Description

Oncology

Introduction

Medical Oncology deals not only with
treatment of patients with cancer, but it also covers cancer prevention, cancer
screening and early diagnosis.

What is Medical Oncology?

Medical Oncology is a medical department that
deals not only with treatment of patients with cancer, but it also covers
cancer prevention, cancer screening and early diagnosis. In other words,
medical oncology deals with all aspects of cancer. Moreover, the department
cooperates with surgery and radiology departments for diagnosis and treatment
of cancer in order to plan a multidisciplinary approach in the light of
scientific data.

What types of treatments are available?

Treatment covers medicines that are injected
into blood vessels or given by mouth. However, actual treatment varies by type
of cancer. Treatment is planned in line with histological type of cancer,
origin organ and the range of metastasis. Adjuvant therapy aims reduction of
relapse risk, while neoadjuvant therapy makes tumor ready for operation or
protects an organ and palliative treatment intends to prolong the life time and
increase quality of life in advanced stage diseases. These treatments can be
used alone or in combination.

Which Methods Are Used in Medical
Oncology?

Chemotherapy (medication treatment)

Chemotherapy aims to destroy cancerous cells
that grow uncontrollably due to certain genetic changes. In most cases, several
medicines are combined due to unique action of mechanism to kill cancer cells.

Drugs were first used in early 20th century
for cancer chemotherapy. While Mustard gas was used in the First and Second
World Wars, it was discovered that the gas reduced white blood cell counts and
therefore, it was considered that it would have same effect on quickly dividing
and growing cancer cells. It was intravenously administered in 1940s to treat
lymphomas and it was a successful therapeutic step in the circumstances of
those days. This development paved the way for investigation of other
substances that may be effective in anti-cancer treatment. Today, numerous
chemotherapeutic agents are developed.

Hormone Therapy

Hormonal medicines are used to manage
hormone-sensitive tumors, such as prostate and breast cancers. These drugs are
usually given by mouth.

Another administration route is injection.

Immunotherapy

Substances that are naturally synthesized by
immune system are used to identify and kill cancer cells by stimulating immune
system of body.

Targeted Biological Therapy

Biological therapies are guided to certain
targets that are carried by cancer cells, but are not found in healthy cells
and these therapies are deemed the most important advancement of the last
decade in treatment of cancers. Targeted therapies are used in various types of
cancers, especially including breast cancer, colon cancer and renal cell
tumors.

Which Types of Cancers Are Treated By
Medical Oncology?

Medical oncology modalities treat certain
cancers: breast cancer; lung cancer; gastrointestinal cancers; pancreatic
cancers; liver cancers; gall bladder and bile duct tumors; head and neck
tumors; osteosarcoma and soft tissue sarcomas; brain tumors; kidney and urinary
bladder tumors; prostate cancer; malignant melanoma; thyroid cancer; ovarian
cancer; cervical cancer; endometrial cancer; testicular cancer; lymphomas; and
multiple myeloma.