So it can treat cancer cells almost anywhere in the body. This is known as systemic treatment. Body tissues are made of billions of individual cells. Once we are fully grown, most of the body's cells don't divide and multiply much.
They only divide if they need to repair damage. When cells divide, they split into 2 identical new cells. So where there was 1 cell, there are now 2. Then these divide to make 4, then 8 and so on. In cancer, the cells keep on dividing until there is a mass of cells. This mass of cells becomes a lump, called a tumour. Because cancer cells divide much more often than most normal cells, chemotherapy is much more likely to kill them.
Some drugs kill dividing cells by damaging the part of the cell's control centre that makes it divide. Other drugs interrupt the chemical processes involved in cell division. In the centre of each living cell is a dark blob, called the nucleus. The nucleus is the control centre of the cell.
It contains chromosomes, which are made up of genes. This is called intravenous or IV chemotherapy. Treatment takes a few minutes to a few hours. Some IV drugs work better if you get them over a few days or weeks. You take them through a small pump you wear or carry. This is called continuous infusion chemotherapy. Oral chemotherapy. You can take some drugs by mouth.
They can be in a pill, capsule, or liquid. This means that you may be able to pick up your medication at the pharmacy and take it at home. Oral treatments for cancer are now more common.
Some of these drugs are given daily, and others are given less often. For example, a drug may be given daily for 4 weeks followed by a 2-week break. Injected chemotherapy. This is when you receive chemotherapy as a shot. The shot may be given in a muscle or injected under the skin. You may receive these shots in the arm, leg, or abdomen. Abdomen is the medical word for your belly. Chemotherapy into an artery. An artery is a blood vessel that carries blood from your heart to another part of your body.
Sometimes chemotherapy is injected into an artery that goes directly to the cancer. This is called intra-arterial or IA chemotherapy. Chemotherapy into the peritoneum or abdomen. For some cancers, medication might be placed directly in your abdomen. This type of treatment works for cancers involving the peritoneum. The peritoneum covers the surface of the inside of the abdomen and surrounds the intestines, liver, and stomach. Ovarian cancer is one type of cancer that frequently spreads to the peritoneum.
Topical chemotherapy. Chemotherapy care at Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission. This content does not have an English version. This content does not have an Arabic version. Overview Chemotherapy is a drug treatment that uses powerful chemicals to kill fast-growing cells in your body. Request an Appointment at Mayo Clinic.
Share on: Facebook Twitter. Show references Chemotherapy and you: Support for people with cancer. National Cancer Institute. Accessed Oct. Niederhuber JE, et al. Cancer pharmacology. In: Abeloff's Clinical Oncology. Elsevier; Accessed Sept. They work by changing the DNA inside cancer cells to keep them from growing and multiplying.
Anthracyclines: Anthracyclines are anti-tumor antibiotics that interfere with enzymes involved in copying DNA during the cell cycle.
They bind with DNA so it cannot make copies of itself, and a cell cannot reproduce. Enzymes are proteins that start, help, or speed up the rate of chemical reactions in cells. They are widely used for a variety of cancers. A major concern when giving these drugs is that they can permanently damage the heart if given in high doses.
For this reason, lifetime dose limits also called cumulative dose are often placed on these drugs. These drugs are also called plant alkaloids. They interfere with enzymes called topoisomerases , which help separate the strands of DNA so they can be copied.
Enzymes are proteins that cause chemical reactions in living cells. Topoisomerase inhibitors are used to treat certain leukemias, as well as lung, ovarian, gastrointestinal, colorectal, and pancreatic cancers.
Mitotic inhibitors are also called plant alkaloids. They are compounds derived from natural products, such as plants. They work by stopping cells from dividing to form new cells, but can damage cells in all phases by keeping enzymes from making proteins needed for cell reproduction.
They are used to treat many different types of cancer including breast, lung, myelomas, lymphomas, and leukemias.
These drugs may cause nerve damage , which can limit the amount that can be given. Corticosteroids, often simply called steroids , are natural hormones and hormone-like drugs that are useful in the treatment of many types of cancer, as well as other illnesses.
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