Surgery
Surgery is one of the oldest and most widely used cancer treatments. It is a local treatment that works best for solid tumors contained in one area of the body; it is not used for blood cancers and is not a stand-alone option for cancer that has spread widely. An operation may aim to remove the entire tumor, to reduce its bulk (debulking) before further treatment, or to ease symptoms such as pain or pressure. Many procedures can now be performed with minimally invasive techniques, which usually shorten recovery time. Surgery is often combined with chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or other treatments, and like any operation it carries risks such as pain, bleeding, and infection.
Tumor resection
Tumor resection is an operation to remove the whole tumor, usually together with a margin of surrounding healthy tissue and sometimes nearby lymph nodes. It offers the greatest benefit when the cancer is a solid tumor co…
Minimally invasive and robotic surgery
Minimally invasive surgery removes tumors through a few small incisions instead of one large one, which usually means less pain and a shorter recovery. The surgeon operates using a laparoscope — a thin tube with a camera…
Cytoreductive (debulking) surgery
Cytoreductive surgery, also called debulking, removes as much of a tumor as possible when taking it out completely is not feasible. Reducing the amount of cancer can make subsequent chemotherapy or radiation therapy more…
Reconstructive surgery
Reconstructive surgery restores the shape, and where possible the function, of a part of the body changed by cancer treatment. The best-documented example is breast reconstruction after mastectomy, which can use an impla…