Research over any type of cancer is a continuous process and colorectal cancer is not an exception. Various studies and researches are being conducted to prevent this type of cancer. Additionally, a lot of research is being done on the diets, supplementary treatment and medicines that will prevent and cure the cancer and help the patient to recover.
Irrespective of the type of cancer that an individual is suffering from, early detection is the best way to prevent it. Any symptom should not be ignored and doctor should be consulted as soon as possible.
Time of Surgery
There can be difference of thoughts between the surgeons regarding the time of surgery as every colorectal cancer surgeon has his own understanding of the disease. However, there have been various researches taking considerable sample size to identify the best time of surgery after the process of chemotherapy and chemoradiotherapy has been completed. One of the researches done, claimed that those patients who went under surgery 56 days or eight weeks after the chemotherapy and radiation therapy have better rate of endurance compared to other cases. Tests conducted on them revealed that surgeons were highly successful in removing the tumour in such patients.
A wait longer than this increases the chances of regrowth of the cancer. Other than surgery, there have been significant developments in the drugs as well. Other than the normal drugs, science has come up with targeted drugs that are different from the usual chemotherapy drugs. As the name suggests, targeted drugs pin point the specific part of the cancer cells. There are various targeted drugs in the market that are used to cure the cancer.
Immunotherapy:
Another advancement in the study is immunotherapy which is a unique therapy that uses the immune system of patient to cure the cancer. Apart from immunotherapy, there are various cancer vaccines also developed with the idea of preventing such cancer. Scientists are trying to develop the vaccine through various methods such as using the individual’s own immune system cells, called dendritic cells in medical term. These cells are blended with the substance in the laboratory that can later be used for targeting the cancer cells in the body and treat it. As of now there are different vaccines undergoing clinical trial.
Nothing can beat the fact that the best way to prevent any type of cancer is to get regular health check- ups for the early detection of cancer and timely treatment of the same.