Chemotherapy is the
treatment of cancer with drugs ("anticancer drugs") that can
destroy cancer cells. In current usage, the term "chemotherapy"
usually refers to cytotoxic drugs which affect rapidly dividing
cells in general, in contrast with targeted therapy (see below).
Chemotherapy drugs interfere with cell division in various
possible ways, e.g. with the duplication of DNA or the
separation of newly formed chromosomes. Most forms of
chemotherapy target all rapidly dividing cells and are not
specific for cancer cells, although some degree of specificity
may come from the inability of many cancer cells to repair DNA
damage, while normal cells generally can. Hence, chemotherapy
has the potential to harm healthy tissue, especially those
tissues that have a high replacement rate (e.g. intestinal
lining). These cells usually repair themselves after
chemotherapy.
Because some drugs work better together than alone, two or more
drugs are often given at the same time. This is called
"combination chemotherapy"; most chemotherapy regimens are given
in a combination.
The treatment of some leukaemias and lymphomas requires the use
of high-dose chemotherapy, and total body irradiation (TBI).
This treatment ablates the bone marrow, and hence the body's
ability to recover and repopulate the blood. For this reason,
bone marrow, or peripheral blood stem cell harvesting is carried
out before the ablative part of the therapy, to enable "rescue"
after the treatment has been given. This is known as autologous
stem cell transplantation. Alternatively, hematopoietic stem
cells may be transplanted from a matched unrelated donor (MUD).
Treatment Chemotherapy
Targeted therapies >>
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Cancer
Classification
1. Nomenclature
2. Adult cancers
3. Childhood cancers
Signs and symptoms
Diagnosis
1. Investigation
2. Biopsy
Treatment
1. Surgery
2. Radiation therapy
3. Chemotherapy
4. Targeted therapies
5. Immunotherapy
6. Hormonal therapy
7. Symptom control
8. Complementary and alternative
9. Treatment trials
Prognosis
1. Emotional impact
Causes
1. Chemical carcinogens
2. Ionizing radiation &
Infectious diseases
3. Hormonal imbalances
& Immune system dysfunction
4. Heredity & Other causes
Pathophysiology
1. Epigenetics
2. Oncogenes
3. Tumor suppressor genes
4. Cancer cell biology
4.1 Clonal evolution
4.2 Biological properties of cancer cells
Prevention
1. Modifiable ("lifestyle") risk factors
2. Diet
3. Vitamins
4. Chemoprevention
5. Genetic testing
6. Vaccination
7. Screening
Epidemiology
History
Research |
