Colorectal Cancer Unique Treatment Options
UC San Diego's Moores Gastrointestinal Cancer Unit is one of only a few sites in the U.S. offering unique procedures, technological advancements, and clinical trials specifically for colorectal cancer. For example, we have drug therapies that attack the abnormal signaling processes that cause colon cancer cells to grow, innovative therapies that boost the immune response, antibodies to attack cancer, and drugs to stop blood flow to tumors.
Heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC)
Another option for patients with cancer that has spread to the peritoneal surface (the smooth membrane that lines the colon) is heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), performed by Dr. Andrew Lowy. UCSD is the only center west of the prestigious M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston that provides this operation. The patient’s abdomen is opened and all visible tumor is removed. Chemotherapy drugs heated to about 105 to 110 degrees are circulated over a 90 minute period throughout the abdominal cavity and then removed. Studies have shown that hyperthermia (heat) works especially well with chemotherapy to kill tumor cells, which have an impaired ability to deal with heat. In normal chemotherapy, the drugs diffuse within a few millimeters; when administered within an open abdomen, the chemotherapy is able to penetrate deeper into bulky tissue. Learn more about HIPEC treatment at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center.
The remarkable da Vinci Robot
Although the da Vinci robot is available throughout the U.S. for prostate cancer patients, its use in rectal cancer is unique to only two or three sites, including the UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center. Dr. Sonia Ramamoorthy notes that the robot is especially effective in tight, narrow spaces, such as the rectum or esophagus, where a laparoscope won’t work. An additional benefit to minimally invasive procedures (with robot or laparoscope) is that the immune system is not as traumatized as with major surgery. If the immune system is suppressed, residual cancer cells left behind can continue to grow. Studies have shown that there is less immunosuppressive with minimally invasive procedures, so that the body fights any cancer cells that remain after surgery. See UCSD's robotic surgery website.
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