once the tumor has disseminated or extensively infiltrated the local area.
3. Chemotherapy is primarily indicated for tumors sensitive to anticancer drugs and for patients in good general health.
Tumors are a relatively common disease among older adults, and they are difficult to treat—primarily due to current medical limitations and the inherent severity of cancer. Tumors are broadly categorized into benign and malignant types. Benign tumors can typically be removed surgically; following complete excision, recurrence is rare, and the cure rate is high. In contrast, malignant tumors possess invasive and metastatic potential, necessitating treatment modalities such as radiotherapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, or interventional procedures. So, are tumors curable? The following section addresses this question.
Are tumors curable?
1. Surgical Treatment
Surgical resection is a primary and effective treatment modality for tumors, particularly in early-stage cases without metastasis and where the tumor is not extensively adherent to vital organs or major blood vessels. However, its efficacy diminishes significantly in intermediate- to advanced-stage disease.
2. Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy employs ionizing radiation generated either by radioactive isotopes or linear accelerators to treat malignant tumors. It is most effective for localized, non-metastatic tumors that are radiosensitive—for example, esophageal cancer, colorectal cancer, lung cancer, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, laryngeal cancer, maxillary sinus cancer, breast cancer, brain tumors, and skin cancer. Once the tumor has disseminated systemically or exhibits widespread local infiltration, radiation therapy becomes less effective. Moreover, it may cause both acute and long-term adverse effects.
3. Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy utilizes cytotoxic anticancer drugs as a principal treatment for malignant tumors. It is best suited for patients with drug-sensitive tumors and good overall physical condition. However, chemotherapeutic agents commonly induce significant toxicities, including nausea, vomiting, alopecia, and leukopenia.
4. Interventional Therapy
Interventional therapy involves image-guided (e.g., fluoroscopy/C-arm, CT, or ultrasound) percutaneous needle or catheter placement into the tumor lesion or its feeding vasculature, followed by direct intratumoral or intra-arterial injection of chemotherapeutic agents. While effective, this approach may produce systemic side effects similar to those observed with conventional chemotherapy.
5. Other Therapies
Biological therapy, gene therapy, and traditional Chinese medicine are currently employed mainly as adjunctive treatments or remain under development; in clinical practice, they are frequently combined with chemotherapy. Additional modalities—including multi-probe radiofrequency ablation, whole-body or regional hyperthermia, laser therapy, and cryoablation—have accumulated some clinical experience in tumor management, though their applications remain relatively limited in scope.
