Chemotherapy, literally, describes drug therapy (cytotoxic). Chemotherapy damages cells that continue to divide when delivered into the bloodstream. At the center of each cell is an area called the nucleus. The nucleus, which can also be defined as the control center of cells, contains chromosomes made of genes. When a cell divides to reproduce, it is genetically copied exactly.
What are the types of Chemotherapy?
Chemotherapy administered by physicians of the medical oncology department is widely used for cancer treatment. The medical oncologist determines the drug or drug combinations to be given to the patient for the chemotherapy process, according to the patient's current condition.
In other words, drugs are selected considering the type, location, spread of the tumor, general health status and age of the patient. The frequency of administration of chemotherapy is determined by medical oncologists in the light of similar parameters. Different types of chemotherapy are used for different purposes:
Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy
It is aimed to shrink the common tumor and thus make the person ready for the operation. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy, also known as diminutive cancer therapy, also allows the cancerous tissue to be differentiated from healthy tissue. It is mostly applied as 1 to 4 cures in regional but advanced cancer types such as breast, colon and rectum.
Adjuvant Chemotherapy
It is a type of chemotherapy applied to clear the remaining cancerous cells from the body after the tumor is surgically cleared. Adjuvant chemotherapy, which aims to reduce the chance of cancer recurrence, is also known as preventive therapy.
Palliative Chemotherapy
This type of chemotherapy, which is applied to reduce the complaints of cancer patients and increase their quality of life, is also known as a supportive treatment method. It is applied to reduce the patient's complaints such as pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and edema in severe and/or progressive cancer cases, and to meet their psychological needs.
In other words, palliative chemotherapy is a type of treatment that reduces the complaints of the person so that they can carry out their daily activities.
Modified type of Chemotherapy
Here we can talk about intra-arterial chemotherapy. Intra-arterial chemotherapy is the direct delivery of chemotherapy drug to the tumor through the arteries feeding the tumor. In normal chemotherapy, since the drug is administered by a branule or through a port through the arm vein, it first goes to the lungs and heart, and then gradually decreases in intensity and is distributed evenly throughout the body. This type of chemotherapy is the only option in advanced stage cancers that have spread to many organs in the body. However, sometimes the tumor may be in a single site or organ in our body. In such patients, if intra-arterial chemotherapy is administered through the vessels feeding the tumor, the entire chemotherapy drug can be administered directly into the tumor. Thus, a much higher concentration of chemotherapy is given into the tumor and systemic side effects are reduced because the chemotherapy drug is less distributed throughout the body.
In order to treat tumors more effectively, the idea of administering chemotherapy drugs through feeding arteries was first applied to head and neck tumors in the 1960s. Later, intra-arterial chemotherapy has been widely used in many organs and regions until today. One of the tumors in which intra-arterial chemotherapy is most beneficial is a childhood eye cancer called retinoblastoma. While removing the eyes of these patients was the only treatment method, nowadays, more than 95% of the patients can be protected and the disease can be cured by giving chemotherapy from the eye artery (ophthalmic artery).
