Chemotherapy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Chemotherapy (pronounced keem-o-therapy) is the use of certain drugs to treat disease, as distinct from other forms of treatment, such as surgery. Chemotherapy dates at least as far back as the use, by the Indians of Peru, of cinchona bark in the treatment of fevers, such as malaria. The first modern chemotheraputic agent was Paul Ehrlich's arsphenamine, an arsenic compound discovered in 1909 and used to treat syphilis. This was later followed by sulfonamides discovered by Domagk and penicillin G discovered by Alexander Fleming.
Please note that today, the term chemotherapy is mostly used for the drug treatment of cancer, and the rest of this article discusses that topic. Antibiotics are referred to as antibacterial chemotherapy, but in medical practice this word is only used in the context of the treatment of tuberculosis.
Other uses of chemotherapy agents (including the ones mentioned below) are the treatment of autoimmune disease (DMARDs).
| Contents [showhide] |
Chemotherapy for cancer
Cancer is the uncontrolled growth of cells due to damage to DNA (mutations) and, occasionally, due to an inherited propensity to develop certain tumours.
Broadly, most chemotherapeutic drugs work by impairing mitosis (cell division), effectively targeting fast-dividing cells. As these drugs cause damage to cells they are termed cytotoxic. Some drugs cause cells to undergo apoptosis (so-called "cell suicide").
Unfortunately, scientists have yet to be able to locate specific features of malignant cells that would make them uniquely targetable (barring some recent examples, such as the Philadelphia chromosome as targeted by imatinib). This means that other fast dividing cells such those responsible for hair growth and for replacement of the intestinal epithelium (lining) are also affected. However, some drugs have a better side-effect profile than others, enabling doctors to adjust treatment regimens to the advantage of patients in certain situations.
As chemotherapy affects cell division, tumours with high growth fractions (such as acute myelogenous leukemia and the lymphomas, including Hodgkin's disease) are more sensitive to chemotherapy, as a larger proportion of the tumour cells are undergoing cell division at any time.
Chemotheraputic drugs affect "younger" tumours (i.e. less differentiated) more effectively, because at a higher grade of differentiation, the propensity to growth usually decreases. Near the center of some solid tumours, cell division has effectively ceased, making them insensitive to chemotherapy. Another problem with solid tumours is the fact that the chemotherapeutic agent often does not reach the core of the tumour. Solutions to this problem include brachytherapy and, of course, surgery.
<snip>
-----Original Message-----
From: Yoli [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: February 7, 2005 7:00 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [CML] Representatives, Scientists, Cord Blood Transplant Recipients Call On House Legislators to Pass H.R. 596I have a question from Marcus, when he was having his bm test (procedure) the doctor asked him who was handling his chemo theraphy, and Marucs almost jumped out of the bed, and he told her that he was only taking Gleevec and she said oh yes that is what I meant, you know Gleevec is a form of chemotherapy and I guess this has been bothering him for a long time, since December of 2004, so my question from Marcus to the group is: Is Gleevec considered chemotheraphy? Thank you for your responses. Yolanda.
New! Sign up for local CML support group meetings in your local community at http://cml.meetup.com
Apply for Commercial Real Estate loans online and submit your deal to dozens of hungry lenders in just minutes. Loan programs for all types of business and commercial real estate. Apply anytime at http://realestatezoo.com
CML (Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia Support List)
---------------------------------
Part Of CMLHope.Com
An International Community Of CML Patients
For more information: http://cmlhope.com
Post Message: [email protected]
Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Change To No Mail/Web: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Change To Digest: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Change To Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
List Help: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
CML Group Web Site http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CML
| Yahoo! Groups Sponsor | |
|
|
Yahoo! Groups Links
- To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CML/
- To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
- Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
