Small Intestine Cancer Treatments

Treatments for Small Intestine Cancer

Small intestine cancer is quite rare, making it even more important to find a team that has seen this type of cancer — and is acquainted with the best and most individualized treatments.

At City of Hope the center of our approach to your cancer is precision medicine. That means every aspect of your care is tailored to the behavior of your specific cancer. And it means we apply precise and minimally invasive surgical techniques — and test individual cancer cells to find drug combinations that would work best for your specific case.

Surgery

Surgery is a common treatment for small intestine cancer and, in advanced cases, your care team will discuss a plan that may involve a combination of treatments including surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.

Chemotherapy and Radiation Therapy

Chemotherapy or radiation may be given before surgery to shrink the tumor; and after surgery to try and wipe out any remaining cancer cells.

  • Exciting advances in chemotherapy are allowing patients with advanced disease to get combinations of drugs to shrink tumors, making it easier to take them out later with surgery — or melt them away and avoid surgery altogether.
  • If you have failed all standard chemotherapy, we have several experimental approaches — including immunotherapy and targeted therapy — designed to target your specific tumor and extend your life.
  • We use the latest technology to spot genetic vulnerabilities in cancer cells and use medications — or combinations of medications — to stop them from growing. This allows us to create targeted therapies: drugs or drug combinations tailored to treat specific cancers.
  • We offer advanced radiation treatments that are highly targeted to cancer cells.

Clinical Trials

At City of Hope, we offer access to drug, surgical and other clinical trials aimed at improving survival rates and enhancing quality of life. In addition to these clinical trials, City of Hope has several others that will open soon that look at new therapies for patients with specific mutations and will explore new immunotherapy approaches — which are ways of helping the patient’s own immune system fight cancer.

Comprehensive, Supportive Care

City of Hope is one of the few centers in the country that treats small intestine cancer using a comprehensive, team-based approach by a team whose only focus is treating this type of cancer. Your care includes regular interaction and input from a team of surgeons, oncologists, gastroenterologists, radiologists and pathologists — along with nurses, genetic counselors, nutritionists and specially trained support staff.

That comprehensive approach to your care means better care and a strong potential for you to live longer. And your supportive care continues long after treatment is complete. Our specialists will help you adjust to post-treatment diet and lifestyle changes, and our unique family and survivorship programs will assist your loved ones.