According to the American Cancer Society, more than 2 million people in the United States will be diagnosed with cancer in 2024. Of that number, approximately 60 percent will have cancer surgery as part of their treatment plan.
When it comes to cancer, surgery can be used in many ways. For one, surgery may be used to help diagnose cancer in the first place. You’ve probably heard the term “biopsy” before. A biopsy is a surgical procedure that removes a small amount of tissue to be analyzed under a microscope, looking for cancerous cells.
Surgery may also be used to stage cancer after a diagnosis. This type of surgery explores the area around cancerous tissue, looking to see whether the cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes or other tissue.
Most often, though, cancer surgery is used as a form of treatment. Keep reading to learn how and why cancer surgery is recommended.
Defining cancer surgery
Cancer surgery is a surgical procedure to remove part or all cancer from the body or to alleviate the effects of cancer. There are several types of surgery within this category—curative surgery, debulking or cytoreductive surgery, and palliative surgery.
Curative surgery is surgery to remove all of the cancer. This type of surgery is typically used when cancer is found in a localized stage, where it has not spread beyond the original site. However, with recent advances in therapy, we are able to offer curative surgery for select patients with metastatic disease as well. Colon cancer is a prime example of this advancement in therapeutics. Curative cancer surgery may be used as the sole method of treating cancer in some cases, or it may be paired with chemotherapy or radiation therapy to fully eradicate the cancer.
Debulking or Cytoreductive surgery is surgery to remove part of the cancer. It’s called “debulking” because it removes a portion of a cancerous tumor’s bulk, making it smaller and more treatable. In select types of cancers, cytoreduction offers a significant survival benefit to our patients even if some cancer is left behind. This type of surgery may also be recommended if cancerous tissue is located close to a major organ and cannot be fully removed safely. Debulking cancer surgery is used in combination with other treatment options, such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or immunotherapy.
Palliative surgery is surgery to treat symptoms or effects of advanced cancer. This type of surgery is not curative in nature or focused on removing part or all of the cancer. Instead, palliative cancer surgery is used to help ease pain and improve quality of life for patients.
Cancer surgery also encompasses prophylactic surgery, as well as reconstructive surgery. Prophylactic, or preventive, surgery removes parts of the body to prevent cancer from developing there in the future. This type of surgery is sometimes recommended for people who are at high risk of certain cancers due to a family history of the disease or genetic mutations.
Reconstructive surgery is paired with curative or debulking surgery. This type of surgery focuses on improving aesthetic appearance and function after the removal of cancer from the body.
How surgery is used to treat common cancers
Breast cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, colorectal cancer, and skin cancer are the most common types of cancer among people in the United States. Cancer surgery is often used to treat each of these types of cancer.
Breast Cancer
There are two types of cancer surgery used to treat breast cancer: breast-conserving surgery and mastectomy. Breast-conserving surgery, also called lumpectomy, removes the area of cancerous tissue and a small amount of surrounding tissue, leaving the rest of the tissue untouched.
Mastectomy is a cancer surgery in which the entire breast is removed. In some cases, a patient may have a double mastectomy, which removes both breasts to prevent future recurrence.
Those with breast cancer may also have nearby lymph nodes removed during either breast-conserving surgery or mastectomy. Patients may choose to have reconstructive surgery along with breast cancer surgery or in the future.
Prostate Cancer
Curative surgery is often recommended for prostate cancer that has not spread beyond the prostate. The primary cancer surgery for prostate cancer is prostatectomy.
During a radical prostatectomy, performed as a robotic, laparoscopic or sometimes open procedure, a surgeon removes the entire prostate gland and surrounding tissue, along with some nearby lymph nodes.
Lung Cancer
Surgery may be recommended as a treatment option for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer and can sometimes be curative. There are multiple types of cancer surgery for lung cancer:
- Lobectomy removes the lobe of the lung where cancer was found.
- Pneumonectomy removes the entire lung where cancer was found.
- Segmentectomy, or wedge resection, removes only part of the lobe of the lung where cancer was found.
- Sleeve resection is often used when cancer is found in a large airway of the lungs. During this procedure, the airway is cut (or resected) above the tumor and below it, then the two segments are sewn back together.
Nearby lymph nodes are also removed during lung cancer surgery to determine whether cancer has spread.
Less commonly, these same surgical procedures may be used as part of a treatment plan for small cell lung cancers. Small cell lung cancer, however, is often diagnosed in later stages, after it has spread, making it more difficult to treat surgically.
Colorectal Cancer
Many precancerous or cancerous polyps are removed during a colonoscopy, which is a type of colorectal cancer screening. In cases where cancer is not fully removed during a colonoscopy, additional cancer surgery may be recommended.
There are several types of colorectal cancer surgery that may be used in treating cancer, varying by whether cancer affects the colon or the rectum. Colon cancer is typically treated using a colectomy—either a total colectomy, which removes all of the colon, or a partial colectomy, which removes the part of the colon containing cancer along with some normal tissue.
Cancer surgery for rectal cancer may include several different surgical procedures, with transanalexcision, proctectomy, and pelvic exenteration being among the most common. Transanalexcision removes a small area of the rectum wall where cancer was found, while proctectomy removes all or part of the rectum containing the tumor.
Pelvic exenteration is used to treat rectal cancer that has spread, and the procedure involves removing the rectum along with surrounding organs that are affected.
Skin Cancer
Cancer surgery is a common treatment option for all types of skin cancer. In many cases, surgical treatment for this type of cancer is surgical excision, which removes the cancerous skin spot, along with some surrounding tissue.
A type of surgery known as Mohs surgery may also be used. During this cancer surgery, a thin layer of skin is removed, including the cancer and surrounding skin, and then analyzed under a microscope. If cancerous cells are found, another layer of skin is removed and analyzed. The procedure continues until no cancerous cells are found.
The benefits of cancer screenings
Why are we talking about cancer screening in a blog about cancer surgery? There’s a good reason! Many types of cancer, including those listed above, are more preventable, treatable and often curable now than they were in the past. In large part, that’s because of early detection and treatment.
Regular cancer screenings, as recommended by age, sex, and personal risk, can spot cancer in its earliest stages, when it’s most treatable. In some cases, that may mean that cancer surgery can be the only treatment needed.
Curative cancer surgery can be used as a sole method of treatment for cancer when it’s in a localized stage. That often leads to more positive outcomes and increased survivability—along with being easier on the patient’s body and mind. That’s a good reason to keep up with those screenings!
Learn more
If you or a loved one have been diagnosed with cancer, the Cancer Services team at Northeast Georgia Medical Center is here to help. Call 770-525-5349 or click here to learn more.