Systemic Treatment for Cancer

Cancer treatments fall into two general categories: localized and systemic. Localized treatments center on the site of the cancer itself, while systemic treatments circulate throughout your body. Systemic treatments have their own drawbacks and benefits.

Function

• Systemic treatments are commonly used for neoadjuvant therapy and for adjuvant therapy. Neoadjuvant therapy shrinks the size of a cancerous tumor, thus making surgery more effective. Adjuvant therapy occurs after your primary treatment, preventing the cancer from coming back.

Types

• There are three main types of systemic treatments for cancer: chemotherapy, which fights cancer with chemical agents; hormone therapy, which fights cancer by blocking estrogen production; and targeted therapy, which "targets" molecules that cancer cells need to grow and divide.

Administration

• Systemic treatments are administered orally or intravenously. That is, you receive these treatments by mouth, as with a pill, or you receive them directly into your bloodstream, as with an injection or an IV.

Effects

• Systemic treatments fight cancer cells throughout your body. However, they also damage healthy cells, often causing fatigue, hair loss, infection, nausea and vomiting. Side effects vary with the type of treatment you receive and its dosage.

Benefits

• Research in systemic treatments for cancer is ongoing, and targeted therapy, in particular, has fewer side effects than other cancer treatments.