Cancer: Interprofessional Care and Complications

Cancer treatment goals

Goals
- Cure therapy
  - Surgery alone or periods of adjunctive systemic therapy
  - Timeframe to “cure” may differ according to the tumor and its characteristics
- Control therapy
  - Initial course and maintenance therapy
- Palliation therapy
  - Palliation goal
    - Relief or control of symptoms
    - Maintain quality of life
  - Palliative care and treatment are not mutually exclusive and can take concurrently

Personalized cancer medicine

Genetic information is used to customize decisions about
- Prevention
- Diagnosis
- Treatment
Targeted therapy
- Aims at a cancer’s specific genes or proteins that contribute to cancer growth and survival
- Biopsy can help determine whether a tumor has the specific target
Pharmacogenomics
- Study of genomic variation associated with drug responses
Not all types of cancer have personalized treatment options
- Costly
- Time-consuming
- Not covered by insurance

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