Cancer remains a leading global health threat associated with high mortality rates. However, the advancement of surgical oncology has significantly improved patient survival rates. Surgical oncologists integrate technology, less invasive methods, and collaboration with other specialists to enhance patient outcomes. This article analyses the ways surgical oncologists affect cancer survival rates and the role of surgical oncology within the field of modern oncology.
The Role of Surgical Oncologists in Cancer Treatment
The work of surgical oncologists involves excising malignant tumours, affected tissues, and, when necessary, adjacent lymph nodes that are at risk of metastasis. Beyond surgery, these professionals work in coordination with other oncology subspecialists, including medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, and many others, to formulate a comprehensive treatment strategy.
Key Responsibilities of Surgical Oncologists:
Performing cancer surgeries:
It includes excision of a malignant tumour with maximal preservation of non-affected surrounding tissues.
Conducting biopsies:
It involves surgically obtaining tissue samples for differential diagnosis.
Assessing cancer staging:
It involves evaluating the degree of cancer dissemination to tailor treatment options.
Reconstructive surgery:
It restores the appearance or functionality after a tumour is excised and the surrounding tissues are remodelled.
Collaboration with other specialists
It guarantees holistic patient management and is fundamental in multidisciplinary approaches.
An Overview of How Surgical Oncology Improves Survival Rates
1. Timely Intervention and Precise Diagnosis
As a critical component of implementing cancer research findings, timely intervention greatly increases the chances of cancer survival. Surgical oncologists conduct diagnostic surgeries and biopsies, allowing them to treat the cancer at its most manageable form.
Benefits from realising a problem early on:
- Increased likelihood of effective intervention.
- Lower chances of extreme medical procedures.
- Reduced possibility of cancer metastasising.
Improved survival rates for breast cancer patients can be attributed to the combination of early-stage breast-conserving surgery known as lumpectomy and early detection.
2. Surgeries With Robotic And Less Invasive Approaches
Surgical oncology has been modernised with robotic laparoscopy and other minimally invasive operations that have reduced recovery duration, operational difficulty, and enhanced accuracy.
The Pros of Less Invasive Surgical Approaches:
- Faster and less painful recovery due to smaller incisions.
- Minimised bleeding and lower chance for post-surgery infections.
- Reduced time spent in hospital and faster healing to a normal lifestyle.
Surgeons using the da Vinci Surgical System set robots to perform robotic-assisted surgery. They have been shown to drastically improve removal of the tumours and survival rates in patients with prostate, lung, and gastrointestinal cancers.
3. Innovative Techniques in Tumour Surgery
In the hands of a surgical oncologist, the task of removing tumours differs greatly from other procedures due to the particular methods and skills required to efficiently eliminate the tumours whilst maintaining vital surrounding tissues and structures.
Fluorescent dyes that highlight malignant regions of the body while performing Fluorescence-Guided Surgery (FGS) guarantee the removal of the tumour. Intraoperative imaging such as MRI and CT scans, along with real-time imaging during the surgery, provide guidance during careful excisional procedures. To avert unnecessary excisions of healthy lymph nodes, the Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy (SLNB) detects the first lymph node afflicted by cancer. The combination of using these techniques enables a more thorough tumour removal while also lessening the risks involved, which results in improved chances of survival.
4. Neoadjuvant and Adjuvant Therapies
The treatment involves advanced techniques in surgery with neoadjuvant (before surgery) and adjuvant (after surgery) therapy to support the patient’s condition optimally and aid in enhancing the outcome. The neoadjuvant therapy approach is commonly used in lung, breast, and rectal cancers due to its ability to shrink the tumours before the surgery is performed, making it easier to excise the tumour. After surgery is complete, adjuvant therapy is performed to further remove possible remaining cancerous cells and prevent future mobilization of cancer. Using the techniques combined together, the oncologist can enhance the chances of surviving and avoiding the disease.
5. Personalized and Precision-Based Surgery
Surgical oncologists, while dealing with cancer cases, apply a specific method sculpting each treatment through genetic profiling along with the features of the tumour. An example of these approaches includes the use of 3D printing where models of the tumour are printed in order to plan perfectly mapped coordinates and strategies for the surgery along with tailoring the technique through the genetic and molecular testing done prior to the surgery.
Organ-Preserving Surgeries: The intent is to excise the tumour while preserving the functionality of the organ, with the aim of improving quality of life and longevity.
6. Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) Protocols
These protocols seek to integrate both peri-operative and post-operative procedure management in a manner that is most beneficial towards recovery and overall results.
Key Components of ERAS:
Physical and nutritional preparation prior to surgery.
Implementing a pain management plan with reduced opioid prescriptions.
Restorative steps taken to regain mobility after the surgery is performed.
Patients who follow these ERAS protocols have fewer complications, spend a shorter period in hospital, and overall better survival.
7. Preventive Cancer Surgeries
High-risk patients are offered preventive surgical procedures by surgical oncologists to minimise the chances of probable future cancer disease development that is threatening from hereditary causes.
Common Preventive Surgeries:
BRCA Mastectomy: Removal of breast tissue to breast cancer high-risk candidates.
Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP) Colectomy: Removal of the colon to avert the development of colorectal cancer.
Ovarian cancer risk Oophorectomy: Genetically predisposing women surgically treated to lower the risk for ovarian cancer.
The implementation of these preventive surgical procedures will decrease cancer mortality in patients with an increased cancer risk factor.
8. Multidisciplinary Collaboration for Comprehensive Care
Integration of medical and radiation oncologists with surgical oncologists facilitates greater integration of surgical care for cancer patients.
Benefits of Multidisciplinary Collaboration:
Improved efficiency in arising treatment modalities due to a combination of diverse specialties and skills.
Elimination of fragmented care resulting in better health outcomes.
Drastically increased chance of survival through innovative composite treatment proposals.
The Frontiers of Surgical Oncology
The surging strategies of modern surgical oncology techniques bring a positive outlook as they strive to optimise survival rates even more in the future.
1. Robotics and AI Technology in Surgery
Robotics and AI technology are currently being applied to improve preoperative preparation, robotic-assisted practices, and real-time imaging methods during surgery.
2. Cancer Surgery with Nanotechnology
Nanoparticles are being studied for their use in selective targeting of tumours and for the removal of malignant tissues without damaging adjacent healthy tissues.
3. Monitoring After Surgery with Liquid Biopsies
Liquid biopsies provide the ability to monitor changes in circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) conveniently, enabling the identification of residual cancer cells quickly and improving further therapeutic intervention decisions.
Suggested Read: Medical Oncology
Final Thoughts
With their skills in multidisciplinary approaches to cancer treatment and personalised surgical methods, surgical oncologists are continually improving cancer survivorship. They have been, and will continue, positively influencing patient outcomes through the early detection of the disease, advanced techniques of tumour excision, and minimally invasive surgery. As technology accelerates, the field of surgical oncology will develop further which translates to greater opportunities for improved survivorship for cancer patients. For anyone currently undergoing active cancer treatment, consultation with a surgical oncologist will maximise the care and treatment results that can be achieved.
