Chemotherapy for different types of cancer

Chemotherapy for cancer is one of the effective methods used to treat cancer of various etiologies and localizations. Let's look at the types of chemotherapy for various cancer lesions, the advantages and disadvantages of this method. And also the chances of recovery when using chemotherapy for cancer.

Chemotherapy is the introduction of drugs to the patient that destroy cancer cells. The main principle of chemotherapy is to slow down the growth and division of cancer cells and completely destroy them. But such actions of chemotherapy drugs negatively affect the development and division of healthy cells in the body, such as: intestinal cells, oral mucosa, bone marrow, hair follicles and others.

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Chemotherapy for brain cancer

Chemotherapy for brain cancer is not the most effective treatment method. This is because in order to destroy cancer cells, drugs must pass through the blood-brain barrier that protects the brain. In addition, not all types of cancer respond to chemotherapy. The method of drug administration depends on the type of cancer and its stage. Thus, intravenous, intramuscular and intra-arterial administrations can be used. In some cases, oral administration of drugs that penetrate the brain with the blood is used.

Various medications and combinations of medications are used to treat brain cancer. A standard treatment regimen may include:

• Temozolomide is an antitumor drug used to treat patients with brain cancer. The peculiarity of this drug is that it has high efficiency and low side effects (constipation, weakness, nausea, headache, vomiting). The drug is taken in tablet form.
• Platinum-based chemotherapy drugs – such drugs as Cisplatin (Platinol) and Carboplatin (Paraplatin) are considered standard for treating brain cancer. The drugs are administered intravenously. The main side effects are vomiting, nausea, muscle weakness, and baldness.

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Chemotherapy for brain cancer

Chemotherapy for brain cancer is used to prevent recurrence of the disease, as a postoperative preventive therapy. Chemotherapy can be used in combination with other treatment methods, such as radiation therapy, to improve the patient's general condition and life expectancy. Chemotherapy is used when distant metastases are detected.

But as an independent method of treatment, in case of brain cancer, chemotherapy is ineffective. This is explained by the fact that today there are no universal antitumor drugs that would effectively act on all types of tumors and cancers. The ineffectiveness of chemotherapy is also explained by the fact that in the treatment of brain cancer, drugs must pass through the blood-brain barrier. But not all drugs cope with this task successfully.

There are several methods of administering drugs that increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy. Let's look at them:

• Intrathecal chemotherapy – this method involves the introduction of a drug directly into the cerebrospinal fluid that circulates in the brain and spine. This allows bypassing the blood-brain barrier and acting directly on the source of the lesion.
• Systemic therapy – involves intravenous injections through a port or oral administration of chemotherapy drugs.

Like other types of chemotherapy, chemotherapy for brain cancer causes side effects. At the same time, long-term effects of treatment may appear after several years. Chemotherapy is especially harmful to the reproductive system.

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Chemotherapy for breast cancer

Chemotherapy for breast cancer is the process of using drugs with antitumor action. As a rule, drugs are administered intravenously or taken orally. Chemotherapy is considered a systemic type of treatment, since cytostatics, after entering the systemic bloodstream, inhibit the growth of possible cancer cells not only in the breast, but also in other organs. In breast cancer, curative or adjuvant therapy can be used.

• Therapeutic chemotherapy is performed before surgery. Its main goal is to reduce the size of the tumor and destroy metastases.
• Adjuvant (preventive) chemotherapy is used after surgical treatment. Antitumor drugs affect metastases in other organs and destroy them.

The duration of chemotherapy for breast cancer depends on the individual characteristics of the patient's body. The duration of treatment is affected by the form of cancer and the body's susceptibility to the drugs used. The duration of chemotherapy can be from several months to a year.

Side effects of chemotherapy depend on the patient's body. Most often, patients suffer from nausea, loss of appetite, baldness, vomiting, and menstrual irregularities. Patients experience decreased immune system function and increased fatigue. However, these symptoms disappear within a month after chemotherapy is stopped.

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Chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer

There are several types of chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer. There is adjuvant chemotherapy, i.e. preventive, first- and second-line chemotherapy, as well as supportive or palliative chemotherapy. Let's take a closer look at each type of chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer.

• Adjuvant chemotherapy

It is used after surgical removal of pancreatic cancer. The main goal of chemotherapy is to prevent possible relapses of the cancerous tumor. In case of pancreatic cancer, adjuvant chemotherapy is carried out using the drug Gemcitabine (Gemzar) or a combination of Cisplatin (Platinol) with alpha-interferon and radiotherapy. It is possible to carry out neoadjuvant chemotherapy (before surgery), but in case of pancreatic cancer, this type of treatment is used very rarely.

• First line chemotherapy

This type of chemotherapy is used to treat metastatic pancreatic cancer. As a rule, monochemotherapy with Gemcitabine is used. This treatment prevents possible relapses and improves the quality of life of a cancer patient. In addition to Gemcitabine, other antitumor drugs can be used.

• Second line chemotherapy

It is used when first-line chemotherapy has not had the desired effect and the cancer continues to grow. Treatment is carried out using chemotherapy drugs 5-FU and Oxaliplatin. Therapy is possible only if the patient's general condition is satisfactory.

• Palliative chemotherapy

Used to relieve symptoms of pancreatic cancer. Can be used with any of the above types of chemotherapy and at any stage of cancer.

Chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer causes reversible side effects. The most common of these are: vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, fatigue, ulceration of the mucous membranes of the oral cavity, baldness. The side effects disappear after the end of the chemotherapy course.

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Chemotherapy for liver cancer

Chemotherapy for liver cancer is one of the methods of treating oncological diseases. The advantage of chemotherapy is that the antitumor drugs used destroy a large number of cancer cells and slow down their development. The drugs are injected into the artery or main vein of the liver, so that the antitumor drugs reach the source of the lesion.

Chemotherapy for liver cancer can be performed on an outpatient or inpatient basis. The main course of chemotherapy is a multi-stage therapy. First, the patient is given antitumor drugs, and then undergoes restorative chemotherapy. This treatment-restorative alternation scheme is used throughout the entire course of liver cancer chemotherapy.

Cytotoxic, or anti-cancer, drugs are used for treatment. Entering the systemic bloodstream, the drugs are distributed throughout the body. The most commonly used drugs are: Doxorubicin, Cisplatin, Fluorocyl, Gemcitabine. Chemotherapy is carried out only if the liver function is not impaired. Anti-tumor drugs help get rid of cancer symptoms and reduce the tumor. But chemotherapy causes a number of side effects: loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, kidney dysfunction, decreased immunity. To eliminate side symptoms, drug therapy and drugs to increase the production of red blood cells are used.

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Chemotherapy for bladder cancer

Chemotherapy for bladder cancer is most often used in combination with other treatment methods and procedures. As an independent method of treating bladder cancer, chemotherapy is ineffective. To achieve a positive therapeutic effect, oncologists prescribe combinations of anticancer drugs such as: Methotrexate, Vinblastine, Adriablastine, Cisplatin and intravesical instillations.

Today, there are about 10 antitumor chemotherapy drugs in medical practice that are used in chemotherapy for bladder cancer. The most effective and popular of them are: 5-fluorouracil, Bleomycin, Mitomycin C, Diiodbenzotef, Cyclophosphamide, VM-26 and others. The administration of drugs depends on the localization of the tumor in the bladder. Thus, systemic, intra-arterial, intravesical or endolymphatic administration can be used.

The principle of chemotherapy is to act on cancer cells, slow down their growth, destroy separated metastases and alleviate the patient's condition. But after chemotherapy, there are side effects or complications of treatment. Patients suffer from problems with the gastrointestinal tract, vomiting, increased weakness, baldness and impaired immune system functions.

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Chemotherapy for prostate cancer

Chemotherapy for prostate cancer is a treatment method in which the patient is given anti-tumor drugs that destroy cancer cells, their growth and division. During chemotherapy, drugs can be administered intravenously or taken orally. Each method allows drugs to enter the systemic bloodstream and spread throughout the body, affecting both the main focus of the disease and distant metastases.

Chemotherapy for prostate cancer is generally used to treat stage 3 and 4 cancer, relapses after surgery, hormone-resistant cancer, and cancer that has spread. Chemotherapy is not used in the early stages of prostate cancer. Treatment is given in cycles with rest periods to allow the body to recover.

Most often, the following antitumor chemotherapy drugs are used for treatment:

• Docetaxel - a drug administered intravenously, slows the growth and division of cancer cells and cancer tumors.
• Mitoxantrone – the action of the drug is based on blocking the enzyme that takes part in the synthesis of cancer cell DNA. Due to this, the growth and division of pathogenic cells is disrupted.
• Epirubicin – the active ingredients of the drug bind to the DNA of cancer cells and stop their growth and division.

The drugs can be administered one by one or in combination. The course of chemotherapy for prostate cancer causes side effects. Complications of treatment depend on what drug was used to treat prostate cancer, what dosage of the drug. Of particular importance are individual patient reactions to chemotherapy drugs. Thus, one patient may have fewer side effects than another, but with the same treatment regimen.

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Chemotherapy for kidney cancer

Chemotherapy for kidney cancer is not an effective treatment method. This is explained by the fact that in most cases, the tumor is not sensitive to anticancer drugs. But chemotherapy has a beneficial effect on recurrent and metastatic tumors. To achieve positive treatment results, chemotherapy is combined with immunotherapy.

Chemotherapy for kidney cancer involves the use of certain chemotherapy drugs. These drugs enter the systemic bloodstream and affect the entire body. Let's look at the most popular and effective drugs for chemotherapy for kidney cancer:

• Nexavar is a chemotherapy drug that blocks tumor cell proliferation by disrupting their growth and division. The drug is used to treat late-stage renal cancer and liver cancer. The drug causes side effects, the main ones being: blood clotting disorders, hypertension, skin rash, swelling, and others.
• Sutent is an antitumor drug of the tyrosine kinase inhibitor group. The drug is effective in the treatment of gastrointestinal stromal tumors. Side effects are similar to those of the drug described above.
• Torisel is an antitumor drug used for chemotherapy in kidney cancer. The drug works by blocking the angiogenesis process and destroying cancer cells.

The above-described drugs increase the life expectancy of patients with kidney cancer, reduce painful symptoms and slow the progression of the cancerous tumor.

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Chemotherapy for blood cancer

Chemotherapy for blood cancer is a method of treating one of the most complex and severe diseases. The peculiarity of blood cancer is that bone marrow lesions spread throughout the blood system, affecting all healthy cells and organs. Blood cancers include leukemia, myeloma, and lymphoma.

The most effective method of treating blood cancer is chemotherapy with cytostatic agents. The duration of chemotherapy, as a rule, takes two years. The patient spends about six months in a hospital, and the rest of the time is treated on an outpatient basis. Chemotherapy is used to treat blood cancer at the early stages of the disease. The patient receives continuous intravenous infusions for 1-2 weeks. The entire period of inpatient treatment is under sanitary conditions. The patient is protected from any contact with the outside world.

Once chemotherapy has caused a period of remission, oncologists direct treatment to consolidate the result obtained. In case of relapses of blood cancer, the patient undergoes a bone marrow transplant. The prognosis of treatment depends on the stage of cancer, the extent of damage and the age of the patient. Thus, the most positive prognosis for the treatment of blood cancer is in young children, the survival rate is 70% of cases.

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Chemotherapy for testicular cancer

Chemotherapy for testicular cancer is usually administered after the testicle has been removed, i.e. to prevent recurrence of the disease. Chemotherapy can cure any type of cancer that has spread beyond the testicle or has recurred. Chemotherapy is administered by intravenous injections in a hospital setting. The number of courses depends on the extent of the cancer and the patient's response to the drugs used.

• If chemotherapy is administered after surgery to prevent relapses of the disease, then such treatment is called adjuvant chemotherapy. The patient is administered Carboplatin drugs, as well as drugs - Cisplatin, Bleomycin, Etoposide. On average, the treatment course takes about 3 weeks.
• If testicular cancer has metastasized or recurred, treatment is carried out by increasing the course of chemotherapy. The patient is given stronger dosages of drugs and undergoes several courses of chemotherapy with breaks.

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Chemotherapy for Esophageal Cancer

Chemotherapy for esophageal cancer is rarely used as monotherapy. Most often, chemotherapy is used in combination with other treatment methods. A therapeutic complex of chemotherapy and radiation therapy is highly effective. Treatment is carried out both before and after surgery. Chemotherapy drugs can be administered intravenously into the systemic bloodstream or administered orally.

In case of esophageal cancer, chemotherapy is prescribed from the second stage of the disease. The treatment is aimed at destroying malignant cancer cells. If chemotherapy is carried out at the fourth stage of esophageal cancer, then palliative treatment is used for therapy, which slows down the growth of the tumor and prolongs the patient's life.

The use of chemotherapy in the postoperative period increases the effectiveness of surgical treatment. When using combined therapy, patient survival is 18%, and life expectancy is no more than 3 years.

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Chemotherapy for throat cancer

Chemotherapy for throat cancer involves the use of drugs that have a destructive effect on cancer cells. The principle of chemotherapy is based on the fact that cancer cells are characterized by an intensive level of metabolism, but this makes them sensitive to various antitumor chemotherapy drugs. In case of cancerous lesions of the throat, chemotherapy can be carried out in two modes:

• Before surgery and radiation therapy to reduce the size of the tumor.
• After surgery or radiation therapy, to destroy any remaining cancer cells and distant lymph nodes.

In chemotherapy, all medications are administered systemically so that antitumor agents enter the bloodstream and affect all tissues and organs of the patient. But such actions of chemotherapy drugs negatively affect the general health, causing a number of side effects. Side effects depend on the type of drug used and the dosage used. Most often, chemotherapy causes side effects such as:

• Suppression of blood cell growth – patients experience a decrease in white blood cell levels, making the body vulnerable to infectious diseases.
• Baldness – antitumor drugs affect all cells of the human body. Epithelial cells (hair follicles, gastrointestinal tract cells) are most susceptible to the action of chemotherapy drugs. Hair growth is restored after chemotherapy is stopped.
• Gastrointestinal tract lesions – the patient experiences loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and ulcers on the lips and in the oral cavity. To suppress nausea, the oncologist prescribes antiemetic drugs that improve the patient's well-being.

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Chemotherapy for laryngeal cancer

Chemotherapy for laryngeal cancer is performed before surgery to reduce the size of the tumor, and after to destroy any remaining cancer cells. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (before surgery) usually consists of two courses with a short break. The patient is given antitumor drugs that prepare the body for the upcoming surgery.

Intra-arterial neoadjuvant polychemotherapy is especially popular. The use of this type of treatment allows for successful surgery and improves the prognosis of the disease and the duration of the relapse-free period. The procedure involves catheterization of the external carotid artery. If the cancer has metastasized to the regional lymph nodes, then before intra-arterial neoadjuvant polychemotherapy, the patient's metastatic lymph nodes are removed.

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Chemotherapy for tongue cancer

Chemotherapy for tongue cancer is the same as for other oncological lesions of the body. The selection of drugs, the duration of treatment and the number of courses depend on the stage of tongue cancer, the volume of the tumor and the general condition of the patient. For treatment, both therapy with one selected antitumor agent and a complex are used.

Chemotherapy is aimed at suppressing cancer cells. The main disadvantage of this type of treatment for tongue cancer is possible dysfunction of the kidneys, nervous system and bladder. A properly selected treatment regimen for tongue cancer allows the patient to return to a full life. When treated at the initial stages of cancer, recovery is observed in 80% of people, with cancer at stages 3-4 - in 30% of patients. Five-year survival of patients is 60-90%.

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Chemotherapy for thyroid cancer

Chemotherapy for thyroid cancer is most often used for anaplastic or medullary cancer. Chemotherapy involves intravenous administration of drugs that, when they enter the systemic bloodstream, have a destructive effect on cancer cells throughout the patient's body. Depending on the stage of the cancer, treatment can be either inpatient or outpatient.

As a rule, chemotherapy for thyroid cancer is used as an auxiliary method. Thus, chemotherapy is used to reduce the size of the tumor, prevent recurrence of the disease and destroy distant metastases. The drugs for chemotherapy and their dosage are selected individually for each patient, and depend on the stage of cancer, the volume of the tumor and the age of the patient.

Like all cancer treatments, chemotherapy causes a number of side effects. The patient may experience mouth ulcers, loss of appetite, diarrhea and gastrointestinal problems, loss of appetite in others. These symptoms go away after chemotherapy is stopped.

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Chemotherapy for lymph node cancer

Chemotherapy for lymph node cancer is a drug treatment for an oncological disease that affects lymph nodes of different groups (axillary, inguinal, cervical). As a rule, chemotherapy is carried out in courses, which allows achieving complete remission of the cancer. So, if after 5-6 courses of chemotherapy the patient has not achieved stable remission, then more rigorous treatment methods are used. The success of the treatment and the prognosis for recovery can be determined by the patient's condition after two courses of chemotherapy. To do this, the patient takes a number of tests and undergoes examinations that allow observing the positive dynamics of the treatment.

In lymph node cancer, aggressive chemotherapy can be used, which has a destructive effect on bone marrow cells. With this type of treatment, the patient will undergo a bone marrow transplant, a course of intensive chemotherapy and radiation. This increases the likelihood of recovery and prolongs the period of remission of the cancer.

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Chemotherapy for bone cancer

Chemotherapy for bone cancer is a systemic treatment most often used for Ewing's sarcoma and osteosarcoma. Chemotherapy works by spreading anticancer drugs throughout the body through the bloodstream.

To carry out a course of chemotherapy for bone cancer, the following antitumor drugs are used:

• Etoposide (VP-16).
• Doxorubicin.
• Vincristine.
• Ifosfamide.
• Cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan).
• Methotrexate.
• Carboplatin.

Typically, an oncologist will design a treatment plan that uses two or three drugs at the same time. Combining anticancer drugs increases the effectiveness of the treatment and the chances of recovery.

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Chemotherapy for skin cancer

Chemotherapy for skin cancer is aimed at destroying cancer cells. Chemotherapy involves several methods of taking antitumor drugs.

• Apply directly to skin

For these purposes, preparations in the form of lotion, gel or cream are used. Such anti-cancer agents are used in the early stages of the disease, as a rule, with squamous cell and basal cell skin cancer. Preparations are applied to the skin 2-3 times a day to destroy cancer cells in the upper layers of the skin.

But the use of such drugs can cause swelling, itching and rash. The skin becomes very sensitive to sunlight and any other radiation. Side effects disappear after the end of the use of antitumor drugs.

• Intravenous or oral administration

The drugs are injected into the systemic bloodstream or taken orally. This allows the drug to spread quickly throughout the body. This type of chemotherapy is performed in a hospital setting.

If the cancer is on the leg or arm, the chemotherapy is injected into the bloodstream of the limb. But this temporarily disrupts the blood flow, allowing the drug to linger in the tumor area for a short time.

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