Abstract
In recent years the systemic treatment of cancer has dramatically changed with the introduction of innovative effective treatments such as targeted therapy and immunotherapy. However, chemotherapy remains the treatment of choice for most solid tumors, sometimes in association with targeted agents. Beside old chemotherapeutic drugs, novel agents have been introduced, such as cabazitaxel and eribulin, and novel strategies have been developed to maximize drug concentration in tumor cells in an attempt to spare normal tissue. This is the case of albumin-bound paclitaxel, liposomal anthracyclines, and trastuzumab-emtansine (T-DM1). In this chapter we describe the basic principles of chemotherapy and briefly review the most used chemotherapeutic drugs in clinical practice.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Kaufmann SHE. Paul Erlich: founder of chemotherapy. Nature Rev Drug Disc. 2008;7:373.
Skipper HE, jr SFM, Wilcox WS. Experimental evaluation of potential anticancer agents. XIII. On the criteria and kinetics associated with “curability” of experimental leukemia. Cancer Chemother Rep. 1964;35:1–111.
Goldie JH, Coldman AJ. A mathematic model for relating the drug sensitivity of tumors to their spontaneous mutation rate. Cancer Treat Rep. 1979;63(11-12):1727–33.
Norton L, Simon R. Tumor size, sensitivity to therapy and the design of treatment protocols. Cancer Treat Rep. 1976;61:1307–17.
Bonadonna G, Zambetti M, Valagussa P. Sequential or alternating doxorubicin and CMF regimens in breast cancer with more than three positive nodes. Ten-years esults. JAMA. 1995;273:542–7.
Farber S, Diamond LK, Mercer RD, Sylvester RF, Wolff JA. Temporary remissions in acute leukemia in children produced by folic acid antagonist, 4-aminopteroyl-glutamic acid (aminopterin). N Engl J Med. 1948;238:787–93.
Goodman LS, Wintrobe MM, Dameshek W, Goodman MJ, Gilman A, McLennan MT. Nitrogen mustard therapy. Use of methyl-bis(beta-chloroethyl)amine hydrochloride and tris(beta-chloroethyl)amine hydrochloride for Hodgkin’s disease, lymphosarcoma, leukemia and certain allied and miscellaneous disorders. J Am Med Assoc. 1946;132:126–32.
Calvert AH, Newell DR, Gumbrell LA, O’Reilly S, Burnell M, Boxall FE, Siddik ZH, Judson IR, Gore ME, Wiltshaw E. Carboplatin dosage: prospective evaluation of a simple formula based on renal function. J Clin Oncol. 1989;7:1748–56.
Glisson BS, Ross WE. DNA topoisomerase II: a primer on the enzyme and its unique role as a multidrug target in cancer chemotherapy. PharmacolTher. 1987;32(2):89–106.
Swain SM, Whaley FS, Ewer MS. Congestive heart failure in patients treated with doxorubicin: a retrospective analysis of three trials. Cancer. 2003;97:2869–79.
Von Hoff DD, Layard MW, Basa P, Davis HL Jr, Von Hoff AL, Rozencweig M, Muggia FM. Risk factors for doxorubicin-induced congestive heart failure. Ann Intern Med. 1979;91(5):710–7.
Ryberg M, Nielsen D, Skovsgaard T, Hansen J, Jensen BV, Dombernowsky P. Epirubicin cardiotoxicity: an analysis of 469 patients with metastatic breast cancer. J Clin Oncol. 1998;16(11):3502–8.
Safra T. Cardiac safety of liposomal anthracyclines. Oncologist. 2003;8 Suppl 2:17–24.
Russo A, Incorvaia L, Malapelle U, et al. The tumor-agnostic treatment for patients with solid tumors: a position paper on behalf of the AIOM-SIAPEC/IAP-SIBIOC-SIF italian scientific societies [published online ahead of print, 2021 Aug 6]. Crit Rev Oncol Hematol. 2021;103436. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.critrevonc.2021.103436.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Grassadonia, A., Brocco, D., Natoli, C., Tinari, N. (2021). Chemotherapy. In: Russo, A., Peeters, M., Incorvaia, L., Rolfo, C. (eds) Practical Medical Oncology Textbook. UNIPA Springer Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56051-5_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56051-5_9
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-56050-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-56051-5
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)