How Can Radiotherapy Help Treat Secondary Cancers?

A cancer diagnosis is a major event in the life of any patient and the response needs to involve both medical and personal support, with an important combination of the two coming through each patient being provided with plenty of information and understanding about their treatment options.

Most patients will have limited knowledge of cancer at the outset, particularly if the particular kind with which they have been diagnosed is among the less common types, but it is also important to be aware of how situations can change.

In particular, there is the distinction between primary and secondary cancer, which has major implications both for the prognosis and the kind of treatment options that may be most suitable. This can include changes to the way that radiotherapy treatment may be given.

Secondary Cancer Explained

Every cancer starts off as a primary cancer, with the disease arising in a particular part of the body. Common examples include the brain, lungs, breast, colon, prostate and skin.

Secondary cancer is what occurs when the primary cancer spreads beyond the area where it has started into other parts of the body, a process known as metastasis. This happens when cancer cells break away and spread through the blood or lymphatic system.

Occasionally, a form of cancer known as cancer of unknown primary can occur, where a diagnosis of secondary cancer has taken place and it is not clear where it started as a primary cancer.

This may occur because the original cancer was very small, while the secondary cancer has grown quickly. Occasionally, the immune system successfully attacks the primary cancer while the secondary one starts to spread.

Late diagnosis is not the reason for a cancer of unknown primary, as in most cases, the location of origin can still be easily identified, since the cancer is very prominent there. For instance, a malignant brain tumour will still be present even after metastasis.

Causes Of Metastasis

How metastasis occurs is still a matter of debate and a topic of much research. For instance, a recent paper produced by the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centre has indicated a possible link between the consumption of added sugars in soft drinks and fruit juices and metastasis from colorectal cancer.

If this finding is corroborated by further research, this may help reduce such instances by making the abstinence from such drinks an imperative for those diagnosed with primary colorectal cancers.

However, this link, if proven, may have little or no relevance to other cancers. Medical science is still a very long way from being able to prevent metastasis.

Radiotherapy Options

Secondary cancer often means new treatment approaches are required, not least when it comes to radiotherapy.

For some primary cancers, radiotherapy can be very precisely directed, a technique known as stereotactic radiotherapy. This will use very precise beams of intense radiation to target specific locations, such as a tumour, while minimising exposure to surrounding tissue.

However, in the case of secondary cancer, a different form of radiotherapy may be required.

It is not simply a case of undergoing full-body radiotherapy, as if the best approach would be to treat the entire anatomy. Metastatic cancer does not suddenly affect the entire body, but spreads from one part to another.

For example, metastatic breast cancer may migrate to the bones, with treatment being given to the affected area.

If the metastasis takes the cancer to areas close to or touching sensitive organs or the brain, stereotactic radiotherapy may be used. In other instances, internal radiotherapy may be given. This is where the radioactive material is put in an implant that is inserted into the body close to the affected area.

The aim of such treatment is fundamentally the same as with primary cancer, aiming to shrink tumours and prevent the cancer spreading by using radiation to disrupt the DNA of cancer cells, which damages their ability to reproduce and multiply.

Internal radiotherapy may be used, particularly for conditions like metastatic bone pain and metastases to the liver. While it’s not a common treatment for all types of metastasis, its use is growing for specific applications.

What To Expect

In the most favourable cases, this can ultimately lead to a patient winning their battle against cancer and ultimately becoming cancer-free. When this is not the case, it can still extend life and, in palliative care settings, reduce discomfort.

If you have been unhappy with your treatment so far and are seeking private radiotherapy, the progression of cancer from primary to secondary will pose new challenges. However, we can offer a combination of leading expertise, the most advanced technology and a personalised approach to care that will ensure the treatment is tailored to your needs.

Not only will this be undertaken with the aim of providing the best patient outcomes, but to ensure that you are involved, informed and feel confident you are getting the best care at every stage in the process.

At Amethyst Radiotherapy, we plan metastatic care with a multidisciplinary team and deliver SBRT/SRS, VMAT/IMRT and image-guided radiotherapy to target secondary lesions precisely while sparing healthy tissue.

Learn more about our advanced radiotherapy for metastatic cancer on the Amethyst Group website.