Curability of cancer by radiotherapy and chemotherapy, including in neuraxial neoplasms

Abstract

In the October of 1996, Lance Armstrong, celebrated cyclist and one of the greatest athletes the world has ever seen, at the age of 24, was diagnosed with metastatic testicular cancer with disease having already spread to his abdomen, lungs and brain. Lance underwent four cycles of chemotherapy, actually the pretty standard one, pioneered at the Indiana University and not only did he get completely cured of his cancer, he remains extremely well till date, 12 years later. He sure did have a few adverse effects during those cycles of chemotherapy in the form of nausea, vomiting, weakness and fall in blood count but he knew and experienced them only for a short transient time and emerged triumphant and strong. In fact, he went on to win six awe-inspiring and incredible successive Tours de France victories from 1999-2005, one of the most grueling sporting events testing the endurance of the very fittest. After his retirement, he has been so inspired that he has completely devoted himself to educate people about the common myths about cancer, and promised to raise awareness and generate money for furthering research into surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy for cancer through his foundation. He says "I am indebted to the doctors, nurses and medicine and would want to pay them back for all their energy and caring." In his successful journey of overcoming cancer, he captures the essence of its treatment so well by declaring "Pain is temporary, it may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually, it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it will last forever".

Tumor Ablation and Nanotechnology

“…However, there are a large number of cases where surgical resection is not possible due to unfavorable location of the tumor, the presence of multiple tumors, or patient preference. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy are often used as substitutes for surgery, either alone or in combination . Nonetheless, typical chemotherapy regimens and radiation therapy require regular treatment for a number of weeks with high doses of anticancer therapeutics or high energy X-rays and can have side effects such as structural and functional morbidity, skin redness, cosmetic defects, vomiting, hair loss, and many others without guarantee of the tumor being fully eradicated. − …”

Present and future of metal nanoparticles in tumor ablation therapy

“…Additionally, emerging treatments like immunotherapy come with high costs and can easily lead to systemic drug resistance. 3,4 Therefore, researching and exploring a tumor treatment that is safe, reproducible, widely applicable, and inexpensive is one of the most important tasks for clinicians and scientists.…”

Design and optimization of nano-antenna for thermal ablation of liver cancer cells

“…As a result, alternative surgical methods such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy are utilizing in combination or alone. [2] However, conventional chemotherapy and radiation treatments require regular treatment duration for several weeks and using high doses of anticancer drugs or utilizing high-energy x-rays. These conditions can lead to many side effects such as redness of skin, vomiting, hair loss, and many other conditions without guaranteeing complete ablation of tumors.…”

“…These conditions can lead to many side effects such as redness of skin, vomiting, hair loss, and many other conditions without guaranteeing complete ablation of tumors. [2][3][4] In contrast, non-surgical tumor ablation methods have developed. These methods are more accurate and faster than traditional cancer treatment methods.…”