Info
Cancer surgery
Treatment
What it means
A treatment in which the tumor is removed by an operation, sometimes together with nearby lymph nodes or tissues. It may have a curative, diagnostic or symptom-control role, depending on the stage of the disease.
Related terms
The terms below often appear alongside this one. Each definition is right here, so you do not have to look elsewhere.
- Surgical resection
- A procedure in which the surgeon removes the tumor and the surrounding tissue (safety margin). It is the main treatment for many types of localised cancer. It may be followed by adjuvant chemotherapy.
- Adjuvant treatment
- Treatment given after surgery or after the main treatment to reduce the risk of recurrence. It may be chemotherapy, radiotherapy, hormone therapy or targeted therapy, depending on the type of cancer.
- Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT)
- A hormonal treatment that lowers the level of testosterone in the body or blocks its effect, used in hormone-sensitive prostate cancer. It can be done with medication (injections) or surgically.
Other terms in “Treatment”
Glossary definitions are written for patients by the OncoDots team and go through internal medical review. They explain terms; they do not establish a diagnosis and do not recommend a treatment.