Cancer Therapy with Chemotherapy

Not yet discovered the idea cure for cancer, which destroys cancer cells without injuring normal cells. Nevertheless, many patients can be treated with anticancer drugs ( chemotherapy) and some experience of healing. All this time the side effects of chemotherapy can be minimized.

Anticancer drugs are grouped into several categories :

• Alkylating agents
• Antimetabolite
• Plant alkaloids
• Antitumor antibiotic
• Enzyme
• Hormone
• Biological response modifiers

2 or more drugs are often used as a combination. Reason for the combination therapy is to use drugs that work on different parts of the process of cell metabolism, thereby increasing the possibility of increasing the number of cancer cells are destroyed. In addition, the harmful side effects from chemotherapy can be reduce if the drug with a different toxic effect are combined, each in lower doses than the doses needed if the drug is used individually.

The drugs with different properties sometime combined. For example, drugs that kill tumor cells in combination with drugs that stimulate the immune system against cancer.

Mustard gas used as a weapon in Word War I, are example of alkylating agents. These drugs affect the DNA molecule, namely changing the structure or functions so it can not reproduce.

The side effects include :

• Nausea.
• Vomiting.
• Hair loss.
• Irritation of the bladder (cystitis) accompanied by the presence of blood in the urine.
• The number of white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets decreased.
• Decreased sperm count (in men, infertility may occur that persist).
• Increased risk of leukemia.

Antiametabolite is a set of drugs that affect the synthesis (manufacture) of DNA or RNA and prevent the proliferation of cells.

These drugs cause the same effect with alkylating agents, coupled with the occurrence of skin rash, skin color become darker (increased pigmentation) or kidney failure. Plant alkaloids are drugs that can stop cell division and prevents the formation of new cells. Side effects similar to alkylating agent.

To limfoblastik acute leukemia patients can be given asparagine, an enzyme released from the blood amino acid asparagine, which is required by the leukemia to establish growth.

Side effect include :

•  Allergic reaction can be fatal.
• Loss of appetite.
• Nausea.
• Vomiting.
• Fever.
• High blood sugar levels.

Hormone therapy will increase or reduce levels hormones to limit the growth of cancers that depend on these hormones or inhibited by the hormone. For example, breast cancers require estrogen for growth. Tamoxifen is an anti-estrogen drug that block the effects of estrogen and can reduce the size of the cancer. Prostate cancer can be inhibited by estrogen or drug antitestosteron.

The side effect vary, depending on the hormone given. Giving estrogen to men will lead breast enlargement. Provision of anti-estrogen in women can cause facial flushing and irreguler menstrual cycles.

Another Immunotherapy  using immune cells that have been stimulated (lymphokine active killer cells), which specifically attack the tumor, such as melanoma and renal cell cancer. Treatment that used antibodies to tumor cells, which have labe;ed with radioactive material or a toxin, has proven effective in treaing some lymphomas.

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