Changing concepts of cancer surgery: surgery as immunotherapy
Abstract:
Historically, the effectiveness of surgical therapy for cancer was thought to depend upon the successful removal of every last tumor cell from the patient's body. However, this view is not consistent with modern concepts of surgical oncology which suggest that successful cancer surgery depends upon how favorably it influences the patient's defenses against the cancer. Recent evidence suggests that the growing neoplasm is capable of evading immune attack by producing specific and nonspecific immunosuppression of the host's defenses to enhance tumor growth. The extent of the immunosuppression correlates with the tumor burden; immunosuppression is reversed by removing the neoplasm. Therefore, cancer surgery acts as immunotherapy because it removes the cancer cells that produce the immunodepression and allows the patient's immune response to recover.
Related Concept Videos
Cancer Therapies
However, cancer treatments can pose several challenges, as therapies used to kill cancer cells are generally also toxic to normal cells. Moreover, cancer cells mutate rapidly and can develop resistance to chemical agents or radiation therapy. Besides, all types of cancer cells may not respond to the same therapy. Some cancer cells respond to one...
Targeted Cancer Therapies
There are several types of targeted therapies against specific...
Combination Therapies and Personalized Medicine
The combination of the drug acetazolamide and sulforaphane is a good example of combination therapy to treat cancer. The cells in the interior of a large tumor often die due to the hypoxic and...
Cancer Therapies
However, cancer treatments can pose several challenges, as therapies used to kill cancer cells are generally also toxic to normal cells. Moreover, cancer cells mutate rapidly and can develop resistance to chemical agents or radiation therapy. Besides, all types of cancer cells may not respond to the same therapy. Some cancer cells respond to one...
Tumor Immunotherapy
Cancer Vaccines
Cancer vaccines come in two categories: preventive (prophylactic) and treatment (active). Preventive vaccines, such as the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, protect against viruses that cause certain...


