Local and Systemic Recurrence is the Achilles Heel of Cancer Surgery

Excerpt

This year approximately 569,490 Americans, more than 1,500 people per day, are expected to die of cancer. Cancer has supplanted heart disease as the leading cause of death in the United States in men and women younger than age 85 years (American Cancer Society, Facts and Figures 2010). Cancer also has a major economic impact on the U.S. economy, with 2010 estimates of cancer associated costs of $263.8 billion (American Cancer Society, Facts and Figures 2010). The four most common cancers (lung, colorectal, prostate, and breast cancer) account for more than half of all cancer incidences in the United States. Surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy are the most established therapies for patients with these malignancies (American Cancer Society, Facts and Figures 2010). Surgery continues to be the most effective therapy for cancer in the United States. It is several-fold more effective than chemotherapy and radiation in curing patients with cancer. Unfortunately, many people are not surgical candidates due to advanced stage disease or comorbid conditions. …