Is it Possible to Treat Colon Cancer Without Surgery?
In some cases, treatment for colon cancer without surgery is possible and, in fact, one such treatment plays a major role in the treatment of colon cancer. That treatment is radiation. Using high energy x-rays or particles to destroy the cancer, radiation is usually administered by an external beam. This kind of colon cancer radiation therapy is normally given 5 days a week for several weeks and must be very well planned so as to ‘zap’ the correct area and only the correct area. This planning is done using a diagnostic x-ray machine like a CT scanner.
Radiation is used in many ways, such as before any surgery either to kill the cancer completely or to shrink it enough to make surgery easier and decrease any possible complications. Radiation may also be administered after surgery if there is any chance the cancer may return. Studies have shown that the use of radiation after surgery can greatly decrease the risk of re-occurrence of the cancer. Colon cancer chemotherapy is sometimes used along with radiation to make it more effective. In these cases the chemo drug, fluorouracil, or 5-Fu, as it is known, is administered at the same time as radiation and given by continuous infusion through an intravenous line in the vein.
Chemotherapy is administered either by way of an IV or given by mouth. Chemo is an especially useful form of colon cancer treatment as the drugs are carried in the bloodstream and reach all parts of the body so it is extremely beneficial in cancers that have spread to other organs other than where they originally started. The most common chemo drug used to fight colon cancer is fluorouracil (5-FU) and is often used in conjunction with other drugs such as eucovorin, which increases its effectiveness.
Until recently, 5-FU was administered into the vein slowly of about 5mins and was given for 5 days then the patient would have a break from treatment for 3 weeks to give the body a chance to recuperate from the nasty side effects of the chemotherapy. But a new method of giving chemotherapy treatment, called the de Gramont regimen, has been trialled with good results. This method involves administering 5-Fu continuously over 2 days accompanied as well as by rapid injection every day and leucovorin each day over two hours. This method is administered every second week.
When chemotherapy is given along with radiation the patient will have a small battery operated pump that will release 5-Fu continuously into the IV line and for patients where the cancer has spread in to the liver 5-FU or Floxuridine FUDR can be given directly into the associated artery. This method is called hepatic artery infusion. Other chemotherapy drugs include Irinotecan, oxaliplatin and Capecitabine.
Immunotherapy uses the natural substances produced by the immune system to hopefully kill the cancer cells, slow their growth or, at the very least, help the patient fight the cancer. Special antibodies called monoclonal antibodies are artificial immune cells that are produced in a laboratory and are designed to attack only cancer cells.
Your doctor will discuss with you the best way of treating colon cancer without surgery with you. Whether these will be successful in your case is dependent on the type of cancer you have and how aggressive or advanced it is.
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