To get straight into the bloodstream, many cytotoxic medicines are given by injection directly into a vein (intravenous injection). These tests may be repeated during treatment, to check that these organs continue to work well. This is because some medicines may affect these organs. You may also have a heart check (an electrocardiogram (ECG) and/or echocardiogram) and a check on your lung function. Before starting chemotherapyĭepending on the medicines used, you may have a number of baseline blood tests to check that your liver and kidneys are working well. The medicines usually need to enter the bloodstream to travel to all areas of the body to reach any cancerous cell which may be present. This may ease symptoms such as pain or pressure symptoms from a tumour. Even if a cure is not possible and the outlook is poor, a course of chemotherapy may be used to reduce the size of a cancer. Chemotherapy may be used to ease symptoms
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This may keep you free of symptoms for some time. If a cure is not realistic, with treatment it is often possible to limit the growth or spread of the cancer so it progresses less rapidly. Chemotherapy and other treatments may aim to control the cancer This is why some doctors are reluctant to use the word cured. However, in some cases, a cancer returns months or years later. If you are in remission, you may be cured. Remission means there is no evidence of cancer following treatment. Chemotherapy given before another treatment is called neoadjuvant chemotherapy.ĭoctors tend to use the word remission rather than the word cured. Sometimes, chemotherapy is given before surgery or radiotherapy so that these other treatments are likely to work better.Chemotherapy given after a main treatment such as surgery is called adjuvant chemotherapy.
Unless treated, these may have developed into tumours at a later time. This aims to kill any cancer cells which may have spread away from where the cancer first started (the primary tumour site). For example, you may have surgery to remove a tumour but you may also be given a course of chemotherapy after the surgery. Sometimes chemotherapy is used in addition to another main treatment. Some cancers can be cured with chemotherapy alone. What are the aims of chemotherapy? Chemotherapy and other treatments may aim to cure the cancerĪ cure is the aim in many cases. As a general rule, normal cells can renew themselves much better than cancer cells and then can usually recover quite well following treatment. These may be affected by cytotoxic medicines and lead to side-effects (see below). For example, hair cells, bone marrow cells and cells lining the mouth and gut. However, some normal cells in the body divide and multiply quite rapidly. They are not usually much affected by cytotoxic medicines. Most normal cells in the body, such as muscle cells, heart cells, brain cells and bone cells, do not divide and multiply very often. Your doctor will advise on the best treatment for your type of cancer, based on evidence from the most recent research trials.Ĭytotoxic medicines work best in cancers where the cancer cells are rapidly dividing and multiplying. Research continues to find new medicines and better medicine combinations. In each case the one (or ones) chosen will depend on the type and stage of your cancer. There are many different cytotoxic medicines used in the treatment of cancer. This may give a better chance of success than using only one. Two or more cytotoxic medicines are often used in a course of chemotherapy, each with a different way of working. For example, some work by affecting the cells' genetic 'makeup' (material which controls specific cell characteristics) and others work by blocking cells from using nutrients needed to divide and multiply. However, they all tend to work by interfering with some aspect of how the cells divide and multiply. Different cytotoxic medicines do this in different ways. They kill cancer cells or stop them from multiplying. What are cytotoxic medicines and how do they work?Ĭytotoxic medicines are poisonous (toxic) to cancer cells.