MesotheliomaWeb.Org: Adjuvant and Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy
MesotheliomaWeb.Org launches new page, www.mesotheliomaweb.org/adjuvant.htm, with helpful information on adjuvant and neoadjuvant chemotherapy. MesotheliomaWeb acts as an authoritative reference for patients and their families who are coping with mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that affects the band of tissue that encircles the lungs. MesotheliomaWeb.Org furnishes visitors with the most recent news on research projects, treatment processes, and other facts on the disease.
Chemotherapy is a long-established process involving drugs that attack cancer cells. The process can take one of two forms: adjuvant chemotherapy and neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
In adjuvant chemotherapy, the patient undergoes the chemotherapy process after the initial cancer treatment. A typical case would involve a surgical removal of as much of the tumor as doctors can access, followed by a regimen of adjuvant chemotherapy to attack the reset of the tumor. The objective of adjuvant chemotherapy is curative rather than preventative. An adjuvant chemotherapy routine is established to destroy the malignant cells and restore the patient to full health.
A common instance of adjuvant chemotherapy can be seen in the treatment of breast cancer. The surgeon will often remove the malignant cells, as well as some of the healthy tissue and lymph nodes around the tumor. Since most chemotherapy drugs do not target one part of the body over another, an oncologist may recommend adjuvant chemotherapy in instances where they see evidence that the cancer has spread to other parts of the body.
Doctors will administer adjuvant chemotherapy shortly after the patient recovers from surgery. Depending on the severity of the surgery, patients can start on their adjuvant chemotherapy regimens anywhere from two weeks to two months after their procedures. Numerous scientific studies have established the benefits of adjuvant chemotherapy, including how the treatment can speed the healing process for certain types of cancer.
In some instances, doctors may recommend that the patient undergo at least one chemotherapy treatment routine before the primary surgical or radiological procedure. These instances call for a process called “neoadjuvant chemotherapy”. In neoadjuvant chemotherapy, the goal of the chemotherapy treatment is to make the surgical procedure or radiation therapy easier and more efficient at removing the tumor. Instead of acting as a curative agent, the chemotherapy regimen acts as a first step in removing the tumor.
Doctors may choose to use neoadjuvant chemotherapy in cases where a tumor is too large or its placement too risky to start with surgical removal. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy also reduces the chances that the malignant cells will spread to other parts of the body. When neoadjuvant chemotherapy is employed before surgery, the treatment can also lower the risk of a tumor becoming dislodged and spreading more cancer cells during the procedure.
Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is also useful as a preparation for radiation treatment. Some neoadjuvant chemotherapy drugs can infuse the body with chemicals that make cells more sensitive to the ionizing radiation used in radiological treatments. These chemicals, known as “radiosensitizers”, can make radiation treatments more effective. One of the primary radiosensitive chemotherapy drugs is cisplatin, which is often used in the treatment of mesothelioma and other forms of lung cancer.
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