What is combination chemotherapy how does it fight cancer


Based on the Gompertzian type of tumor growth, tumors in their initial phases grow rapidly simply because they have a superior growth fraction. Eventually, because the tumor burden increases,its growth plateaus and also the growth fraction decreases.

Growth fraction and tumor burden are thus inversely related. Cell cycle-specific and cell cycle-nonspecific medicine is given in combination, because cell cycle-specific drugs reduce a tumor's growth fraction and cell cycle-nonspecific drugs lessen the tumor burden.

Many antineoplastic agents are dose-limiting due to their overall cytotoxicity. The limits imposed by the toxicities on the different organ systems resulted in using combination drugs to attain better therapeutic outcomes. Combination therapy requires the utilization of two or more drugs highly effective against a tumor type.

The introduction of this tactic is one of the major advances in cancer treatment in the past Two decades. Combination treatments are better than single-drug therapy due to higher tumor response rates and increased amount of remissions.

Many regimens in current use have shown to boost the response rate by 2 to 4 times. Two or more drugs could be given simultaneously or in sequence. The response rates and survival rates are more dramatic simply because they accomplish the next:

To make sure lysis of proliferating and resting cells, combination chemotherapy is run in courses. The amount of courses used in treatment varies depending on the kind of cancer, the chemotherapy agents used, and also the patient's reaction to therapy.

Legal Disclaimer

Our website is not responsible for the information contained by this article. Articleinput.com is a free articles resource thus practically any visitor can submit an article. However if you notice any copyrighted material, please contact us and we will remove the article(s) in discussion right away.

Note: This article was sent to us by: Alan Reed at 07252011

Related Articles

1. Monoclonal antibodies and their role in chemotherapy
Many tumor cells express substances on the surface that are unique to tumor cells. These substances might be absent or found in small quantities in normal cells, making tum...

2. Cytokines, interferons and toxicities in chemotherapy
Cytokines Cytokines are naturally sourced substances released from stimulated cells of the immune system. There is a big part in mediating the game of the immune ...

3. Interleukins in chemotherapy and cancer treatment
Interleukins are regulatory substances made by lymphocytes and monocytes. They bind to focus on cells to deliver messages between leukocytes. Interleukins demonstrate an ar...

4. Patient and family education for biotherapy in cancer treatment
Patient and family teaching highly relevant to biotherapy is a vital function of the oncology nurse. Nurses are likely involved in obtaining informed consent before initiat...

5. Preventing chemotherapy errors for maximum patient safety
The chemotherapy administration process provides many opportunities for a number of medical professionals to make mistakes. The mistake may occur anywhere in the chemothera...

6. Routes of administration for chemotherapy in cancer patients
Following pretreatment assessment the RN may administer the chemotherapy. As advances in chemotherapy occur, the routes of administration still evolve. The option of drug r...

7. Minimizing contact with chemotherapeutic agents
Because of the healthcare personnel who handles antineoplastic agents, questions have arisen about possible long-term perils associated with contact with these drugs. The t...

8. Cutaneous toxicity issues during chemotherapy
Chemotherapy can induce alterations of the integumentary system. These could be generalized or localized reactions and therefore are often manifested on the skin, its appen...