3-Feb-2016

New immunotherapy related treatments to combat cancer at Vithas Xanit

With Worldwide Cancer Day around the corner, Vithas Xanit International Hospital offers important advice on the struggle against cancer and how new immunotherapy treatments can help combat cancer.

Some 220.000 new cases of cancer in Spain are diagnosed each year. The most frequent forms of the disease are colon and rectal cancers which constitute 39.553 cases. Next are prostate tumours  (32.641 cases in 2014), lung cancers (27.859), and breast tumours  (26.354).  In women the most common tumours are found in the breast (26.354 cases), the colon and the rectum (16.071 cases), and uterine cancers (5.963 cases). Lung tumours are the fourth most frequent type of cancer with  5.404 new cases.

“The Vithas Xanit Oncological Institute is dedicated to providing new immunotherapy related treatments in order to combat cancer. In 10% of cases, these treatments enable patients to survive the disease for up to 10 years after the initial diagnosis’’, explains Dr. Trujillo, a Medical Oncologist from the Vithas Xanit Oncological Institute “We must also stress the importance of new treatments related to immunotherapy, which can provide a definite cure for this pathology, and enable early detection’’, add’s the specialist.

Vithas Xanit Oncological Institute actually provides various treatments of this type, such as the new, recently incorporated, treatment for prostate cancer which can improve the quality of life of patients with an advanced form of this cancer, and in those where the disease has spread to the bones. In these cases Radium 223 Dichloride is used, a medication which was approved in May by the healthcare authorities. The introduction of this treatment means that Vithas Xanit has become the only hospital in the province of Málaga, and the second in Andalucia to offer this treatment within their directory of services.

“Our hospital also offers new treatments which stimulate the body’s immune system in order to destroy the tumour, such as the nivolumab anti-bodies. These clearly improve the survival rate of patients with melanomas and other tumours and mark a new revolution in oncological treatments’’, add’s the specialist.

With regard to early detection, Vithas Xanit has a Genetic Counseling Unit, a Breast unit, and a Cancer Prevention Unit whose objectives are to markably reduce the incidence of the most common types of tumours; breast, colorectal, cervical, and lung, as well as the mortality rate.

"The Vithas Xanit Oncological Institute offer’s patients with a moderate risk of developing the disease high resolution techniques, such as the bilateral digital mammogram, vaginal cytology, the colonoscopy, and the thoracic low radiation CT scan’’, explains the specialist. He add’s that  “taking into account that these are the four most common types of cancer, their early detection is vital in order to reduce the mortality rates, and the frequency with which patients require aggressive treatments’’. 

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Vithas Xanit International Hospital is a multi-specialty private hospital in Benalmadena, on Spain's Costa del Sol. Staffed by over 680 professionals, 250 of whom are doctors who enjoy national and international recognition, and equipped with latest technology, the hospital offers more than 40 medical specialties and is experienced in treating overseas patients.