Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing them or by interfering with their division. This type of treatment may be given after surgery to attack cells that may have spread beyond the tumor (adjuvant therapy) or before surgery to shrink a tumor before removing it (neo-adjuvant therapy). Chemo is also used in cases where the cancer has spread.

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The drugs are delivered in a variety of ways. When they are taken orally or injected into a vein, they travel throughout the body. This is called systemic chemotherapy. The drugs may also be placed into an organ or body cavity to deliver a more direct blow to a tumor.

There are two major kinds of chemotherapy: Cytotoxics, including 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), leucovorin, irinotecan (Camptosar), and oxaliplatin (Eloxatin), are small chemicals that interfere with basic cell division processes discovered long ago. The biologics are cetuximab (Erbitux), which targets the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), and bevacizumab (Avastin), which targets vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). There are different schedules for receiving chemotherapy depending on the drugs being used.