Israel has been a world leader in the treatment of oncological diseases for many years in a row. This direction is one of the most innovative. It is here that modern therapeutic methods such as immunotherapy, targeted therapy, and brachytherapy are used to treat cancer pathologies, making it possible to achieve good results even in severe cases.
Every year, more than 70 thousand foreign patients come to Israel for treatment, many of whom are cancer patients.
What advanced technologies are used in the surgical treatment of cancer?
Currently, the latest techniques using microsurgical instruments, endoscopic equipment, and robotic equipment (da Vinci robot) are increasingly used in surgical interventions to remove tumors. The operative method provides a positive result of treatment in many types of cancer. You can learn about it on Doctor.Global. It should be noted that minimally invasive surgery, in most cases, is possible in the initial stages of the disease when the tumor size is small, and it is possible to remove only the tumor tissue or part of the affected organ. When the cancer is detected in a sufficiently advanced form, traditional surgical methods of operation are used. Procedures with the da Vinci robot are performed for malignant tumors of the lung, kidney, bladder, and prostate cancer. In addition, robotic surgeries are performed for uterine, liver, and pancreas cancer.
What changes have occurred in chemotherapy and radiology?
Radiation and chemotherapy in Israel have also undergone significant changes. One of the main advantages of chemotherapy in oncology treatment is using various modern drugs that combine good efficacy and less toxicity for patients. In recent years, innovative methods have been used to deliver chemotherapy drugs into the patient’s body, which allow for a higher concentration of chemotherapy and more targeted exposure. This significantly reduces the number of side effects after treatment.
Intraperitoneal, intrathecal, and intracranial chemotherapy is increasingly used instead of systemic chemotherapy. One of the main advantages of radiotherapy in Israel is the gentle impact on healthy tissue. This becomes possible thanks to the most modern equipment, which allows excellent precision to direct the beam exclusively on malignant lesions and regulate its intensity. In Israel, serious attention is paid to the development of stereotactic radiosurgery.
Currently, several types of devices are used at the Assuta Clinic. Using stereotactic surgery instead of the surgeon’s traditional scalpel has expanded oncology’s ability to treat tumors in hard-to-reach areas.Radiosurgery can remove a large number of head and spinal cord tumors. Radiating the cancer from the inside is also often used to treat oncology and is called brachytherapy. This type of radiation therapy involves placing a capsule containing radioactive substances directly into the tumor tissue. The amount of radioactive substances is calculated so healthy tissues are not exposed. Thus, cancer treatment in Israel always involves complex therapy, which may include improved standard techniques and progressive ones.
We also want to tell you about innovative methods of conservative treatment of pathologies that are used in Israel:
- Regional chemotherapy. Systemic chemotherapy (when the drug is injected into a vein or pills are taken) has several side effects on the body. Chemotherapy drugs are toxic to the body, so their use is limited. Regional chemotherapy – the local application of chemotherapeutic agents – addresses these two fundamental problems.
- Photodynamic therapy. The essence of this method is the management of substances that remain in the tumor. Then, the tumor area is irradiated with light of a particular wavelength, which leads to a photochemical reaction – decomposition of photosensitive substances with the formation of reactive oxygen species, which are destructive to the tumor. Thus, the cancer is destroyed from within.
- Immunotherapy. In 2018, the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine was awarded to two scientists who, back in the early 90s, unraveled the molecular mechanism that served as the basis for cancer immunotherapy. In particular, it is about specific proteins that act as typical brakes for the immune system so that the latter does not “see” cancer cells. Unfortunately, immunotherapy is not universal at present. Immunotherapy drugs are not always effective, but scientists are working hard to universalize the method so that it will be possible to use immunotherapy to treat all types of cancer in the future.
- Targeted therapy. Another innovative cancer treatment method is drugs that selectively bind to cancer cells without affecting healthy cells of organs and tissues. Unlike chemotherapy, which negatively affects healthy cells, target therapy drugs are practically harmless to healthy cells.
It is also worth specifying about the main advantages of cancer treatment in Israel:
- Qualified doctors. Israeli specialists are among the best in the world. To obtain a medical degree, an Israeli medical student has to study for seven years, and not everyone can withstand this challenging test. However, even after graduation, a young doctor does not have the right to specialize in a particular field (e.g., oncology). For this purpose, he still has to undergo many years of practice and study, after which he receives a license – the right to specialize.
- Accurate diagnosis. You can be 100% sure of the accuracy of your diagnosis. Doctors work with the most modern diagnostic equipment and are guided by current diagnostic protocols, including differential diagnostics. They use strict standards of control of the obtained data, which allows specialists to be fully confident in the diagnosis and exclude all possible diseases that may give similar symptoms or diagnostic data.
- Modern equipment. The most modern diagnostic and treatment equipment is used in Israel. The clinic regularly updates medical equipment, purchasing it from the world’s leading manufacturers. Advanced diagnostic methods are at your service, which became possible thanks to modern medical equipment.
- Minor invasive surgery. This is another significant advantage of treatment in Israel, where such therapy has been practiced since the late 1990s. In oncological practice, minimally invasive surgeries prevent surgical severe trauma and blood loss, which is especially important for cancer patients. Notably, some surgical procedures in Israel are carried out at the stage of diagnosis. For example, this is the removal of polyps at the scene of their detection during colonoscopy.
- Innovative methods. Israel is one of the leading countries in introducing innovative ways of diagnosis and treatment, especially in oncology. Currently, Israeli doctors use such modern forms of non-surgical cancer treatment as immunotherapy, targeted treatment, anti-cancer vaccines, innovative methods of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and other ways to treat oncological diseases. It is noteworthy that Israeli doctors work closely with leading Israeli and foreign research groups, which ensures the continuous introduction of innovative methods in treating neuropathologies.
Thus, we can conclude that cancer treatment in Israel is constantly evolving. You will have many choices of treatment methods and suitable specialists. Also, if you want to avoid trying modern techniques, you can always turn to classical options, which are also practiced everywhere.