Cytoreductive therapy is a treatment strategy aimed at reducing the number of cancer cells in the body to manageable levels, thereby improving the effectiveness of subsequent treatments and enhancing patient outcomes. This approach is commonly used in the management of various cancers, including hematologic malignancies like leukemia and solid tumors such as ovarian cancer.
The primary goal of cytoreductive therapy is to decrease the tumor burden, which can help alleviate symptoms, prevent complications, and make the remaining cancer cells more responsive to additional treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation, or immunotherapy. By reducing the volume of cancer cells, this therapy can also enhance the patient's quality of life and potentially extend survival.
Cytoreductive therapy can be achieved through several methods, including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. Surgical cytoreduction involves the physical removal of as much of the tumor mass as possible. In cases where surgery is not feasible, high-dose chemotherapy or radiation can be used to kill a substantial number of cancer cells. For example, in hematologic cancers, cytoreductive therapy often involves intensive chemotherapy regimens aimed at rapidly decreasing the number of malignant cells in the bloodstream and bone marrow.
One notable application of cytoreductive therapy is in the treatment of ovarian cancer, where debulking surgery is performed to remove as much of the tumor as possible, followed by chemotherapy to target residual disease. Similarly, in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), cytoreductive therapy with tyrosine kinase inhibitors helps control the disease by significantly lowering the leukemic cell count.