Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is treatment for treating cancer. In chemotherapy, drugs or chemicals are used to kill cancerous cell and control growth of cancer. Different chemotherapy methods are used to eradicate cancer including preoperative chemotherapy, postoperative chemotherapy, single drug chemotherapy and combination chemotherapy.

In preoperative chemotherapy treatment, drugs are given to patient prior to cancer surgery or radical radiotherapy. Preoperative chemotherapy treatment helps to reduce or shrink the size of tumor which makes cancer surgery easier and enhances chances of its success. Preoperative chemotherapy is widely used for patients with cancers in which surgery is planned in future. It is helpful in reducing the difficulties and complications regarding cancer surgery. It is commonly used for locally advanced such as breast cancer and colorectal cancer.

Mostly preoperative chemotherapy is applied for treating locally advanced breast cancer. Preoperative chemotherapy can extend survival, improve quality of life survival and also reduce morbidity. A method based on diffuse optical spectroscopy is used to monitor patient’s response to preoperative chemotherapy. Diffuse optical spectroscopy is noninvasive near infra red method which is used to monitor the patients with locally advanced breast cancer. Preoperative chemotherapy is also useful for treating advanced cancer of head and neck. Most patients have complete response to preoperative chemotherapy. In preoperative chemotherapy, drugs used to treat cancer of head and neck are cisplatin, bleomycin and 5-fluorouracil.

Preoperative chemotherapy is largely applied for treating the patients with bulky and locally advanced cervical cancer. Cisplatin, ifosfamide and paclitaxel are the some of the chemotherapy drugs that are used in preoperative chemotherapy. This chemotherapy treatment is followed by surgery or radiotherapy. Preoperative chemotherapy has several advantages over postoperative or adjuvant chemotherapy.

Preoperative chemotherapy is also applied for the treatment of advanced ovarian cancer. Patients experience long term survival and good quality life when treated with Preoperative chemotherapy followed by surgery. In case of gastric cancer, preoperative chemotherapy can improve resectability survival and quality of life. However, this treatment can not prevent the risk of reoccurrence of cancer.

Drugs used in preoperative chemotherapy treatment are toxic in nature. They affect healthy normal cell along with cancerous cell which causes side effects. Some of the side effects associated with treatment include nausea, fatigue, vomiting, diarrhea, sickness, memory loss, weight loss, hair loss, loss of appetite bone marrow and many others drugs used in the treatment are toxic in nature. Side effects occurred due to chemotherapy treatment are varied form patient to patient and also depend on stage of cancer and physical condition of patient.

Preoperative chemotherapy treatment when followed by surgery increases chances of destroying cancer extends survival and also improves quality of life. Preoperative chemotherapy treatment also known as presurgical chemotherapy or neo-adjuvant chemotherapy is widely used for the treatment of cancer which can improve survival and reduce morbidity.