Cancer Treatment Drugs

Recent years have seen the development of several new cancer drugs. Those drugs can be categorized based on their effects on the cancer cell. Treatment options include chemotherapy, biological therapy, hormone therapy and targeted drug therapy.

Chemotherapy

• Chemotherapy involves using anti-cancer drugs. These drugs aim to destroy cancer cells by interfering with cell cycles and inhibiting growth or hampering their multiplication. These anti-cancer drugs can swindle the cells into undertaking apoptosis (programmed cell death). But in the process of destroying the cancerous cells, chemotherapy tends to harm the healthy cells too, causing a number of side effects. Chemotherapy is used to treat a variety of blood cancers, including lymphomas.

Biological Therapy

• The immune system is a network of organs and cells that work together to defend and protect the body. Biological therapy (also know as immunotherapy) instigates the body's immune system using drugs to fight cancer. The immune system is indirectly or directly engaged in this process. Biological therapy is sometimes applied to minimize side effects that have been caused by other types of cancer treatments.

Targeted Drug Therapy

• Targeted drug therapy involves the use of drugs that are used to attack specific areas such as molecules and proteins of cancerous cells. Since they are specific in nature, these drugs do not cause as much harm to the neighboring healthy cells and cause comparatively lesser side effects. Targeted cancer therapies include drugs that hamper cell growth signals, blood vessel tumor development and those which bring about apoptosis.

Hormone Therapy

• Hormone therapy involves the use of drugs that inhibit the body's hormones that help cancer to grow and metastasize. There are certain cancers that are dependent on particular hormones for their growth--for example, certain types of breast cancer need estrogen. Undergoing hormone therapy reduces the levels and effects of these hormones, alleviating the cancerous effects.

Modes of Drug Intake

• Different types of drugs are consumed through different modes depending on the type of treatment, length of the cycle and number of cycles. Some drugs are consumed orally, some are topical and some are injected into the body.

  Intravenous drugs are injected into one of the veins using either a drip or a needle, which is inserted into the vein. Some drugs are injected into muscles; they are known as intramuscular drugs.