Cancer refers to the uncontrolled growth of cells combined with malignant behavior - invasion and metastasis. The cause for this disease is believed to be the interaction of environmental toxins and the genetic susceptibility. Basically, the chemotherapy drug’s functioning principle is to impair cell division (mitosis), targeting rapidly-dividing cells. The fact that these drugs destroy cells leads to their being named cytotoxic.

Chemotherapy, generally speaking, implies the treatment of a disease by means of chemicals which kill the sick cells. Particularly speaking, chemotherapy is used to kill the cells of micro-organisms or cancer. Chemotherapy usually refers to antineoplastic drugs which are used to treat cancer or to the combination of these drugs into a cytotoxic standardized treatment regimen. From a non-oncological perspective, the term chemotherapy also refers to antibiotics - this is known as antibacterial chemotherapy.

A chemotherapy drug, or the drug cocktail established by the doctor, functions on the principle of cellular destruction. Unfortunately, these drugs cannot make a selection between normal fast-dividing body cells and cancer cells. The collateral casualties produced by a chemotherapy drug are digestive tract linings, the bone marrow and the hair follicles. Thus, the main side effects of chemotherapy will include hair loss, the inflammation of the digestive tract and the reduced production of blood cells.

A chemotherapy drug could also be prescribed for the treatment of other problems such as autoimmune diseases - namely rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. There are newer anti-cancer drugs which were designed to act directly against abnormal proteins in cancer cells; this treatment option is known as targeted therapy.

When talking about a chemotherapy drug, we should be aware that there are different types available at present. Most of the drugs can be divided into alkylating agents, antimetabolites, plant alkaloids, topoisomerase inhibitors, anthracyclines, and other antitumor agents. Some newer agents, like monoclonal antibodies and tyrosine kinase inhibitors, do not interfere directly with the DNA as do the above mentioned ones.

These ones target a molecular abnormality in particular types of cancer such as gastrointestinal stromal tumors or chronic myelogenous leukemia. More special chemotherapy drug options only change the behavior of the tumor cells without affecting other tissues. From these so-called adjuvant therapies, the hormone treatment will be commonly used.

The decision to administer only one chemotherapy drug or a combination of several medicines belongs to the doctor and it is taken depending on the stage of the disease and the purpose of the treatment.

Well thanks for your time and effort reviewing this article until next time happy reading.

• Breast Chemotherapy: Are You Concerned About Breast Chemotherapy?
• Types of Treatment Available for Lung Cancer
• Chemotherapy and Hair Loss: What to Expect During Treatment?
• 10 Options In Treating Mesothelioma
• New Prostate Cancer Drug Ipilimumab’s Amazing Results