Medical expert of the article
New publications
Chemotherapy for uterine cancer
Last reviewed: 06.07.2025
All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.
We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.
Chemotherapy for uterine cancer is used to slow the growth of tumor cells and reduce the size of the tumor. Chemotherapy is used in the second, third and fourth stages of uterine cancer. Most often, patients are affected by endometrial cancer, that is, adenocarcinoma, less common is leiosarcoma. Chemotherapy is used as a separate treatment, as well as in combination with other therapeutic methods that increase the percentage of survival after cancer.
As a rule, chemotherapy for uterine cancer is used after the organ is removed. Antitumor drugs prevent relapses of the disease and metastasis. When treating stage II uterine cancer, not only the uterus and appendages are removed, but also the surrounding lymph nodes, which may contain metastases. For chemotherapy, the following drugs are most often used: Carboplatin, Doxorubicin, Cisplatin, etc. The drugs are administered intravenously or taken orally. With the latter method of taking drugs, cancer cells are destroyed through the systemic bloodstream. But chemotherapy is used only when other methods do not give the desired result. This is due to the fact that chemotherapy drugs cause many side effects.
- Today, there are many drugs that have antitumor effects and are used in chemotherapy. Despite the fact that the drugs have different active ingredients, they all work by a similar mechanism of action.
- Some drugs have a narrow spectrum of action or are used to treat 1-2 types of cancer. Chemotherapy courses for uterine cancer can reduce the size of the tumor, destroy cancer cells and prevent metastasis, as well as increase the effectiveness of cancer treatment.
Chemotherapy is carried out in courses, from 1 week, with breaks of a month. The duration of treatment depends on the stage of cancer and the age of the patient. The entire process of chemotherapy takes place in a hospital, under the supervision of medical staff and oncologists, who regularly take tests and monitor the effectiveness of chemotherapy.
[ Chemotherapy for Cervical Cancer
Chemotherapy for cervical cancer is a method of treating a malignant tumor. The peculiarity of this oncological disease is that cancer can grow into the pelvic organs, affect regional lymph nodes and give distant metastases. Before chemotherapy, the doctor selects drugs with an antitumor effect individually for the patient. In this case, special attention is paid to the stage of the cancer, the size of the tumor, the general condition of the patient and the degree of involvement of surrounding tissues. Chemotherapy can be used as a separate method of treating cervical cancer or before/after surgery.
Modern chemotherapy drugs used for cervical cancer selectively affect cancer cells. This makes the treatment effective and significantly reduces the percentage of side effects. The main indications for chemotherapy for cervical cancer are:
- A type of cancer with increased sensitivity to chemotherapy drugs (this is determined using histological analysis and biopsy).
- Chemotherapy is used for large tumors. In this case, the goal of chemotherapy is to reduce the tumors for subsequent surgical intervention.
- Chemotherapy is carried out in inoperable and metastatic stages of cervical cancer, when radical removal of the tumor is not possible.
The only drawback of chemotherapy is side effects. Side effects occur because antitumor drugs disrupt metabolic processes, slowing the growth and division of cancer cells. But healthy cells also fall under the influence of chemotherapy drugs, which leads to temporary metabolic disorders. But not all patients experience side effects of chemotherapy. Their degree and severity depend on the individual characteristics of the patient's body. Most often, patients with cervical cancer experience side effects such as:
- Temporary disturbances in the production of leukocytes and a decrease in the body's protective functions.
- Disturbances in the production of red blood cells and the appearance of anemia. The level of red blood cells is restored during the break in the course of chemotherapy.
- Due to a decrease in the level of platelets, there is a tendency to bruises and bleeding, since the blood clotting process is disrupted.
- Many patients suffer from inflammation of the oral mucosa and irritation of the intestinal mucosa.
- Some chemotherapy drugs cause hair loss. However, hair growth returns within a few months after the end of chemotherapy.
- Chemotherapy for uterine cancer causes reproductive dysfunction. The ability to have children is restored after treatment with additional therapy.