Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy, in its most general sense, is the treatment of disease by chemicals especially by killing micro-organisms or cancerous cells. In popular usage, it refers to antineoplastic drugs used to treat cancer or the combination of these drugs into a cytotoxic standardized treatment regimen.

What is Chemotherapy?

Chemotherapy literally refers to the treatment of certain diseases using specific chemicals that are destructive to malignant cells or to the causative agent of a disease such as a bacteria or virus. Therefore, the treatment can be broadly divided into two categories - cancer chemotherapy and antimicrobial chemotherapy.

Does Scalp Cooling Prevent Hair Loss During Chemotherapy?

Chemotherapy Treatment Schemes

History of Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy Types

Chemotherapy Principles

How Chemotherapy Affects Daily Living

What is 'Chemo Brain'?

Latest Chemotherapy News and Research

Novel metal-free prodrug suppresses cancer spread in preclinical models

A carefully designed metal-free carbon monoxide prodrug may help prevent some of the deadliest forms of cancer from spreading, according to researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine.

12 Jun 2026

New combination therapy improves outcomes in high-risk leukemia

A research team from the Department of Medicine, School of Clinical Medicine, LKS Faculty of Medicine, the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed), has developed a novel combination therapy that significantly improves treatment outcomes and survival in patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) with FLT3 gene mutations.

11 Jun 2026

FDA accepts immunotherapy drug for review in colon cancer treatment

The Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology (Alliance) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has accepted for review Genentech's supplemental Biologic License Application for their immunotherapy drug atezolizumab (Tecentriq®) for the treatment of patients with stage III colon cancer with deficient deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) mismatch repair (dMMR).

11 Jun 2026

Collagen exists as liquid droplets inside living cells, study reveals

Collagen, the protein that builds skin, bones, tendons and organs, exists inside cells as a liquid-like droplet rather than the long, rigid rod seen in textbooks over the last half century, according to a new study from the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona.

11 Jun 2026

New DNA tetrahedron nanostructures improve targeted cancer therapy delivery

Conventional cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy, often lack specificity and can damage both cancerous and healthy cells, leading to severe side effects.

10 Jun 2026

Apitegromab helps tirzepatide users lose fat while preserving lean mass

A phase 2 trial found that apitegromab plus tirzepatide reduced lean body mass loss by 1.9 kg compared with tirzepatide plus placebo after 24 weeks, while overall weight loss remained similar.

9 Jun 2026

Machine learning model filters out the biological noise in liquid biopsy samples

A machine learning model developed by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center filters out the biological noise in liquid biopsy samples, helping clinicians better match therapies to their patients' tumors.

9 Jun 2026

Study identifies key protein driving colon cancer drug resistance

One of the most widely used chemotherapeutic agents for colorectal cancer is 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), a cornerstone treatment that has improved outcomes for countless patients.

9 Jun 2026

Active β-catenin promotes aggressive spread of childhood bone cancer

A new research paper was recently published in Volume 17 of Genes & Cancer, titled "Active Beta-Catenin (ABC) promotes an invasive phenotype in pediatric osteosarcoma."

9 Jun 2026

Study validates research models for tracking circular extra-chromosomal DNA

Damage to DNA in cancer cells can lead to pieces breaking off chromosomes and floating away, like icebergs cracking off from a glacier.

5 Jun 2026

CIC biomaGUNE develops pulmonary surfactant nanoparticles to treat lung diseases

The CIC biomaGUNE Center for Cooperative Research in Biomaterials has developed pulmonary surfactant nanoparticles (the blend of lipids and proteins that lines the alveoli and enables breathing), which are encapsulated in a drug used to treat pulmonary fibrosis.

4 Jun 2026

New all-oral regimen improves treatment convenience for AML patients

The ASCERTAIN V clinical trial demonstrated that an all-oral drug combination for older patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an effective alternative to the current standard, which requires repeated hospital or office visits for intravenous treatment.

3 Jun 2026

New PET imaging platform improves osteosarcoma surgery precision

A new end-to-end PET imaging approach for osteosarcoma can rapidly and reliably distinguish tumor tissue from normal tissue and accurately assess surgical margins in real time.

2 Jun 2026

New funding supports cutting-edge research to combat cancers across South Texas

The University of Texas at San Antonio (UT San Antonio) and its academic health center, UT Health San Antonio, recently received over $2.7 million in new academic and prevention awards from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) to further its mission of combating cancers across South Texas.

2 Jun 2026

Study finds serious blood-related side effects associated with antibody-drug conjugates

A major real-world study by University of California, Irvine pharmacy researchers has found serious blood-related side effects associated with antibody-drug conjugates, an increasingly important class of targeted cancer therapies.

2 Jun 2026

Stem cell transplantation is the most cost-effective sickle cell treatment

Stem cell transplantation is the most cost-effective option for long-term care of sickle cell disease in adults when compared with gene therapy and standard of care treatment, according to new research published in Blood.

2 Jun 2026

Lifestyle habits predict long-term health better than cancer treatment history

Healthy lifestyle habits are crucial for childhood cancer survivors, reducing risks of chronic conditions and improving quality of life more than treatments.

2 Jun 2026

Brazilian study links TP53 mutations to poor lung cancer prognosis

Lung cancer is the most common and deadly form of cancer worldwide. It is increasingly understood to be a complex genetic disease with different mutations that vary according to factors such as smoking and ethnicity.

1 Jun 2026

Healthy lifestyles reduce cardiovascular risks for childhood cancer survivors

Healthy lifestyles can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and other complications in childhood cancer survivors.

1 Jun 2026

Mesenchymal drift may explain how aging cells lose their identity

Mesenchymal drift may help explain how cells lose stable identity and acquire pro-fibrotic, inflammatory mesenchymal traits during aging. The review proposes MD as a unifying framework that links multiple hallmarks of aging and highlights partial reprogramming as a potential, but still preclinical, way to counteract this process.

1 Jun 2026