Chemotherapy for various types of cancer

Chemotherapy for cancer is one of the most effective methods that is used to treat cancer diseases of different etiology and localization. Let's look at the types of chemotherapy for various cancers, the advantages and disadvantages of this method. And the chances of recovery when using chemotherapy for cancer.

By chemotherapy is understood as the administration to a patient of medications that destroy cancer cells. The main principle of chemotherapy is the slowing down of the growth and division of cancer cells and their complete destruction. But such actions of chemotherapy drugs negatively affect the development and division of healthy cells of the body, such as: cells of the intestine, mucous membranes of the mouth, bone marrow, hair follicles and others.

[1], [2], [3], [4], [5]

Chemotherapy for Brain Cancer

Chemotherapy for brain cancer is not the most effective method of treatment. This is due to the fact that for the destruction of cancer cells, drugs must pass through the blood-brain barrier, which protects the brain. In addition, not all types of cancer respond to the effects of 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, resort to oral intake of drugs that penetrate the brain with blood.

Various drugs and their combinations are used to treat brain cancer. The standard treatment regimen may consist of:

• Temozolomide is an antitumor drug that is 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 the form of tablets.
• Chemotherapy drugs based on platinum - so, drugs such as Cisplatin (Platinol) and Carboplatin (Paraplatin) are considered standard for the treatment of brain cancer. The drugs are administered intravenously. The main side effects are manifested in the form of vomiting, nausea, muscle weakness, baldness.

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Chemotherapy for Brain Cancer

Chemotherapy for brain cancer is used to prevent recurrence of the disease, as postoperative preventive therapy. Chemotherapy can be used in conjunction with other treatments, for example, radiotherapy, to improve the overall condition of the patient and life expectancy. Chemotherapy is used to detect distant metastases.

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 types of cancer. The inefficiency of chemotherapy is 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 the drug directly into the cerebrospinal fluid, which circulates in the brain and spine. This allows you to bypass the blood-brain barrier and act directly on the source of the lesion.
• Systemic therapy - means intravenous injection through the port or oral administration of chemotherapy.

As with other types of chemotherapy, chemotherapy for brain cancer causes side effects. At the same time, the long-term consequences of treatment can be manifested after several years. Special harm chemotherapy causes the reproductive system.

[7]

Chemotherapy for breast cancer

Chemotherapy for breast cancer is the process of using drugs with antitumor effect. As a rule, drugs are administered intravenously, or taken orally. Chemotherapy is classified as a systemic type of treatment, since cytotoxic drugs, after falling into the systemic bloodstream, inhibit the growth of possible cancer cells not only in the chest, but also in other organs. With breast cancer, treatment 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 surgery. 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 affects the form of cancer, the susceptibility of the body to the drugs used. The duration of the course of chemotherapy can be from several months to a year.

The side effects of chemotherapy depend on the patient's body. Most often, patients suffer from nausea, loss of appetite, alopecia, vomiting, menstrual irregularities. Patients have a decrease in the protective functions of the immune system and increased fatigue. But this symptomatology occurs within a month after discontinuation of chemotherapy.

[8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13],

Chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer

Chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer has several types. So, there is adjuvant chemotherapy, that is, preventive, chemotherapy of the first and second line, as well as supporting or palliative chemotherapy. Let's take a closer look at each of the types of chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer.

• Adjuvant chemotherapy

It is used after surgical removal of pancreatic cancer. The main task of chemotherapy is the prevention of possible recurrences of a cancerous tumor. In pancreatic cancer, Gemcitabine (Gemzar) or a combination of Cisplatinum (Platinol) with interferon alfa and radiotherapy is used for adjuvant chemotherapy. It is possible to perform neoadjuvant chemotherapy (before surgery), but with 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. Such treatment prevents possible relapses and improves the quality of life of a patient with cancer. In addition to Gemcitabine, other antineoplastic agents may be used.

• Second-line chemotherapy

Used in the case when the chemotherapy of the first line did not have the proper effect and the cancerous tumor continues to grow. The treatment is carried out with the help of chemotherapy drugs 5-FU and Oxaliplatin. Therapy is possible only with a satisfactory general condition of the patient.

• Palliative chemotherapy

It is used to alleviate the symptoms of pancreatic cancer. Can be used for 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 them: vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, fatigue, ulceration of the mucous membranes of the mouth, alopecia. Side effects disappear after the end of chemotherapy.

[14], [15], [16], [17], [18]

Chemotherapy for liver cancer

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

The procedure of chemotherapy for liver cancer can be performed on an outpatient basis and permanently. The main course of chemotherapy is a multi-stage therapy. First, the patient is injected with antitumor drugs, and after that, restorative chemotherapy is performed. This pattern of treatment-recovery alternations is used throughout the course of chemotherapy for liver cancer.

For treatment, cytotoxic drugs, that is, anti-cancer drugs, are used. Entering the systemic circulation, drugs are distributed throughout the body. Most often used drugs such as: Doxorubicin, Cisplatinum, Fluroracil, Gemcitabine. Chemotherapy is carried out only in the event that eating the liver is not broken. Antineoplastic drugs help to get rid of the symptoms of cancer and reduce the tumor. But chemotherapy causes a number of side effects: loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, kidney dysfunction, decreased immunity. To eliminate the side symptoms, drug therapy and drugs are used to increase the production of red blood cells.

[19], [20], [21]

Chemotherapy for bladder cancer

Chemotherapy for bladder cancer is most often used in conjunction with other therapeutic methods and procedures. As an independent treatment for bladder cancer, chemotherapy is ineffective. To achieve a positive therapeutic effect, oncologists prescribe combinations of anti-cancer drugs, such as: Methotrexate, Vinblastine, Adriablastin, Cisplatinum and intravesical installations.

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

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

[22], [23], [24], [25], [26], [27]

Chemotherapy for prostate cancer

Chemotherapy for prostate cancer is a method of treatment in which the patient is injected with antitumor drugs that destroy cancer cells, their growth and division. During chemotherapy, drugs can be administered intravenously or taken internally. Each of the methods allows drugs to enter the systemic circulation and spread throughout the body, acting both on the main focus of the disease and on distant metastases.

Chemotherapy for prostate cancer is usually used to treat stages 3 and 4 of cancer, with relapse after surgery, with hormone-resistant cancer and if it spreads. Chemotherapy is not used in the early stages of prostate cancer. Treatment is carried out with cycles with rest periods, to restore the body.

More often, for treatment use such antineoplastic chemotherapeutic agents, as:

• Docetaxel - the drug is administered intravenously, slows the growth and division of cancer cells and cancer.
• Mitoxantrone - the action of the drug is based on the blocking of the enzyme, which takes part in the synthesis of DNA of cancer cells. Due to this, the growth and division of pathogenic cells is disturbed.
• Epirubicin - active substances of the drug bind to the DNA of the cancer cell and stop its growth and division.

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

[28], [29], [30], [31], [32]

Chemotherapy for kidney cancer

Chemotherapy for kidney cancer is not an effective method of treatment. This is because in most cases, the tumor is not sensitive to anticancer drugs. But chemotherapy has a beneficial effect on relapsing and metastatic formations. To achieve positive results of treatment, chemotherapy is combined with immunotherapy.

Chemotherapy for kidney cancer is the use of certain chemotherapy drugs. These drugs fall into the systemic bloodstream and act on the entire body. Let's consider the most popular and effective drugs for chemotherapy in kidney cancer:

• Nexavar is a chemopreparation that blocks the proliferation of tumor cells, disrupting their growth and division. The drug is used to treat late stages of kidney cancer and liver cancer. The drug causes side effects, the main ones are: blood clotting disorders, arterial hypertension, skin rash, puffiness and others.
• Sutent is an antitumor drug of a group of tyrosine kinase inhibitors. The drug is effective in treating gastrointestinal stromal tumors. Side effects are similar to the above-described drug.
• Torysel is an antitumor drug used for chemotherapy in kidney cancer. The effect of the drug is based on blocking the process of angiogenesis and destruction of cancer cells.

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

[33], [34]

Chemotherapy for blood cancer

Chemotherapy for blood cancer is a method of treating one of the most complex and serious diseases. A feature of blood cancer is that the damage to the bone marrow spreads throughout the blood system, affecting all healthy cells and organs. Cancers of blood 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 from two years. About half a year the patient spends in the conditions of a hospital, and the rest of the time is treated out-patient. Chemotherapy is used to treat blood cancer even in the first stages of the disease. To the patient, continuous intravenous infusions are carried out 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.

As soon as the chemotherapy caused a period of remission, oncologists send the treatment to fix the result. With the relapse of blood cancer, the patient undergoes a bone marrow transplant. The prognosis of treatment depends on the stage of the cancer, the extent of the lesion and the age of the patient. So, the most positive prognosis for the treatment of blood cancer is in young children, the survival rate is 70% of cases.

[35], [36], [37], [38], [39]

Chemotherapy for testicular cancer

Chemotherapy for testicular cancer is usually performed after removal of the testicle, that is, to prevent recurrence of the disease. Chemotherapy can cure any kind of cancer that has spread beyond the testicle or recurred. Chemotherapy is carried out by intravenous injection in a hospital. The number of courses depends on the extent of the spread of cancer and the patient's response to the drugs used.

• If chemotherapy is performed after surgery to prevent recurrence of the disease, then this treatment is called adjuvant chemotherapy. The patient is given drugs Carboplatinum, as well as drugs - Cisplatinum, Bleomycin, Etoposide. On average, the treatment course takes about 3 weeks.
• If testicular cancer metastasized or recurred, then the treatment is carried out by increasing the rate of chemotherapy. The patient is selected stronger dosage of drugs and conduct several courses of chemotherapy with interruptions.

[40], [41], [42], [43], [44], [45]

Chemotherapy for esophagus cancer

Rarely, chemotherapy for esophageal cancer is used as a monotherapy. Most often, chemotherapy is used in conjunction with other therapeutic methods. High efficiency has a therapeutic complex of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Treatment is performed both in the pre-operative period and after surgical intervention. Chemotherapy drugs can be injected intravenously into the systemic circulation or administered orally.

In cancer of the esophagus, chemotherapy is prescribed from the second stage of the disease. The treatment is aimed at the destruction of malignant cancer cells. If chemotherapy is carried out at the fourth stage of esophageal cancer, then therapy is palliative, which slows the growth of the tumor and prolongs the life of the patient.

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

[46], [47], [48], [49], [50]

Chemotherapy for throat cancer

Chemotherapy for cancer of the hill is the use of drugs that have a destructive effect on cancer cells. The principle of the action 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 drugs. With cancer of the throat, chemotherapy can be carried out in two modes:

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

In chemotherapy, all drugs are administered systemically, so that antitumor agents enter the bloodstream and affect all tissues and organs of the patient. But similar actions of chemotherapy drugs have a negative impact on 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 such side effects as:

• Suppression of the growth of blood cells - in patients the level of leukocytes decreases, which makes the organism vulnerable to infectious diseases.
• Alopecia - antitumor drugs affect all cells of the human body. Most of all chemotherapy drugs are affected by epithelial cells (hair follicles, cells of the gastrointestinal tract). Hair growth is restored after cessation of chemotherapy.
• Lesions of the gastrointestinal tract - the patient experiences loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, the appearance of ulcers on the lips and in the mouth. To suppress nausea, the oncologist prescribes antiemetics, which improve the patient's well-being.

[51], [52], [53]

Chemotherapy for laryngeal cancer

Chemotherapy for laryngeal cancer is performed prior to surgery to reduce the size of the tumor, and also after to kill the remaining cancer cells. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (before surgery), as a rule, consists of two chickens with a short break. The patient is given antineoplastic drugs that allow the body to prepare for the upcoming surgical intervention.

Especially popular is intraarterial neoadjuvant polychemotherapy. The use of this type of treatment can successfully perform the operation and improve the prognosis of the disease and the duration of the disease-free period. The procedure provides for catheterization of the external carotid artery. If the cancer has metastasized into the regional lymph nodes, then before the intra-arterial neoadjuvant polychemotherapy, the patient is removed metastatic lymph nodes.

[54], [55],

Chemotherapy for cancer of the tongue

Chemotherapy for cancer of the tongue is the same as for other cancers of the body. Selection of drugs, duration of treatment and the number of courses depend on the stage of the cancer of the tongue, the volume of the tumor and the general condition of the patient. For treatment use as therapy with one selected antitumor agent, and complex.

Chemotherapy is aimed at suppressing cancer cells. The main disadvantage of this type of treatment for cancer of the tongue is possible violations of the kidneys, nervous system and bladder. Correctly selected scheme of treatment of cancer of the language allows to return the patient to a full life. When treating in the early stages of cancer, recovery is observed in 80% of people, with cancer in 3-4 stages - in 30% of patients. The five-year survival rate of patients is 60-90%.

[56], [57], [58], [59]

Chemotherapy for thyroid cancer

Chemotherapy for thyroid cancer, most often used for anaplastic treatment of cancer or medullary cancer. Chemotherapy involves intravenous administration of drugs that enter the systemic bloodstream, destructively affect cancer cells throughout the patient's body. Depending on the stage of cancer, treatment can take place both in a hospital and outpatient settings.

As a rule, chemotherapy for cancer thyroid 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. Drugs for chemotherapy and their dosage are selected individually for each patient, and depends on the stage of cancer, tumor volume and age of the patient.

Like all types of anti-cancer treatment, chemotherapy causes a number of side effects. The patient may experience ulceration in the oral cavity, loss of appetite, diarrhea and impaired gastrointestinal function, loss of appetite in others. This symptomatology passes after the cessation of chemotherapy.

[60], [61], [62]

Chemotherapy for lymph node cancer

Chemotherapy for lymph node cancer is a medical treatment of an oncological disease that affects the lymph nodes of different groups (axillary, inguinal, cervical). As a rule, chemotherapy is carried out by courses, this allows to achieve complete remission of cancer. So, if after 5-6 courses of chemotherapy the patient does not have a stable remission, then more severe methods of treatment are used. The success of treatment and the prognosis of recovery can be determined by the patient's condition after two courses of chemotherapy. For this, the patient gives a number of tests and passes examinations, which allow us to observe the positive dynamics of treatment.

In cancer of lymph nodes aggressive chemotherapy can be used, which has a destructive effect on bone marrow cells. With this type of treatment, the patient is waiting for a bone marrow transplantation, a course of intensive chemotherapy and radiation exposure. This increases the likelihood of recovery and lengthens the period of remission of cancer.

[63], [64], [65], [66], [67]

Chemotherapy for Bone Cancer

Chemotherapy for bone cancer is a systemic treatment that is most often used in Ewing's sarcoma and osteosarcoma. The action of chemotherapy is based on the spread of antitumor drugs through the bloodstream throughout the body.

To conduct a course of chemotherapy for bone cancer, use such antitumor drugs as:

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

Typically, an oncologist makes a treatment regimen using two or three drugs at a time. Combination of anti-cancer drugs increases the effectiveness of treatment and the chances of recovery.

[68], [69], [70], [71], [72]

Chemotherapy for Skin Cancer

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

• Direct application to the skin

For these purposes, preparations are used in the form of lotion, gel or cream. Such anticancer drugs are used in the early stages of the disease, usually with squamous and basal cell carcinoma of the skin. Drugs are applied to the skin 2-3 times a day to kill cancer cells in the upper layers of the skin.

But the use of such drugs can cause swelling, itching and the appearance of rashes. The skin becomes very sensitive to sunlight and any other radiation. Adverse symptoms occur after the end of the use of antitumor drugs.

• Intravenous or oral administration

Drugs are injected into the systemic circulation or taken internally. This allows the drug to spread rapidly throughout the body. This type of chemotherapy is carried out in a hospital.

If a cancer is found on the leg or arm, then chemotherapy injects limbs into the bloodstream. But this for a while disrupts the blood flow, which allows the drug to stay in the tumor for a short time.

[73], [74], [75], [76]