Colon cancer treatment with chemotherapy in Germany

Treatment for Colon cancer stays in the focus of medical attention due to the high prevalence of pathology and complicated diagnosis making. Systemic therapy is becoming more asked-for as it can be administered instead of invasive interventions and has proven its efficacy at the advanced cancer stages. Chemotherapy is the most studied type of systemic treatment. It has been applied in the clinical practice for over a few decades. Chemotherapy treatment for Colon cancer in Germany includes the administration of both innovative and conventional chemotherapeutic agents with the best safety and effectiveness profiles.

When chemotherapy is performed

According to the colon cancer stage, therapeutic aims, patient’s age, and general health state, chemotherapy is given in the following modes.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is administered prior to surgical intervention. It shrinks the tumor so that the specialist can remove it completely or with fewer surgical complications. In certain cases, chemotherapeutic agents are given along with radiation therapy, as they make the tumor more sensitive to the irradiation.

Adjuvant chemotherapy is administered after surgical intervention. Its main aim is to kill cancer cells that may have been missed. These include pathological foci in the liver or micrometastases in the other localizations. Adjuvant chemotherapy is a measure of relapse prevention.

Palliative chemotherapy is administered when the tumor is advanced and has already spread to distant organs. Its aim is prolonging life and alleviating symptoms. Palliative chemotherapy is performed in specialized hospitals or, sometimes, on an outpatient basis.

Medications and therapeutic regimens

Depending on the immunohistochemical diagnosis, tumor localization, and presence of metastases, a patient can receive systemic or regional chemotherapy. The first one is performed through a vein (injections) or by mouth (pills). The second one includes putting drugs directly into an artery that supplies affected part of the body. The most widespread medications are:

• Capecitabine (Xeloda) is a pill drug. Reaching the tumor, it converts to another active substance – 5FU.
• Fluorouracil (5FU) is the first-choice chemotherapeutical that is often given simultaneously with folinic acid (leucovorin). Folinic acid enhances the effect of 5FU.
• Trifluridine and tipiracil (Lonsurf) is a combination of medication in the pill form.

Some of the medications are more effective in metastatic colorectal cancer. These are aflibercept (Zaltrap), cetuximab (Erbitux), bevacizumab (Avastin), ramucirumab (Cyramza), and panitumumab (Vectibix).

In Germany, patients often receive therapy with two or more chemotherapeutic drugs. The most widespread complex schemes are:

• FOLFOX (folinic acid, fluorouracil, and oxaliplatin).
• CAPOX (XELOX) (capecitabine and oxaliplatin).
• FOLFIRI (folinic acid, fluorouracil, and irinotecan).

Efficient chemotherapy abroad with Booking Health