Compared to other diseases, cancer is the second and, in some countries, the first cause of death. It is a group of deadly diseases that in the twentieth century were considered incurable. However, today more than half of cancer cases in developed countries are cured, and in the remaining patients in whom the tumor is not detected in time, cancer can be controlled for many years with the help of medications. If you undergo cancer treatment in Germany, you can count on excellent results due to the use of innovative cancer treatments.
Innovative cancer surgery
Cancer treatment abroad is becoming less and less traumatic and more and more effective.
Minimally invasive surgeries are increasingly being used as an alternative to traditional cavity surgery. In the early stages of cancer, endoscopic interventions through natural openings are used. In stages I-II, doctors can remove the tumor through short incisions: using laparoscopy or thoracoscopy. These types of surgery are already mainstream for prostate, colon, and kidney cancers, and may also be used in some patients with lung, adrenal, stomach, and pancreatic cancers.
Robotic surgeries are replacing laparoscopic ones in the best cancer clinics. The principle is the same: surgery through short incisions, but the technique used is different. The operation is performed with the hands of a robotic surgeon, which the doctor controls remotely. These interventions are safer and also provide additional options that allow for a more complete removal of the tumor, thereby reducing the risk of recurrence. For example, doctors can access the most hard-to-reach areas of the abdomen through greater manipulation of the instruments or use a gamma probe to locate metastasis-affected lymph nodes.
Intraoperative therapeutic procedures can improve the effectiveness of surgery. For example, intraoperative irradiation, sentinel lymph node biopsy, and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (lavage of the abdominal cavity with a heated solution of chemopreparations) are used during surgical cancer care in Germany.
Innovative cancer radiotherapy
The top oncology hospitals use the latest methods of radiation therapy for cancer with advanced equipment, ensuring precise radiation delivery with minimal tissue damage: IMRT, SBRT, IGRT, and others.
In Germany, proton therapy is performed in six clinics. This is the safest method of irradiation, which is used in pediatric oncology, as well as in adults for irradiation of tumors of the head and neck, skull base, eye, and spine.
Advanced cancer therapies
Germany has innovative cancer techniques that allow impressive success even for the most aggressive neoplasms, including those in advanced stages.
Immunotherapy. It has been attributed to upcoming medical breakthroughs in oncology, but immunotherapeutic techniques have already become part of the standard treatment for most cancers. In Germany, specialized clinics are using dendritic cell vaccines, a personalized treatment that boosts the anti-tumor immune response.
CAR Т-cell therapy. It is a type of immuno- and gene therapy in which a receptor is added to immune cells. It helps white blood cells attach to cancer cells and destroy them. It is most commonly used for lymphoma and leukemia.
Radiotargeted therapy. It is used for prostate cancer and late-stage neuroendocrine tumors. A radiopharmaceutical is injected into the body and selectively accumulates in tumor tissue by interacting with a specific molecular target, such as prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA). As a result, the tumor is destroyed by radiation, healthy tissue is virtually unaffected, and the radionuclide is eliminated from the body after a few days.
Chemoembolization and radioembolization. This is an endovascular procedure that is performed through an incision in the leg or arm, from inside the blood vessels. Doctors use tiny balloons filled with chemo drugs or radioactive substances to block the blood vessels feeding the tumor. This procedure used to be performed only for liver tumors, but now it is also successfully used to destroy tumors of other locations: lung cancer, cervical cancer, breast cancer, thyroid cancer, etc.
You can take advantage of all these and many other innovative methods of cancer treatment in Germany. Choose a clinic, check prices, and make an appointment for convenient dates through the Booking Health service. The cost of medical services for you will be lower than if you apply to the clinic directly, due to the absence of additional fees for foreign patients.
