Low-dose chemo, radiation and surgery means less organ cuts

Combining low-dose chemotherapy and radiation with surgery can aid cancer treatment with less damage to organs, experts have said. Called “organ conservation in cancer management” the protocol is being pushed into continuous medical education for health care providers in Abuja. “It came about with the realisation that with the help of radiation and chemotherapy, if […]

Combining low-dose chemotherapy and radiation with surgery can aid cancer treatment with less damage to organs, experts have said.
Called “organ conservation in cancer management” the protocol is being pushed into continuous medical education for health care providers in Abuja.
“It came about with the realisation that with the help of radiation and chemotherapy, if you conserve the organ and supplement it with radiation and chemo, we get the same results,” said Dr Vikram Singh, consultant surgical oncologist at New Delhi-based Apollo Hospital, which organised the training.
“It has taken [experts] 20, 30 years to get the full data that we are not compromising on results by removing less.”
“All of the last century, the concept was once you have a cancer, remove. Now we are getting similar results by adding chemo and radiotherapy and removing little part of the organ as possible.”
The protocol means cancer surgeries combining radiation and chemo will involve less removal of tissues from affected body parts as larynx, breast, rectum, stomach, bones and soft tissue.
Singh said the protocol allows for modified doses of both chemo and radiotherapy to mitigate the side effects that come with both individual treatments.
“The full dosage is not always needed. There are tricks to this, so you don’t have all the side effects of the treatments while having all the good results,” Singh noted.
He added results from more than 20 years of collecting and controlling for patient history has shown people subjected to the combination treatment lead lives as normal as possible.