Colorectal Cancer Treatments | Medify

Learn About the Treatments for Colorectal Cancer

Patients with colorectal cancer have different treatment options, depending on the stage and aggressiveness of their cancer. The four standard treatments for colorectal cancer are surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy and target therapy, as described below.

Surgery:

• Local excision?removes the cancer and a small amount of surrounding healthy tissue. Surgeons will perform this procedure on patients whose cancer has not spread beyond the inside surface of the?rectum or colon.

• Resection?if the cancer has spread into the wall of the rectum, doctors will remove it, along with a small amount of surrounding healthy tissue (partial colectomy), and then sew the healthy parts of the colon together (anastomosis). As part of this procedure, a doctor will remove?the lymph nodes?near the colon and examine them under a microscope for signs of cancer.

• Cryosurgery?uses a special instrument to freeze and destroy abnormal tissue, such as carcinoma in situ. This treatment is also called?cryotherapy.

Following surgery, some patients may receive chemotherapy or radiation therapy to kill any cancer cells that might remain. This post-surgery treatment, called adjuvant therapy, lowers the risk that the cancer will return.

Chemotherapy:

Several different chemotherapy drugs help treat colorectal cancer. Often, two or more of these drugs are combined to make them more effective. For several decades, doctors have used 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) as a part of most chemotherapy regimens for colorectal cancer patients. Usually, patients receive 5-FU together with leucovorin (or folinic acid).

In general, doctors treat patients with 5-FU every two weeks, over a period of six months to a year. Some standard chemotherapy regimens that include 5-FU are these:

• FOLFOX: 5-FU, leucovorin and oxaliplatin
• FOLFIRI: 5-FU, leucovori and irinotecan
• FOLFOXIRI: leucovorin, 5-FU, oxaliplatin and irinotecan

Radiation Therapy:

Radiation therapy?uses high-energy?x-rays?or other types of?radiation?to kill cancer cells or stop them from growing. Two types of radiation are available; doctors decide which one to use based on the type and stage of a patient?s cancer.

• Eternal radiation?therapy?uses a machine outside the body to send radiation toward the cancer.
• Internal radiation?places a radioactive substance sealed in needles,?seeds, wires or catheters?directly into or near the cancer.

Target Therapy:

Typically reserved for patients with advanced colon cancer, target therapy uses drugs aimed at specific defects that allow cancer cells to proliferate. Examples of target therapy include bevacizumab (Avastin), cetuximab (Erbitux) and panitumumab (Vectibix). Doctors may give targeted drugs alone or with chemotherapy.

Learn More About Colorectal Cancer Treatments

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Source: https://www.medify.com/blog/colorectal-cancer-treatments/

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