Chemotherapy for Melanoma

Chemotherapy is treatment to treat cancer, which uses anti-cancer drugs to eradicate cancer cells. Chemotherapy slows down or stops the growth of cancer cells. In systemic chemotherapy, chemotherapy drugs are usually injected into a vein or given orally.

In melanoma, cancerous cells spread beyond the skin, which involves lymph nodes and other organs. Chemotherapy drugs travel to all parts of body through the bloodstream and destroy cancer cells through body. Various types of chemotherapy can be used to treat advanced melanoma. Chemotherapy is not as effective in melanoma as in some other cancers however, it is helpful to relieve symptoms or extend survival period. Different chemotherapy drugs are used to treat melanoma. They are used as single drug or in combination of other drugs. Chemotherapy combinations  are used for the treatment of melanoma.
Some of chemotherapy drugs used to treat melanoma includes:

• Dacarbazine is used to treat melanoma. It can be used alone or in combination with other chemotherapy drugs such as carmustine and cisplatin. This combination of dacarbazine, carmustine, and cisplatin along with tamoxifen is called the Dartmouth regimen.
• CVD regimen can be used to treat melanoma, which includes combination of cisplatin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine chemotherapy drugs.
• Temozolomide drug is similar to dacarbazine however it is available the form of a pill. It can be taken alone or combined with interferon. According to studies, it has been more effective when combined with interferon.
• Another chemotherapy drug called paclitaxel is used to treat melanoma. It can be used alone or combined with drugs such as cisplatin or carboplatin.

However, it is not clear that using single drug is better or combinations of chemotherapy drugs are better. According to some studies, combining chemotherapy drugs also called combination chemotherapy is more effective than chemotherapy with a single drug. This type of chemotherapy treatment is also known as biochemotherapy or chemo immunotherapy.

A chemotherapy called isolated limb perfusion can be used to treat advanced melanomas, which are confined to an arm or leg. This chemotherapy is applied done during a surgical procedure. In this type of chemotherapy, high chemotherapy doses  are injected into the artery feeding the limb. Prior to chemotherapy, the blood flow of the involved limb from the rest of the body is temporarily separated and injects high doses of chemotherapy into the artery feeding the limb. Chemotherapy drug called melphalan is used for this type of treatment. Usually the chemotherapy drug is warmed before administration.

Melanoma chemotherapy side effects

Chemotherapy drugs attacks cancerous cells and destroy them. However, in the process, they also damage other normal cells, which cause some side effects. Side effects associated with chemotherapy treatment for cancer depend on the type and dose of drugs given and the length of treatment. Some chemotherapy side effects include nausea, vomiting, sickness, fatigue, hair loss, memory loss, mouth sores, loss of appetite, and lowered resistance to infection, bruising or bleeding. Tell to your doctor and medical team about any side effects you are feeling.

However, these side effects are temporary and usually disappear once treatment is over.