Treatment

Surgery Group LA
New Liver Cancer Treatment Advances

Liver Cancer can be a true menace for patients who suffer from this disease. Hard to detect in early stages, difficult to treat, and often deadly for patients in advanced stages. The great news is that doctors are working tirelessly around the globe and have developed three new advances that we believe you should be keeping an eye on today.

New Trial for Sterostatic Ablative Liver Cancer Treatment

Feb 26, 2022 – Currently, for liver cancer patients who can’t go through surgery, the most standard treatment technique is ablative body radiotherapy. This is where radiation is heated to extreme temperatures and is injected directly into cancerous tumors using a needle. The problem is that these treatments are not always successful with cancer likely to reoccur in over 30 percent of cases. Others can’t even receive this treatment at all due to the size and location of their tumors. 

Stereotactic ablative radiotherapy seeks to solve this by targeting the tumors in question non-invasively, in the form of high radiation beams across multiple sessions. These treatments have proven successful for other cancer patients, and while still only experimental, could be a lifeline for patients suffering from liver cancers that can’t be treated with surgery, or typical radioactive therapy. 

Researchers able to Restore Function to a Gene that can Suppress Liver Cancer

Feb 9, 2022 – In what could be a groundbreaking change in how liver cancer is treated, researchers from Masschesuts General Hospital, and Brigham and Womans’ Hospital have been able to manually reactivate the p53 master regulator gene using MRNA particles. In a treatment very similar to the Covid 19 vaccine, these mRNA particles were able to turn on the genes responsible for destroying cancerous tumor cells that had long been deactivated by cancer in the first place. 

This new technique, in combination with Immunocheckpoint blockers, another new drug developed for liver cancer patients, could revolutionize the prognosis of thousands of people who do not respond to current cancer treatments, changing the outlook for many who have lost hope.

Cancer treatment can be filled with empty promises and dashed hopes, and while these advances will not change Cancer treatment overnight, it brings hope that cancer could be treated and cured for more people in the near future.

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March 3, 2022

Surgery Group LA
Liver Cancer: Surgical Treatments

Liver Cancer is the name that categorizes a multitude of liver cancerous diseases, the most common of which is hepatocellular carcinoma. Cancers that stem from the other parts of the body say colon, lung, rectal, that spread to the liver are called metastatic cancers. Liver Cancer is the fifth most common cause of cancer death in the United States, with over 30,000 people dying from liver cancer in 2021. 

For Liver Cancer, the most common form of disease-directed treatment is Surgery. The great news is that surgery is often the most successful form of treatment, especially with patients with good liver function and tumors of moderate size.

The two most common forms of Liver Cancer Surgical Treatments are:

  • Hepatectomy –  This Surgery involves removing a portion of the liver, in order to remove a single tumor. Hepatectomy can only be performed if the tumor in question has not grown into the blood vessels, leaving at least 30% of the liver functioning. The liver in question must also be relatively healthy and free of cirrhosis.
    • Possible Side Effects: Bleeding, Infection, Blood Clots, Pneumonia, and the possibility of new Liver Cancer forming
  • Liver Transplant – When available, a Liver Transplant can be the best option for patients whose tumors can’t be removed through other surgical methods. Unfortunately, there are only about 8,400 livers available for transplants every year, and these livers are used to treat other diseases alongside liver cancer.
    • Possible Side Effects: Bleeding, Infection, Blood Clots, Pneumonia, and the possibility of new Liver Cancer forming

While Liver Cancer is a stressful diagnosis to endure, there are treatments available. If you or a loved one is suffering from Liver Cancer, discuss with your medical team the possibilities of surgical treatment.

March 3, 2022

Surgery Group LA
AstraZeneca Reports Positive Results from New Breast Cancer Treatment Trial

Drug researchers from AstraZeneca PLC have reported that results from the late-stage trials of their drug Enhertu have been shown to improve the survival rates of their breast cancer patients. 

Enhertu is the latest of a series of drugs developed to target the cancer-linked protein HER2. 1 in 5 breast cancer patients has HER2-producing genes, and these proteins can often cause a more aggressive and damaging form of cancer.

This is crucial news for the 1 in 8 women in the United States who will get some form of invasive breast cancer in their lifetime. While new screening processes and treatments have lowered the mortality of breast cancer patients, nearly 44,000 people died from breast cancer last year in the US alone.

The great news is that drugs like Enhertu specifically target these HER2 proteins, rather than indirectly destroying them in treatments such as chemotherapy. These studies at least suggest that HER2 treatments perform better than even a physician’s recommended form of chemotherapy treatment, and if these results could continue could cause a paradigm shift in breast cancer treatment.

If you or a loved one has questions or concerns in regards to breast cancer screening, testing, or treatment, please speak to a medical professional right away.

February 26, 2022

Surgery Group LA
Thyroid Cancer: Diagnosis and Treatment

Thyroid Cancer: Diagnosis and Treatment

There are approximately 44,000 new cases of Thyroid Cancer every year. The good news is that this increase in diagnosis stems from new and advanced detection techniques. Tests like CT and MRI scans have been developed and refined, allowing for detection at earlier stages of cancer.

With proper diagnosis and treatment, most thyroid cancer can be cured. Please consult this guide if you are a loved one who believes that you might have thyroid cancer.

Early Symptoms of Thyroid Cancer

The most common symptom of Thyroid Cancer is an enlargement or swelling of the thyroid glands in your neck. Other symptoms include:

  • Increased hoarseness of the voice that does not heal
  • Difficulty swallowing
  • Pain in the neck and throat

Diagnosis

After performing a routine physical your doctor might perform these exams in order to ascertain if you have thyroid cancer:

  • Physical Examination – Your doctor will feel your neck for any signs of growth inside the thyroid glands around your neck. They also will ask about potential risk factors, such as your family’s history with Thyroid cancer and other cancers.
  • Blood test – A blood test might be prescribed in order to test whether your hormone levels are normal, a sign of a healthy thyroid
  • Ultrasound Imaging – Ultrasound uses sound waves to construct an in-depth image of your body structure. Ultrasounds can be a crucial test in deciphering whether a thyroid growth is benign or malignant and needs surgical treatment
  • Biopsy of suspect tissue – Using an Ultrasound as a guide, your doctor may remove a small part of the tissue in question through a procedure called a fine-needle aspiration biopsy. The sample then can be tested for cancerous cells.

Treatment

If your thyroid cancer is very small and has a low risk of spreading, your doctor may advise against treatment, preferring to keep cancer under active surveillance, usually through a blood and ultrasound test once or twice a year. These growths may never grow past this stage and may never require treatment.

However, most people diagnosed with thyroid cancer will require treatment at some point. Common non-surgical treatments include Thyroid Hormone Therapy, Chemotherapy, or Radiotive treatments, however, most thyroid cancer patients opt for surgical treatments. These treatments include:

  • Partial Removal of the thyroid (Thyroid Lobectomy) – Can be performed as an alternative to complete removal of the thyroid. A lobectomy is performed if the cancerous growth is small and has low signs of spreading. One advantage of this treatment is that the patient might not have to rely on thyroid hormone pills after treatment
  • Near Complete or Complete removal of the thyroid (Thyroidectomy) – The most common form of surgical treatment for thyroid cancer, a surgeon will remove most if not all the thyroid gland in order to decrease the chance of new growths forming. While this treatment will leave a scar around the neck, the scar will grow less noticeable over time. Patients who go through a thyroidectomy will need to take thyroid hormone pills daily
  • Removal of the lymph nodes around the neck (Lymph node dissection) – If cancer has spread through the thyroid into the lymph nodes, these nodes will often be removed during the same procedure as the thyroid removal surgery.

Common side effects of surgery include:

  • Temporary or permanent hoarseness of voice
  • Infection
  • Hematoma – forms of blood clots around the neck
  • Damage to the parathyroid glands could lead to irregulated calcium levels which can cause muscle spasms

Every form of treatment should be heavily discussed with your medical team before proceeding, but if you or a loved one is suffering from thyroid cancer, there is hope for treatment and a cure.

October 31, 2021

Surgery Group LA
What is Hypothyroidism? Diagnosis and Treatment

Hypothyroidism is a condition that occurs when your thyroid does not produce enough thyroid hormone into the bloodstream, causing your metabolism to slow down.

In extreme cases known as Mxeydema, patients could suffer from: 

  • Heart Failure
  • Anemia
  • Low Core Body Temperature
  • Coma

Thankfully, Hypothyroidism is a very treatable condition and can be controlled with medication and regular visits with your doctor,

Symptoms of Hypothyroidism

Hypothyroidism can often take years to develop noticeable symptoms. They can include: 

  • Fatigue, brain fog, 
  • Numbness and tingling in the hands
  • Constipation
  • Weight gain
  • Prolonged muscle weakness and soreness
  • Low tolerance of cold temperatures
  • Dry coarse skin and hair
  • Frequent and heavy menstrual periods

Diagnosing Hypothyroidism

After speaking with your medical care provider about your symptoms, your doctor will commonly perform a thyroid-stimulating hormone test (TSH), as well as blood tests for Hashimoto’s disease. If the thyroid is enlarged, your doctor can often check for that during your physical examination.

Treating Hypothyroidism

Hypothyroidism is often treated through medication. Medication like levothyroxine improves the amount of thyroid hormone your body produces, realigning them back to normal levels. 

While Hypothyroidism is a very manageable condition, patients will need to take medication for the rest of their lives. However, with regular visits to your doctor to adjust and manage your medication, most patients can live a normal and healthy life.

If you or a loved one believes that they are suffering from Hypothyroidism, speak to your medical provider right away.

October 7, 2021



About Surgery Group LA

Surgery Group LA is a team of professional and board-licensed surgeons, who specialize of their respective fields. The institution’s project to offer sufferers with advanced and complete surgical care.

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