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
Tiny magnetic discs could kill cancer cells: study
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Nov 29, 2009 |
3.8 / 5 (22) |
4
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.
Computer-Guided Nanoparticle Therapy Destroys Tumors
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Jun 29, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (12) |
0
Gold nanoshells are among the most promising new nanoscale therapeutics being developed to kill tumors, acting as antennas that turn light energy into heat that cooks cancer to death. Now, a multi-institutional research team ...
Hi-tech 'Trojan horse' can kill cancer cells: researchers
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Jun 29, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (12) |
7
Australian researchers are set to begin human trials of a tiny nano-cell that acts as a "Trojan horse" against cancer cells, a breakthrough they say may curb the need for debilitating chemotherapy.
Magnetic nanotags spot cancer in mice earlier than methods now in clinical use
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Oct 13, 2009 |
5 / 5 (8) |
0
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 ...
Immune therapies finally working against cancer
May 31, 2009 |
5 / 5 (7) |
2
(AP) -- First there was surgery, then chemotherapy and radiation. Now, doctors have overcome 30 years of false starts and found success with a fourth way to fight cancer: using the body's natural defender, ...
Scientists find missing puzzle piece of powerful DNA repair complex
Oct 01, 2009 |
5 / 5 (6) |
0
Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute have found, crystallized, and biologically characterized a poorly defined component of a key molecular complex that helps people to avoid cancer, but that also ...
Drug shrinks lung cancer tumors in mice
Nov 10, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (6) |
0
(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 ...
Antiangiogenic drugs impede chemotherapy-stimulated tumor recovery
Sep 08, 2008 |
3.7 / 5 (7) |
1
Scientists have gained new insight into a mechanism whereby chemotherapy may actually assist the rapid regrowth of tumors after treatment. The research, published by Cell Press in the September issue of the journal Cancer Ce ...
Potential remedy for the 'mental fog' in cancer patients
Sep 04, 2008 |
5 / 5 (5) |
0
Cancer patients have complained for years about the mental fog known as chemobrain. Now in animal studies at West Virginia University (WVU), researchers have discovered that injections of N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), an antioxidant, ...
Smart drug delivery system -- Gold nanocage covered with polymer (w/ Video)
Nov 01, 2009 |
5 / 5 (5) |
0
In campy old movies, Lucretia Borgia swans around emptying powder from her ring into wine glasses carelessly left unattended. The poison ring is usually a confection of gold filigree holding a cabochon or ...
Nanoparticle 'smart bomb' targets drug delivery to cancer cells
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Feb 12, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (5) |
1
Researchers at North Carolina State University have successfully modified a common plant virus to deliver drugs only to specific cells inside the human body, without affecting surrounding tissue. These tiny "smart bombs" ...
Judge rules family can't refuse chemo for boy
May 15, 2009 |
4.2 / 5 (5) |
21
(AP) -- A Minnesota judge ruled Friday that a 13-year-old cancer patient must be evaluated by a doctor to determine if the boy would benefit from restarting chemotherapy over his parents' objections.
Drug combination may be effective against deadly melanoma, pilot study shows
Mar 06, 2009 |
5 / 5 (4) |
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By targeting and disabling a protein frequently found in melanoma tumors, doctors may be able to make the cancer more vulnerable to chemotherapy, according to early results of a clinical study conducted by researchers in ...
Where is the line on natural remedies?
Medicine & Health / Medications
May 17, 2009 |
5 / 5 (4) |
6
As a breast cancer specialist, Dr. Barbara Bowers uses a whole arsenal of alternative treatments to help her patients -- acupuncture, green tea extract, vitamins, meditation and yoga, to name a few.
Biological link established between tumors and depression
May 18, 2009 |
5 / 5 (4) |
0
In a study that could help explain the connections between depression and cancer, researchers at the University of Chicago have used an animal model to find, for the first time, a biological link between tumors and negative ...
