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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.
Brachytherapy is a form of radiation therapy where a sealed radiation source is placed inside or next to the area requiring treatment. Brachy is Greek for short. Brachytherapy is commonly used as an effective treatment for cervical, prostate, breast, esophageal and skin cancer and can also be used to treat tumours in many other body sites. Treatment results have demonstrated that the cancer-cure rates of brachytherapy are either comparable to surgery and external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) or are improved when used in combination with these techniques. Brachytherapy can be used alone or in combination with other therapies such as surgery, EBRT and chemotherapy.
Megavoltage X-rays are produced by linear accelerators ("linacs") operating at voltages in excess of 1000 kV (1 MV) range, and therefore have an energy in the MeV range. The voltage in this case refers to the voltage used to accelerate electrons in the linear accelerator and indicates the maximum possible energy of the photons which are subsequently produced. They are used in medicine in external beam radiotherapy to treat neoplasms, cancer and tumors. Beams with a voltage range of 4-25 MV are used to treat deeply buried cancers because radiation oncologists find that they penetrate well to deep sites within the body. Lower energy x-rays, called orthovoltage X-rays, are used to treat cancers closer to the surface.
Malignancy is the tendency of a medical condition to become progressively worse; the term is most familiar as a characterization of cancer.
Cytarabine, also known as cytosine arabinoside (ara-C), is a chemotherapy medication used to treat acute myeloid leukemia (AML), acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. It is given by injection into a vein, under the skin, or into the cerebrospinal fluid. There is a liposomal formulation for which there is tentative evidence of better outcomes in lymphoma involving the meninges.
Choriocarcinoma is a malignant, trophoblastic cancer, usually of the placenta. It is characterized by early hematogenous spread to the lungs. It belongs to the malignant end of the spectrum in gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD). It is also classified as a germ cell tumor and may arise in the testis or ovary.
Strontium-89 is a radioactive isotope of strontium produced by nuclear fission, with a half-life of 50.57 days. It undergoes β− decay into yttrium-89. Strontium-89 has an application in medicine.
Bicalutamide, sold under the brand name Casodex among others, is an antiandrogen medication that is primarily used to treat prostate cancer. It is typically used together with a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogue or surgical removal of the testicles to treat metastatic prostate cancer (mPC). To a lesser extent, it is used at high doses for locally advanced prostate cancer (LAPC) as a monotherapy without castration. Bicalutamide was also previously used as monotherapy to treat localized prostate cancer (LPC), but authorization for this use was withdrawn following unfavorable trial findings. Besides prostate cancer, bicalutamide is limitedly used in the treatment of excessive hair growth and scalp hair loss in women, as a puberty blocker and component of feminizing hormone therapy for transgender girls and women, to treat gonadotropin-independent early puberty in boys, and to prevent overly long-lasting erections in men. It is taken by mouth.
Nitrogen mustards (NMs) are cytotoxic organic compounds with the bis(2-chloroethyl)amino ((ClC2H4)2NR) functional group. Although originally produced as chemical warfare agents, they were the first chemotherapeutic agents for treatment of cancer. Nitrogen mustards are nonspecific DNA alkylating agents.
Lymphangiosarcoma is a rare cancer which occurs in long-standing cases of primary or secondary lymphedema. It involves either the upper or lower lymphedematous extremities but is most common in upper extremities. Although its name implies lymphatic origin, it is believed to arise from endothelial cells and may be more accurately referred to as angiosarcoma.
Altretamine, also called hexamethylmelamine, is an antineoplastic agent. It was approved by the U.S. FDA in 1990.
An alkylating antineoplastic agent is an alkylating agent used in cancer treatment that attaches an alkyl group (CnH2n+1) to DNA.
A dose-volume histogram (DVH) is a histogram relating radiation dose to tissue volume in radiation therapy planning. DVHs are most commonly used as a plan evaluation tool and to compare doses from different plans or to structures. DVHs were introduced by Michael Goitein and Verhey in 1979. DVH summarizes 3D dose distributions in a graphical 2D format. In modern radiation therapy, 3D dose distributions are typically created in a computerized treatment planning system (TPS) based on a 3D reconstruction of a CT scan. The "volume" referred to in DVH analysis is a target of radiation treatment, a healthy organ nearby a target, or an arbitrary structure.
A sternal fracture is a fracture of the sternum, located in the center of the chest. The injury, which occurs in 5–8% of people who experience significant blunt chest trauma, may occur in vehicle accidents, when the still-moving chest strikes a steering wheel or dashboard or is injured by a seatbelt. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), has also been known to cause thoracic injury, including sternum and rib fractures. Sternal fractures may also occur as a pathological fracture, in people who have weakened bone in their sternum, due to another disease process. Sternal fracture can interfere with breathing by making it more painful; however, its primary significance is that it can indicate the presence of serious associated internal injuries, especially to the heart and lungs.
The term nonpuerperal mastitis describes inflammatory lesions of the breast (mastitis) that occur unrelated to pregnancy and breastfeeding.
Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a type of lymphoma in which cancer originates from a specific type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, where multinucleated Reed–Sternberg cells are present in the patient's lymph nodes. The condition was named after the English physician Thomas Hodgkin, who first described it in 1832. Symptoms may include fever, night sweats, and weight loss. Often, nonpainful enlarged lymph nodes occur in the neck, under the arm, or in the groin. Persons affected may feel tired or be itchy.
Intraperitoneal hyperthermic chemoperfusion is a type of hyperthermia therapy used in combination with surgery in the treatment of advanced abdominal cancers. In this procedure, warmed anti-cancer medications are infused and circulated in the peritoneal cavity (abdomen) for a short period of time. The chemotherapeutic agents generally infused during IPHC are mitomycin-C and cisplatin.
Induction chemotherapy is the first-line treatment of cancer with a chemotherapeutic drug. The goal of induction chemotherapy is to cure the cancer. It may be contrasted with neoadjuvant therapy, with consolidation chemotherapy, and with maintenance chemotherapy given at lower doses after the consolidation phase of treatment is over.
An estrogen-dependent condition can be that relating to the differentiation in the steroid sex hormone that is associated with the female reproductive system and sex characteristics. These conditions can fall under the umbrella of hypoestrogenism, hyperestrogenim, or any sensitivity to the presence of estrogen in the body.
Edward C. Halperin, is the chancellor and CEO of New York Medical College (NYMC) where he is also a professor of radiation medicine, pediatrics and history. He also serves as the Miriam Popack Chair in Biomedical Ethics and director of the Hirth and Samowitz Center for Medical Humanities and Holocaust Studies at NYMC, director of bioethics in the School of Health Sciences and Practice at NYMC, as well as provost for biomedical affairs for the Touro College and University System, a position he has held since 2012.
References
- ↑ Rebuffini, E.; Zuccarino, L.; Grecchi, E.; Carinci, F.; Merulla, V. E. (2012). "Picibanil (OK-432) in the treatment of head and neck lymphangiomas in children". Dental Research Journal. 9 (Suppl 2): S192–S196. doi: 10.4103/1735-3327.109752 (inactive 31 January 2024). PMC 3692172 . PMID 23814582.
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