prabhuGermany is one of the world leaders in the efficiency of cancer treatment. In medical tourism, oncology ranks first among all directions, as patients with cancer often require high-tech medical care that is not available in their home country. If you want to undergo innovative cancer treatment, turn to the leading oncology clinics in Germany. German doctors use modern ways to fight oncopathologies. Here are the top 10 leading oncological treatments in Germany.
1. Radiotargeted therapy with Lutetium-177
This treatment is one of the most effective options for advanced prostate cancer. It works well even if chemotherapy and hormone therapy are ineffective. A radioactive substance is injected into the human body, which selectively accumulates in the tumor tissue due to interaction with prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA). Having destroyed the cancer cells, the radionuclide is eliminated from the body within a few days.
2. Cancer vaccines
These stimulate the immune system so that it can fight the cancer more effectively. There are different types of vaccines. German scientists and physicians pay great attention to the development and use of dendritic cell vaccines, which are derived from the patient’s own immune cells. They enhance the anti-tumor immune response by training T-cells to better recognize cancer cells.
3. Intraperitoneal chemotherapy: HIPEC and PIPEC
Tumors of abdominal organs often spread through the peritoneum. This is an unfavorable type of cancer progression called peritoneal carcinomatosis. In such situations, doctors in Germany perform surgery to remove all tumors and then flush the abdomen with a heated solution of chemopreventive agents (HIPEC). If surgery cannot be performed, pressurized intraperitoneal aerosol chemotherapy (PIPAC) is performed. This is a minimally invasive procedure performed under anesthesia, through punctures in the abdomen. Doctors spray drugs into the abdomen to destroy malignant tumors.
4. Chemoembolization and radioembolization
During this treatment tiny beads filled with chemotherapy or radioactive substances are injected into the vessels feeding the tumor. This is a minimally invasive X-ray vascular procedure that is performed through an incision in the leg or arm. As a result, the tumor is deprived of its blood supply and damaged by the chemotherapeutic drugs.
5. Robotic surgical interventions
More and more hospitals of Germany are installing robotic surgeons. They are used to safely remove tumors of the prostate, bowel, bladder, lungs, adrenal glands and other organs with less trauma and blood loss.
6. Oncolytic viruses
Genetically modified viruses acquire the ability to selectively penetrate and destroy cancer cells. As a result of the treatment, the tumor shrinks and the breakdown products of the cancer cells are released into the bloodstream, which stimulates the immune system. Although oncolytic viruses are injected directly into the primary tumor, metastases are also reduced as a result of the immune activity.
7. CAR T-cell therapy
The method is used for lymphoma, leukemia, and multiple myeloma. Six drugs have already been approved for clinical use, and dozens more are being studied. The essence of the method: immune cells are isolated from human blood, their genome is modified, and they are injected back. The modified cells attack the tumor, as a result, tumor foci decrease in size or even completely disappear.
8. Conjugated antibodies
Antibodies target certain molecules that are present in cancer cells but absent in other tissues. Radioactive substances or chemotherapeutic drugs are attached to them. Once injected into the body, monoclonal antibodies deliver the drugs directly to the cancer cells, having a selective destructive effect on them.
9. Regional chemotherapy
The tumor gets its nutrition from certain arteries. Chemotherapeutic drugs can be injected into these arteries to destroy the cancer cells. Regional therapy is more effective than systemic (intravenous) therapy. In addition, it is safer because it does not have significant toxic effects on the body. Examples of regional chemotherapy are as follows:
Infusion chemotherapy into the hepatic artery – implantation of a pump that injects chemotherapeutic agents into the hepatic artery for long periods of time to suppress liver tumors.
Isolated chemoperfusion of a limb – connecting the vessels of a limb affected by a tumor to a machine that maintains blood flow. High concentrations of chemopreparations circulate in this isolated bloodstream for several hours.
10. Proton therapy
An advanced cancer therapy, used only in six oncology clinics in Germany, which involves irradiating the tumor with protons instead of photons. Protons are safer because they release radiation inside the tumor only. They release almost no energy on their way to the tumor, so they do not damage the healthy tissue they pass through. This method of cancer treatment in Germany is used in pediatric oncology, as well as for brain, head and neck tumors.If you want to undergo oncological treatment in Germany, visit the Booking Health website. Here you can find the best clinics for cancer care in Germany, comparison of cancer treatment methods, patients’ success stories, reviews of hospitals and doctors. With the help of Booking Health service you can find out the cost of oncological treatment, compare prices in different clinics, choose a hospital and make an appointment for convenient dates. Employees of Booking Health will provide you with the organization of your trip abroad.
