Cancer is considered one of the most serious diseases of our time. Not only is the disease almost invariably fatal, but its treatment is also an enormous challenge, since there is no patent remedy. There are many different types of cancer, and the disease develops differently from one person to another. All these factors therefore require individual therapy planning for each patient.
Nevertheless, a number of established procedures exist that are used with the goal of curing cancer or at least stopping tumor growth.
The three proven therapeutic approaches for fighting cancer
The fight against cancer is currently based on three treatment approaches, also known as the "pillars of cancer therapy" are referred to as
In the Surgery In the surgical procedure, the physician attempts to remove the cancerous tissue mechanically. The spectrum of concrete measures varies from minimally invasive procedures to complex interventions in which affected organs are completely removed.
In the context of Radiation treatment the site of the tumor is exposed to radiation that is harmful to the cancer cells. In addition, there are other radiation-based methods such as hyperthermia, in which the affected parts of the body are specifically warmed up.
The Chemotherapy uses drugs (so-called Cytostatics) to aggressively fight the cancer cells. In this way, the cells are killed or at least prevented from multiplying further. In most cases, the patient is given a combination of several agents whose effects complement each other in the best case.
A new method to cure cancer: Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy has been shown to be a very promising approach to cure cancer. However, the relevant procedures are still in the research phase, so that widespread use of this form of therapy is not to be expected in the near future.
diagnostics for the individual therapy conception
When cancer is diagnosed, it is essential to develop a treatment plan on a case-by-case basis to maximize the chances of a cure. Treatment measures must be adapted to both the type of cancer and the specific circumstances of each patient. TherapySelect provides diagnostic tools to assist physicians and patients in this process.
Especially with regard to the selection of suitable chemotherapeutic agents, we offer two renowned testing methods:
For the CTR Test® (chemotherapy resistance test) cancer cells are removed from the patient, on which a specific drug is then tested. This makes it possible to determine with a high degree of reliability whether the cancerous tissue is resistant to the corresponding substance.
The PCDx™ on the other hand, evaluates a variety of biomarkers of the tumor cells in order to make a prediction about the expected effectiveness of a specific drug.