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The most common include diarrhea and liver problems, but people may also have issues with blood clotting and wound healing, fatigue, increased blood pressure, and skin problems.ĭoctors may need to use genetic testing to find changes in the DNA of cancer cells. Targeted therapy carries the risk of side effects. They may help the immune system destroy cancer cells, stop cancer cells from growing, prevent tumors from forming new blood vessels, deliver deadly substances into cancer cells, or starve some types of cancer from the hormones they need to grow. Benefitsīecause these therapies are precise, they can attack cancer cells while leaving a person’s healthy cells intact. These therapies are either small molecule drugs that can enter cells easily or monoclonal antibodies that attach to specific targets on cancer cells. Targeted therapy involves doctors administering precision medicines to treat people individually rather than taking a generalized approach. Additionally, the immune system memory allows for a rapid response should the cancer return. Therfore, if a tumor escapes detection, the immune system could reevaluate and launch further targeted attacks. Unlike chemotherapy, which attacks cancerous cells, the immune system continually adapts. Some types of immunotherapy may cause problems such as swelling, weight gain, heart palpitations, or diarrhea. As it stimulates the immune system, it may cause side effects, such as fever, chills, and fatigue. Immunotherapy carries some risks of causing a reaction. Benefitsīecause immunotherapy harnesses the power of the individual’s immune system, it can target cancer cells precisely while protecting healthy cells from harm. It works by teaching a person’s immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells, boost the immune cells, and enhance the immune response. There are various forms of immunotherapy. Immunotherapy is a biological therapy that helps increase an individual’s natural defenses to control and eliminate cancer. Unlike chemotherapy, it cannot treat tumors in areas the laser cannot reach. Laser therapy treats cancers and precancers of the skin or lining of the internal organs. The person receiving the treatment and surgical team must wear eye protection to avoid injury.Īdditionally, fewer medical professionals have the training to use lasers, and due to their expense, fewer hospitals and clinics use these surgical tools.


Without following strict safety precautions, lasers can pose health risks. Surgeons may find that procedures take less time than with traditional tools. The laser is exact, enabling doctors to remove tumors without damaging the surrounding tissues, reducing pain, bleeding, infections, and scarring. Surgeons may use a laser to seal nerve endings or lymph vessels after surgery, which reduces pain and swelling and keeps tumor cells from spreading.ĭoctors may also use lasers as part of PDT to activate the photosensitizing agent. They can also use it to shrink tumors that block areas of the digestive tract and help treat symptoms, such as bleeding. Laser therapy involves a doctor using a focused light beam to heat and destroy small tumors and precancerous growths. However, doctors cannot use PDT to treat cancers in areas where light cannot reach or cancers that have spread. Compared with chemotherapyĪs with chemotherapy, PDT is non-invasive and performed as an outpatient procedure. A person may be highly light-sensitive for some time after the treatment. Other effects depend on the treatment area, with some individuals having trouble swallowing, shortness of breath, stomach pain, and skin problems. PDT may harm normal cells, leading to side effects, including burns, swelling, and pain. It also does not cause scarring, making it a good option for people with skin cancers and precancers. PDT avoids extensive damage as the drugs leave healthy cells and accumulate in cancerous cells. The combination of light and the drug creates oxygen that kills cancer cells. In 24–72 hours, the cancer cells absorb the drug, and doctors then expose them to light. PDT involves the individual taking a photosensitizer drug, either orally, topically on the skin, or directly into a vein. However, doctors can only use PDT to treat tumors on the skin, just under the skin, or in the lining of organs and cavities.

actinic keratosis advanced cutaneous T-cell lymphomaĭoctors may also use PDT to help with the symptoms of some cancers if they begin to block the airways or throat.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved PDT to treat cancers and precancers, including: Doctors commonly use PDT as a local therapy to treat a specific part of the body. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a cancer treatment that uses light from a laser or other light source to activate drugs that kill cancer cells.
