Chemotherapy

Overview

Doctors at Mayo use a variety of individualized chemotherapy programs (regimens) to treat many different forms of cancer. Mayo Clinic medical oncologists have routinely treated cancer using chemotherapy since the 1960s. Approximately 200 patients receive chemotherapy at one of Mayo Clinic's sites each day, and several hundred patients receive chemotherapy on clinical trials annually.

How It Works

Chemotherapy kills rapidly dividing cells. Cancer cells often multiply more rapidly than normal cells. Cancer cells are also less able to recover from the toxic effects of chemotherapy than can normal cells. Normal cells that divide rapidly, such as hair or blood cells, are also killed by chemotherapy. This results in common side effects such as hair falling out and blood counts dropping.

Chemotherapy drugs are tested against various forms of cancer in an effort to find out which drugs work against that particular type of cancer. Multiple drugs, each individually effective against a certain cancer, are often combined to try and maximize the effect against the cancer. Drugs are combined so that there are few overlapping side effects, to make the treatment more tolerable. These combinations are then tested in clinical trials to see how effective they are. If a combination works better than the current "standard" treatment, it will become the new standard therapy.

Cycles of chemotherapy may be given daily, weekly or monthly for various periods of time. Time between cycles allows the body to recover from the ill effects of chemotherapy. The traditional ways to administer therapy include injections in the vein (IV), muscle or tumor; oral treatment (pills); or topical applications. Mayo doctors determine the best way to administer chemotherapy based on the type and stage of cancer and the medications to be given.

Newer forms of chemotherapy are being developed and tested at Mayo Clinic and other research centers throughout the world. Many of these drugs are based on an understanding of the biological differences between normal cells and cancer cells. These treatments are often referred to as "targeted therapies." The hope is that these treatments will target the cancer cells only and spare normal cells, or at least greatly reduce the side effects of therapy. Multiple forms of targeted therapy are currently in use at Mayo Clinic, including such drugs as trastuzumab (Herceptin), imatinib (Gleevec) and bevacizumab (Avastin).

Types of Chemotherapy

Doctors at Mayo Clinic may use single drugs or combinations of several chemotherapy drugs to treat different types of cancer. At Mayo, a team of physicians considers each patient's type, stage and grade of cancer before recommending treatment. Important factors include the patient's age and general health, and especially the patient's wishes. Read more about the types of chemotherapy.

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• Treatment in Florida
• Treatment in Minnesota

About Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy, the use of medications to treat cancer, has played a major role in cancer treatment for half a century. Years of testing and research have proven chemotherapy to be effective and capable of prolonging life, reducing cancer-related symptoms such as pain, and in some instances curing cancer. Depending on a patient's situation, chemotherapy may be the only treatment given, or it may be used in combination with surgery, radiation therapy or other therapies.

Read more about chemotherapy at
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