Surgical Oncology
Surgical Oncology is a discipline of medicine for treating cancer tumours through the means of surgery. Cancer treatment methods include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgery, hormone therapy, bone marrow transplant, immunotherapy, targeted drug therapy and more.
Traditionally, surgery has been the first line of treatment for cancer. It’s only in the last century that other treatment avenues like chemotherapy and radiotherapy came into being. Surgical oncology deals with the use of surgical techniques to treat all forms of cancers.
Cancer surgery may not be the only treatment available for cancer but is generally considered for most forms of cancers. An oncologist would have to consider surgery along with other treatments like chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
Surgical oncology involves the following functions:
- Diagnosis of cancer and determining its stage by taking a biopsy or other methods.
- Surgically removing the tumor or a part of it.
- Surgically remove the tumor along with other affected body parts.
- Reconstruct parts that are affected due to the surgical treatment.
- Debulking Surgery: This surgery is performed before radiation therapy or chemotherapy. The surgery involves the removal of the cancer cells as much as possible.
- Palliative Surgery: This surgery is performed in patients with advanced cancer. The surgery helps relieve the symptoms caused by obstruction or compression by the growing tumor.
- Preventive Surgery: Some patients are at increased risk of developing certain types of cancer. For instance, patients with an increased risk of breast cancer may remove one or both breasts before developing cancer.
Cancers that are commonly treated by Surgical Oncologist are:
- Bone cancer
- Brain cancer
- Breast cancer
- Colorectal cancer
- Neuroendocrine cancer
- Gallbladder cancer
- Gastric cancer (stomach cancer)
- Gynecologic cancers
- Head and neck cancers
- Kidney cancer
- Liver cancer
- Lung cancer
- Melanomas and skin cancer
- Pancreatic cancer
- Prostate cancer
- Sarcomas
- Spinal cancer
- Thyroid cancer
