Cancer Treatment, What Works, What NOT.

Cancer Treatment, What Works, What NOT. The main cancer treatments are surgical remove identified tumor, radiation therapy to kill the identified tumor, and chemotherapy to treat partial or whole body to kill or inhibit any cancer cell and with different side effect to all other cells. As you know that the cancer cell has been in the body for years before cancer is detected. In current technology, cancer can be detected only when the cancer is big enough or cause significant symptoms. For identified cancer, surgery and radiation therapy are very effective treatment. But surgery and radiotherapy can not be used for unidentified cancer in the body. Chemotherapy can be effective to any cancer in the body, identified and unidentified. Occasionally, chemotherapy did not work. Chemotherapy Currently, there are two main chemotherapy drugs. One is targeting Cell Division. It kills cell, which is dividing to multiply, it is original chemotherapy. Another one is targeting specific molecules or pathways involved in tumor growth, the ‘smart’ one. Targeting Cell Division Besides cancer cell divide, normal proliferating cell is also dividing to provide new normal functional cell to support body’s function. Killing dividing cell not only kill cancer cell, but also normal proliferating cell. Most likely, because the toxicity of chemotherapy agent, the chemotherapy will damage or accelerate the death of normal functional cells. Ironically, after all of the suffering, this chemotherapy does not kill dormant cancer cell. It is useless for dormant cancer cell. It may trigger it active in the weakened body. After the chemotherapy, the dormant cancer cells are back to work. The damage vs. benefit is losing game. Targeting Cancer Molecules and/or Pathways These kinds of chemotherapy interfere specific molecules or pathways, which is identified in cancer cell. First of all, the identified cancer molecules or pathways are what the technology can be detected. Further, to make the difference as a target, cancer must depend on the difference for survive, and the difference cannot be replaced, or bypassed by other alternative pathways. Otherwise, the difference could not be used to kill cancer. Cancer cell comes from mutation of normal cells. There is very little difference between normal and cancer cell. Many molecules and pathways are not black or white. They alter according to environmental factors.Cell biology pathways changes according to environment. For example, fermentation and respiration switch with oxygen supply or for cell division. Also the pathway reprograms in cancer cells. (Figure: Molecular Mechanisms of Cancer-Specific Metabolic Reprogramming). The complex biochemistry pathways interact, multiple tasks, and work together to cover each other in the organism. One molecule or pathway could be replaced or subsided by other molecules or pathways. Blocking one will not affect the cancer. Blocking all perhaps will kill all cells, including normal cells.