Approaches to cancer treatment
Surgical removal of primary tumours can be successful.
Because cancer cells divide more rapidly than normal cells, early approaches
to cancer treatment such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy targeted rapidly
dividing cells. Unfortunately, these treatments also result in damage
to normal, rapidly dividing cells, such as skin, blood, hair and gut causing
serious side effects.
Although more recently a number of cancers, for example prostate and
breast, are treatable with more selective medicines (hormone therapy),
not all patients are responsive and for most cancers there are no curative
treatments.
Clearly, new approaches to treatment are required.
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