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How can surgery and radiation therapy be combined to treat cancer?

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Precancerous growth in a human colon — cancer View through an endoscope of a polyp, a benign precancerous growth projecting from the inner lining of the colon.

Surgery and radiation therapy are frequently combined to treat cancer because their respective strengths offset each other's weaknesses.1

Surgery is highly effective at removing localized tumors, but it may fail to eliminate cancer cells that have spread beyond the surgical margins. Conversely, radiation therapy is particularly effective at eradicating undetected disease at the periphery of a tumor, though it is less effective at killing cells in the center of large tumor masses. By combining these methods, clinicians can achieve a more comprehensive treatment.1

This combination is often applied as adjuvant therapy, where radiation is administered following surgery to enhance the outcome and reduce the risk of recurrence. A common example is a lumpectomy (limited excision of a breast tumor) followed by radiation therapy.21

The integration of these treatments is typically managed by a multidisciplinary team of specialists, including surgeons and radiation oncologists, to ensure the most effective and safe therapeutic strategy for the patient.3