Assoc. Prof. Dr. Serkan Keskin
Prof. Dr. Serkan Keskin, Head of the Medical Oncology Department at Memorial Shishli Hospital in Turkey, will consult oncology patients free of charge in Sofia on December 1, 2018. He is coming to our country at the invitation of Zvezdelina Lutfi, Manager of the Health Information Center "Medical Karaj", as part of their initiative to provide Bulgarian patients with access to the most modern methods in medicine. To this end, Medical Karadji has partnered with some of the best medical institutions and specialists from around the world.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Serkan Keskin graduated in 2001 from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Thrace and subsequently specialized in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology. Assoc. Keskin has 70 scientific publications in international journals and is a member of a number of professional associations in Europe, USA and Turkey. He currently heads the Department of Medical Oncology at Memorial Shishli Hospital in Istanbul, where individualized innovative therapies for cancer treatment are applied.
Chemotherapy, target therapy and immunotherapy
Cancer treatment is one of the areas in medicine that has seen significant development in recent years. Therefore, if in the 1970s the 5-year survival rate for cancer patients was about 50%, nowadays it is 80%. Nowadays, cancer treatment drugs can be divided into three groups. The first is chemotherapy, which destroys cancer cells. But because healthy cells are usually affected along with cancer cells, chemotherapy is in many cases associated with significant side effects.
The second method is targeted therapies, or so-called "smart" drugs that target only the cancer cells. Their mechanism of action involves blocking the signals that tell cancer cells to divide and multiply.
The third mechanism to control cancer is immunotherapy. It activates the cells of the immune system to battle cancer cells and thus cure the disease. Immunotherapies are already used in many types of cancer and research into their application is ongoing.
Genetic mapping of cancer for more successful treatment
Personalized cancer treatment, which is administered according to the type of disease and the specific patient, increases the success rate and reduces side effects when dealing with the disease. With genetic cancer mapping, the inside of the cancer cell is visualized and the extent of damage is determined. NGS (Next Generation Sequencing) is the method that is defined as the next generation of sequencing and is performed by examining the cancer tissue or with a simple blood test. The test assists in selecting an appropriate therapy that will act effectively on the cancer cells, with fewer side effects for the individual patient. For example, in a patient with breast cancer, genetic testing of the disease is carried out by taking cell or blood samples. Based on the test, the drug to be used and the treatment plan is determined. In this way, the patient's recovery will be ensured by choosing the more effective treatment and using drugs with fewer side effects.
A comprehensive approach to cancer treatment
Although today cancer is in the group of curable diseases, its successful treatment requires joint assessment and work of different specialists in this field after diagnosis. Data such as the patient's age, other comorbidities, individual preferences and psychosocial state are also taken into account when planning treatment. Only oral or intravenous administration of the correct drug for the disease to the cancer patient cannot be considered a success. The secret lies in love, respect for the person and the effort to transmit hope and trust to the patient himself and his family, the specialists of Memorial Hospital stress.
Oncology patients from Bulgaria who wish to take advantage of the opportunity for free consultations with Dr. Serkan Keskin in Sofia on December 1, should register in advance at the following numbers "Medical Karaj": 0879 977 401 or 0879 977 402.
