-Prophylactic surgery is done to remove tissue that is precancerous or high risk of developing into cancer for early prevention.
-Diagnostic surgery includes taking a biopsy or sample of tissue to determine if cancer is present or what type of cancer is present.
-Curative surgery can be done with specific cancer types and when cancer is only in one part of the body with possibility of needing chemo and radiation afterward.
-Surgery to stage cancer is done to determine how much cancer is present and how far it has spread. This will include at least sampling lymph nodes. This is important to guide future treatments.
-Debulking surgery is done to remove as much tumor as possible or tumor that is impacting quality of life and/ or not responding to treatment. This is usually followed by radiation or chemotherapy.
-Palliative surgery is to treat problems cause by advanced cancer including improvement of discomfort, improvement of pain and improvement in quality of life, but not to treat or cure cancer itself.
For more information click the following link:
https://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatments-and-side-effects/treatment-types/surgery/how-surgery-is-used-for-cancer.html