Effectiveness of Chemotherapy depends upon a number of factors like the type and stage of the cancer, age and overall health of the patient. This is also called as chemo or chemical treatment and is actually a very ancient Greek therapy. The actual chemotherapy started with nitrogen mustard in the mid twentieth century. Since then till date research is on to develop new and more effective drugs and minimize the side effects of chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy is the use of anti cancer drugs or antineoplastics that kill cancer cells directly. Other chemotherapy drugs are used as biologic response modifiers, in hormone therapy and monoclonal antibodies, which work in specific ways to treat cancer.

Normally, cells live, grow and die; new cells are formed when cells divide. Cancer occurs when cells in a particular part of the body divide and multiply abnormally. Chemotherapy is used to prevent the cancer cells from dividing. However, in this process of damaging the cancer cells, some healthy cells are also destroyed which cause certain side affects.

Much advancement has been made in developing effective chemotherapy protocols to minimize the side effects. However, a lot of work is still under research. This also includes identifying different types of cancers and the corresponding effective treatment.

Since cancer pertains to different stages and conditions in different parts of the body, chemotherapy is also used for a different purpose for different cancers depending on the type and stage. Its is used to-

1. Cure a specific cancer
2. Control tumor growth when cure is not possible
3. Shrink tumors before surgery or radiation therapy
4. Relieve symptoms
5. Destroy the cancer cells that remain even after the surgery
6. Treat recurrent cancer which is called adjuvant therapy

Chemotherapy is effectively used to treat lung cancer, breast cancer, bone cancer, colon cancer etc.

Chemotherapy drugs are more effective than surgery or radiation as they travel through the entire body via the bloodstream. Use of combination drugs is also proved effective compared to single drug chemotherapy. It is also used in combination with other treatments.

In case of lung cancer, it is effectively used along with radiation or surgery. In adjuvant chemotherapy, it is administered after surgery or radiation to kill the remaining cancer cells. In case of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, it is given before surgery to shrink the size of tumor. Chemotherapy is an effective treatment for some stage four cancers like lung, liver and bone. In this, chemotherapy drugs are directly administered into that organ to minimize the systemic side effects.

Factors included in staging of cancer are the size, number and location of tumors, the degree of difference between cancerous cells and normal cells and if the cancer has spread to other organs or metastasized. Chemotherapy treatment for stage four cancers is based on some more factors like the patient’s general health, age and history of previous treatments.

The effectiveness of chemotherapy depends on the drugs chosen, length of the treatment, dosage and the immunity of the patient. All chemotherapy treatments are done in cycles i.e. there is a rest period in between. This is essential because the patient needs to recover from the side effects of these drugs.