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3 - Principles of Chemotherapy

from PART I - PRINCIPLES OF ONCOLOGY

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 May 2010

By
Rowena Schwartz ,
Tiffany V. Goolsby  and
Wells A. Messersmith
Edited by
Jean-François H. Geschwind  and
Michael C. Soulen
Rowena Schwartz
Affiliation:
Director of Oncology Pharmacy, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
Tiffany V. Goolsby
Affiliation:
Clinical Pharmacist, Johns Hopkins Pharmacy, Baltimore, MD
Wells A. Messersmith
Affiliation:
Assistant Professor, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
Jean-François H. Geschwind
Affiliation:
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Michael C. Soulen
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
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Summary

ANTI-NEOPLASTIC AGENTS

The pharmacological approach to chemotherapy encompasses a wide number and many types of medications. Classically, cytotoxic agents that target rapidly dividing cancer cells have been the mainstay of treatment. More recently, the use of agents that target the immune system (immunotherapy), the biological pathways of malignant cells (targeted therapy) and the hormonal environment of the cancer (endocrine therapy) have been developed to use as single agents and in combination with other anti-neoplastic agents. This chapter overviews the common classes of antineoplastic agents and discusses some of the most common related toxicities. A more extensive review of these agents is available in many texts (1–3) and in published reviews. A quick reference list of toxicities for specific agents is available (4) and delineates between acute and delayed toxicities.

Agents used as cancer therapy are commonly categorized by mechanism (e.g., anti-metabolite or tyrosine kinase inhibitor) or origin (e.g., vinca alkaloid). Within a specific class of agents, the drugs differ significantly in pharmacology, activity and clinical application. Toxicities are often unique to an agent within a class, and the manifestation of a drug-induced side effect may vary significantly based on the drug dose, schedule, route of administration and drug therapy combination. Additionally, the tolerability of most drugs used in the treatment of cancer depends upon numerous aspects of an individual. Factors such as disease, organ function (e.g., renal function, liver function), comorbidities and concomitant medications impact toxicities and pharmacology of many agents.

Type
Chapter
Information
Interventional Oncology
Principles and Practice
 , pp. 28 - 37
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2008

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References

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  • Principles of Chemotherapy
    • By Rowena Schwartz, Director of Oncology Pharmacy, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, Tiffany V. Goolsby, Clinical Pharmacist, Johns Hopkins Pharmacy, Baltimore, MD, Wells A. Messersmith, Assistant Professor, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
  • Edited by Jean-François H. Geschwind, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Michael C. Soulen, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
  • Book: Interventional Oncology
  • Online publication: 18 May 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511722226.004
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Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Principles of Chemotherapy
    • By Rowena Schwartz, Director of Oncology Pharmacy, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, Tiffany V. Goolsby, Clinical Pharmacist, Johns Hopkins Pharmacy, Baltimore, MD, Wells A. Messersmith, Assistant Professor, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
  • Edited by Jean-François H. Geschwind, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Michael C. Soulen, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
  • Book: Interventional Oncology
  • Online publication: 18 May 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511722226.004
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Principles of Chemotherapy
    • By Rowena Schwartz, Director of Oncology Pharmacy, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, Tiffany V. Goolsby, Clinical Pharmacist, Johns Hopkins Pharmacy, Baltimore, MD, Wells A. Messersmith, Assistant Professor, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
  • Edited by Jean-François H. Geschwind, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Michael C. Soulen, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
  • Book: Interventional Oncology
  • Online publication: 18 May 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511722226.004
Available formats
×