Tumor Removal

Overview :

Diagnostic biopsies

There are four types of biopsy techniques. The physician will choose the appropriate technique depending on the tumor type, location, size, and other factors. Some types of biopsy are more invasive than others.

• Aspiration biopsy. A needle is inserted into the tumor and a sample is withdrawn.
• Needle biopsy. A special cutting needle is inserted into the core of the tumor and a core sample is cut out.
• Incisional biopsy. A portion of a large tumor is removed, usually before complete tumor removal.
• Excisional biopsy. A whole lesion is removed along with surrounding normal tissue.

Complete tumor removal

Once surgical removal has been decided, an oncologic surgeon will remove the tumor whole, taking with it a large section of the surrounding normal tissue. The healthy tissue is removed to minimize the risk of possible seeding.

Cytoreduction

When surgical removal of a tumor is unacceptable as a sole treatment, a portion of the tumor is removed to "debulk" the mass. Debulking aids radiation and chemotherapy treatments.

MOSES JUDAH FOLKMAN (1933–)

Moses Judah Folkman was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on February 24, 1933. He was one of three children born to Bessie and Jerome Folkman. Because Folkman s father, a rabbi, would take his children with him when he visited sick individuals in the hospital, his son Judah dreamed of becoming a surgeon. Young Folkman requested a microscope for his bah mitzvah present and upon receiving it, set up a laboratory in his parents basement.

Folkman entered Ohio State University as a pre-med student, graduating in 1953 after only three years of study. He then went on to Harvard Medical School, where he helped create one of the first pacemakers ever produced and he received his medical degree in 1957. Folkman completed his internship and residency at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. In 1960, he married Paula Prial and the couple moved to Bethesda, Maryland where Folkman worked as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy at the National Naval Medical Center. It was here, with the help of his colleague, Fredrich Becker, that Folkman would make his initial discovery dealing with angiogenesis. Folkman found that a tumor would only grow if it had blood supplied to it. Additionally, the tumor would promote the growth of new blood vessels.

Folkman also held positions as a professor and surgeon for many years, but in 1981, he retired and became director of the Children's Hospital Surgical Research Laboratories in Boston. Folkman s research has opened new doorways that may allow scientists to ultimately find a cure for cancer.