Related topics: cancer , cancer cells
Chemotherapy
hideChemotherapy, in its most general sense, refers to treatment of disease by chemicals that kill cells, both good and bad, but specifically those of micro-organisms or cancerous tumours. In popular usage, it refers to antineoplastic drugs used to treat cancer or the combination of these drugs into a cytotoxic standardized treatment regimen. In its non-oncological use, the term may also refer to antibiotics (antibacterial chemotherapy). In that sense, the first modern chemotherapeutic agent was Paul Ehrlich's arsphenamine, an arsenic compound discovered in 1909 and used to treat syphilis. This was later followed by sulfonamides discovered by Domagk and penicillin discovered by Alexander Fleming.
Most commonly, chemotherapy acts by killing cells that divide rapidly, one of the main properties of cancer cells. This means that it also harms cells that divide rapidly under normal circumstances: cells in the bone marrow, digestive tract and hair follicles; this results in the most common side effects of chemotherapy—myelosuppression (decreased production of blood cells), mucositis (inflammation of the lining of the digestive tract) and alopecia (hair loss).
Other uses of cytostatic chemotherapy agents (including the ones mentioned below) are the treatment of autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis and the suppression of transplant rejections (see immunosuppression and DMARDs). Newer anticancer drugs act directly against abnormal proteins in cancer cells; this is termed targeted therapy.
For more information about Chemotherapy, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with chemotherapy
Small addition to cancer drug may make big difference
6 hours ago |
3 / 5 (2) |
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University of Florida researchers have found a way to use just a fraction of the normal dosage of a highly toxic, debilitating chemotherapy drug to achieve even better results against colon cancer cells.
Autologous stem cell transplantation for soft tissue sarcoma: insufficient research into therapy
7 hours ago |
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Due to a lack of suitable studies, it is unclear whether patients with soft tissue sarcoma can benefit from autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. With this type of therapy, some of the patient's own (autologous) ...
Combination therapy with midostaurin improves survival of AML patients with FLT3 mutations, phase 1
11 hours ago |
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A targeted drug that is active against acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is particularly effective when teamed with chemotherapy in patients whose cancer cells harbor a key genetic mutation, researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute ...
Spices halt growth of breast stem cells, study finds
Dec 07, 2009 |
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A new study finds that compounds derived from the spices turmeric and pepper could help prevent breast cancer by limiting the growth of stem cells, the small number of cells that fuel a tumor's growth.
Tiny magnetic discs could kill cancer cells: study
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Nov 29, 2009 |
3.8 / 5 (22) |
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Tiny magnetic discs just a millionth of a metre in diameter could be used to used to kill cancer cells, according to a study published on Sunday.
CT imaging taken post avastin may predict survival in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer
Dec 01, 2009 |
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Using routine computed tomography (CT) imaging to analyze form and structural changes to colorectal liver metastasis after bevacizumab and chemotherapy may predict overall survival, according to research from The University ...
Magnetic Nanotags Spot Cancer in Mice Earlier Than Current Methods
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Nov 17, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Searching for biomarkers that can warn of diseases such as cancer while they are still in their earliest stage is likely to become far easier thanks to an innovative biosensor chip developed by Stanford University ...
Drug shrinks lung cancer tumors in mice
Nov 10, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A potential new drug for lung cancer has eliminated tumours in 50% of mice in a new study published today in the journal Cancer Research. In the animals, the drug also stopped lung cancer ...
Long-term testicular cancer survivors at high risk for neurological side effects
Nov 25, 2009 |
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Long-term survivors of testicular cancer who were treated with cisplatin-based chemotherapy had more severe side effects, including neurological side effects and Raynaud-like phenomena, than men who were not treated with ...
Insomnia prevalent among cancer patients who receive chemotherapy
Nov 23, 2009 |
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Three quarters of cancer patients and survivors treated with chemotherapy suffer insomnia or sleep disorders that often become chronic conditions, hindering patients' ability to fully recover, according to scientists at the ...
Radiology procedure may help increase long-term survival in patients with severe liver cancer
Nov 20, 2009 |
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In patients with unresectable (unable to be removed by surgery) liver cancer, an interventional radiology procedure called triple-drug transcatheter arterial chemoemobolization (TACE) followed by a liver transplant may significantly ...
Persistent pain common for many women 2 to 3 years after breast cancer treatment
Nov 10, 2009 |
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Nearly 50 percent of women surveyed indicate they experience pain symptoms 2 to 3 years after breast cancer treatment, with women who were younger or who received supplemental radiation therapy more likely to have pain, according ...
