Types Of Chemotherapy
On the basis of the various uses of chemotherapy drugs at various times and in various ways, doctors categorize chemotherapy into several categories. Some of these forms of chemotherapy include:
conventional or cytotoxic chemotherapy
Standard or cytotoxic chemotherapy entails the use of drugs to target cancer cell growth and division. Standard chemotherapy eliminates cancer cells’ capacity to replicate their DNA. Chemotherapy medications are toxic not only to cancer cells, but also to healthy cells, such as those lining the digestive tract and others surrounding the tumor. Therefore, the use of cytotoxic or standard chemotherapy results in numerous and frequently severe adverse effects. In addition, side effects may sometimes prevent patients from taking excessive doses of cancer-fighting medications.
Neoadjuvant cancer treatment
Neo-adjuvant chemotherapy is the cancer treatment that a patient may receive prior to a primary treatment, such as surgery or radiation, to help reduce the size of the tumor or eliminate the spread of cancer cells. Occasionally, neoadjuvant therapy is also used to predict a patient’s response to other cancer treatments. If the tumor responds to chemotherapy prior to surgery, the doctor is more optimistic about the patient’s prognosis.
Recurrent chemotherapy for cancer
Chemotherapy for recurrent cancer consists of the administration of specific drugs that eradicate cancer cells that have returned after treatment of a tumor.
Combined chemotherapy
Adjuvant therapy is a form of chemotherapy administered to a patient after the primary cancer treatment to eliminate any remaining cancer cells. If surgery reveals the presence of cancer in a large number of lymph nodes, adjuvant therapy is the best option for reducing the risk of the remaining cancer cells spreading. Moreover, because certain cancers arise from specific gene mutations associated with a higher risk of recurrence, adjuvant therapy may be more beneficial for these cancers than for cancers with a lower risk of recurrence.
chemotherapy for metastatic cancer
Metastatic cancer therapy entails the elimination of metastatic cancer, which is cancer that has spread from one part of the body to another.
