Chemotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemotherapy may be given with a curative intent or it may aim to prolong life or to reduce symptoms. Chemotherapy is one of the major categories of the medical discipline specifically devoted to pharmacotherapy for cancer, which is called medical oncology.
This is a list of terms related to oncology. The original source for this list was the US National Cancer Institute's public domain Dictionary of Cancer Terms.
Teniposide is a chemotherapeutic medication used in the treatment of childhood acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), Hodgkin's lymphoma, certain brain tumours, and other types of cancer. It is in a class of drugs known as podophyllotoxin derivatives and slows the growth of cancer cells in the body.
Targeted therapy or molecularly targeted therapy is one of the major modalities of medical treatment (pharmacotherapy) for cancer, others being hormonal therapy and cytotoxic chemotherapy. As a form of molecular medicine, targeted therapy blocks the growth of cancer cells by interfering with specific targeted molecules needed for carcinogenesis and tumor growth, rather than by simply interfering with all rapidly dividing cells. Because most agents for targeted therapy are biopharmaceuticals, the term biologic therapy is sometimes synonymous with targeted therapy when used in the context of cancer therapy. However, the modalities can be combined; antibody-drug conjugates combine biologic and cytotoxic mechanisms into one targeted therapy.
Amsacrine is an antineoplastic agent.
Topoisomerase inhibitors are chemical compounds that block the action of topoisomerases, which are broken into two broad subtypes: type I topoisomerases (TopI) and type II topoisomerases (TopII). Topoisomerase plays important roles in cellular reproduction and DNA organization, as they mediate the cleavage of single and double stranded DNA to relax supercoils, untangle catenanes, and condense chromosomes in eukaryotic cells. Topoisomerase inhibitors influence these essential cellular processes. Some topoisomerase inhibitors prevent topoisomerases from performing DNA strand breaks while others, deemed topoisomerase poisons, associate with topoisomerase-DNA complexes and prevent the re-ligation step of the topoisomerase mechanism. These topoisomerase-DNA-inhibitor complexes are cytotoxic agents, as the un-repaired single- and double stranded DNA breaks they cause can lead to apoptosis and cell death. Because of this ability to induce apoptosis, topoisomerase inhibitors have gained interest as therapeutics against infectious and cancerous cells.
Pixantrone is an experimental antineoplastic (anti-cancer) drug, an analogue of mitoxantrone with fewer toxic effects on cardiac tissue. It acts as a topoisomerase II poison and intercalating agent. The code name BBR 2778 refers to pixantrone dimaleate, the actual substance commonly used in clinical trials.
Plicamycin is an antineoplastic antibiotic produced by Streptomyces plicatus. It is an RNA synthesis inhibitor. The manufacturer discontinued production in 2000. Several different structures are currently reported in different places all with the same chromomycin core, but with different stereochemistry in the glycoside chain, a 1999 study has re-investigated the compound and proposed a revised structure.
Oblimersen is an antisense oligodeoxyribonucleotide being studied as a possible treatment for several types of cancer, including chronic lymphocytic leukemia, B-cell lymphoma, and breast cancer. It may kill cancer cells by blocking the production of Bcl-2—a protein that makes cancer cells live longer—and by making them more sensitive to chemotherapy.
Carmofur (INN) or HCFU (1-hexylcarbamoyl-5-fluorouracil) is a pyrimidine analogue used as an antineoplastic agent. It is a derivative of fluorouracil, being a lypophilic-masked analog of 5-FU that can be administered orally.
Semustine is an alkylating nitrosourea compound used in chemotherapy treatment of various types of tumours. Due to its lipophilic property, semustine can cross the blood-brain barrier for the chemotherapy of brain tumours, where it interferes with the cellular DNA of the highly dividing cells. Semustine, just as lomustine, is administered orally. It has been reported that semustine can perform the main mechanism of action at molecular level via the alkylation of DNA nitrogenous bases in duplex by results of inhibition of DNA replication, transcription, and translation by way of alkylation of DNA, under pH-dependent conditions by hydrolysis, forming chloro-carbonium ions. Sufficient evidence was found that treatment with semustine can cause acute leukaemia as a delayed effect in very rare cases.
OSI-7904 is a noncompetitive liposomal thymidylate synthase inhibitor. OSI-7904 is a benzoquinazoline folate analog with antineoplastic activity. As a thymidylate synthase inhibitor, OSI-7904 noncompetitively binds to thymidylate synthase, resulting in inhibition of thymine nucleotide synthesis and DNA replication.
Extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type (ENKTCL-NT) is a rare type of lymphoma that commonly involves midline areas of the nasal cavity, oral cavity, and/or pharynx At these sites, the disease often takes the form of massive, necrotic, and extremely disfiguring lesions. However, ENKTCL-NT can also involve the eye, larynx, lung, gastrointestinal tract, skin, and various other tissues. ENKTCL-NT mainly affects adults; it is relatively common in Asia and to lesser extents Mexico, Central America, and South America but is rare in Europe and North America. In Korea, ENKTCL-NT often involves the skin and is reported to be the most common form of cutaneous lymphoma after mycosis fungoides.
Apatinib, also known as rivoceranib, is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor that selectively inhibits the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2. It is an orally bioavailable, small molecule agent which is thought to inhibit angiogenesis in cancer cells; specifically, apatinib inhibits VEGF-mediated endothelial cell migration and proliferation thus blocking new blood vessel formation in tumor tissue. This agent also mildly inhibits c-Kit and c-SRC tyrosine kinases.
Nivolumab, sold under the brand name Opdivo, is a medication used to treat a number of types of cancer. This includes melanoma, lung cancer, malignant pleural mesothelioma, renal cell carcinoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, head and neck cancer, urothelial carcinoma, colon cancer, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, liver cancer, gastric cancer, and esophageal or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer. It is used by slow injection into a vein.
Antineoplastic resistance, often used interchangeably with chemotherapy resistance, is the resistance of neoplastic (cancerous) cells, or the ability of cancer cells to survive and grow despite anti-cancer therapies. In some cases, cancers can evolve resistance to multiple drugs, called multiple drug resistance.
Resminostat is an orally bioavailable inhibitor of histone deacetylases (HDACs), of which inhibitors are antineoplastic agents.
MINE in the context of chemotherapy is an acronym for one of the chemotherapy regimens used for treatment of relapsed or refractory aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Lurbinectedin, sold under the brand name Zepzelca, is a medication used for the treatment of small cell lung cancer.
Bisantrene, trademarked as Zantrene, is an anthracenyl bishydrazone with anthracycline-like antineoplastic activity. Bisantrene intercalates with and disrupts the configuration of DNA, resulting in DNA single-strand breaks, DNA-protein crosslinking, and inhibition of DNA replication. This agent is similar to doxorubicin in activity, but unlike anthracyclines like doxorubicin, exhibits little cardiotoxicity.
(what is this?) (verify) 