What is the primary goal of adjuvant chemotherapy after surgical resection of solid tumors?

• A. Eradicate microscopic residual disease and reduce the risk of systemic recurrence.
• B. Eradicate gross residual disease that is visible on imaging.
• C. Improve surgical margins during resection.
• D. Enhance the patient's immune response to cancer.

Answer: (A)

After surgical removal of a solid tumor, microscopic cancer cells can remain beyond what the eye or imaging can detect. Adjuvant chemotherapy is given to reach those cells throughout the body, aiming to eradicate this microscopic residual disease and lower the risk that cancer will recur systemically. This systemic treatment helps prevent distant relapse and can improve disease-free and overall survival in many solid tumors.

It isn’t about removing visible tumor left behind or improving the surgical margins—that role belongs to the operation itself or to local therapies. It’s also not primarily about boosting the immune system, which is the domain of immunotherapy, though chemotherapy can interact with the immune response in various ways.