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.

Chemotherapy Principles

Chemotherapy Types

Chemotherapy Treatment Schemes

How Chemotherapy Affects Daily Living

Does Scalp Cooling Prevent Hair Loss During Chemotherapy?

History of Chemotherapy

What is 'Chemo Brain'?

Latest Chemotherapy News and Research

Targeting a sugar metabolism pathway offers hope for treating rare and aggressive childhood cancer

A new study delving into the genetic drivers of a rare and aggressive childhood cancer called Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumor (MPNST) has revealed metabolic frailties in the cancer cells that might be exploited to improved treatments for patients.

18 Aug 2025

Fucosylation emerges as a key player in digestive inflammatory diseases and cancers

Fucosylation, a crucial post-translational modification, has emerged as a significant factor influencing digestive inflammatory diseases and cancers.

18 Aug 2025

New nanoparticle system uses ultrasound to precisely deliver drugs

The trouble with many drugs is that they go where they shouldn't, producing unwanted side effects. Psychiatric drugs might cause dissociation, painkillers can induce nausea and chemotherapy often damages healthy cells.

18 Aug 2025

Advancing cancer treatment with targeted microrobotic swarms

Cancer remains one of the most challenging diseases to treat, as conventional therapies like chemotherapy and radiotherapy are often hindered by poor specificity, systemic toxicity, and damage to healthy tissues.

18 Aug 2025

RUNX1C isoform identified as driver of chemoresistance in acute myeloid leukemia

One of the biggest challenges in cancer treatment is that certain cancers reappear after chemotherapy-and an aggressive type of blood cancer called acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is notorious for this.

17 Aug 2025

Nanobody breakthrough offers precise targeting of lung cancer cells

A research team led by Dr. Juyeon Jung at the Bio-Nano Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), has developed a nanobody-based technology that can precisely identify and attack only lung cancer cells, opening new possibilities for cancer therapy.

17 Aug 2025

Diagnostic mimicry and management of rare pure form of ovarian cancer

A new case report was published in Volume 12 of Oncoscience on July 28, 2025, titled "A rare case of pure non-gestational ovarian choriocarcinoma: Diagnostic mimicry and management strategies."

14 Aug 2025

Vagus nerve modulation can effectively halt the progression of cancer-associated cachexia

The Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation announces a significant advancement in addressing the fight against cancer-associated cachexia (CAC), a life-threatening syndrome responsible for over one-third of cancer-related deaths.

14 Aug 2025

New study explains why neuroblastoma returns years later

Cancer is the leading cause of disease-related death in childhood. This is in part due to cancer-associated genes called oncogenes that can be found far from chromosomes in cell nuclei on ring-shaped DNA inside tumor cells.

14 Aug 2025

New drug-releasing system eliminates tumors in 82% of high-risk bladder cancer patients

A new drug-releasing system, TAR-200, eliminated tumors in 82% of patients in a phase 2 clinical trial for individuals with high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer whose cancer had previously resisted treatment.

13 Aug 2025

mRNA vaccine shows potent efficacy in gastric cancer

Gastric cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related mortality worldwide, and peritoneal metastasis, wherein the cancer spreads to the peritoneum or the lining of the abdominal cavity, represents the most common form of recurrence after gastric cancer surgery.

13 Aug 2025

OU researchers explore how cannabis use affects recovery after head and neck cancer surgery

University of Oklahoma researchers are conducting a first-of-its-kind study to determine whether cannabis use affects recovery from the wounds associated with head and neck cancer surgery. The outcomes may have implications for other types of surgery and conditions.

12 Aug 2025

Adding MET inhibitor enhances immune response against small cell lung tumors

Adding a MET gene inhibitor enhances the effect of combined chemotherapy and immunotherapy in small cell lung cancer (SCLC), according to a multicenter study led by the Hospital del Mar Research Institute, in collaboration with researchers from the CIBERONC cancer research network.

12 Aug 2025

3D-printed kidney tumors offer a new tool in the fight against renal cancer

Scientists at Tsinghua University have developed a method to grow kidney tumors in the lab using cells from real patients, offering a potential new tool in the fight against renal cancer.

12 Aug 2025

Experts say rural emergency rooms are increasingly run without doctors

There was no doctor on-site when a patient arrived in early June at the emergency room in the small hospital at the intersection of two dirt roads in this town of 400 residents.

12 Aug 2025

Research finds long-term health challenges in survivors of childhood cancer

Researchers at City of Hope, one of the largest and most advanced cancer research and treatment organizations in the United States with its National Medical Center ranked among the nation's top cancer centers by U.S. News & World Report, today published a new study which found that some survivors of childhood cancer are more at risk for serious health issues as they grow older, including new cancers and chronic conditions like heart disease.

11 Aug 2025

Newly discovered drug class could someday lead to breakthrough treatments for fungal infections

A research team at McMaster University has discovered a new drug class that could someday lead to breakthrough treatments for dangerous fungal infections.

11 Aug 2025

Using machine learning framework to identify prognostic biomarkers in neuroblastoma

Neuroblastoma is the most common solid tumor in infants and accounts for nearly 15% of all pediatric cancer-related deaths.

11 Aug 2025

Lauric acid could be a key cancer-fighting compound in coconut oil

Virgin coconut oil and lauric acid show promise in inhibiting cancer cell growth and mitigating chemotherapy toxicity, paving the way for future therapies.

11 Aug 2025

Genetic testing can guide safer chemotherapy for gastrointestinal cancer patients

For some patients with gastrointestinal (GI) cancers like colorectal and pancreatic cancer, chemotherapy can cause severe, sometimes life-threatening side effects in those who carry certain genetic variants that can impact how their bodies process the drugs used to treat their disease.

7 Aug 2025