|  | There are loads of chemotherapy drugs. The drugs that you receive depend on your unique situation. Often these drugs are given in combination to increase their cancer-killing power.
Although the drugs described below work in different ways, most of them interfere with the process of cell division in some way. This means that often the drugs target any healthy cells that are growing and dividing as well as the cancerous cells.
There are possible side effects listed for each of the drug types. You may experience some, many or none of these side effects.
The trade names of each drug are given in brackets alongside the generic or chemical name.
 | Alkylating agents |
Alkylating agents work by adding chemical groups to certain components of DNA. These chemical groups can then stick together causing the DNA to bunch-up. In this state the DNA cannot replicate and the cell cannot divide. This causes the cell to die.
Alkylating agents include:
busulphan (Busulfex, Myleran), carboplatin (Paraplatin), carmustine (BiCNU), chlorambucil (Leukaeran), cisplatin (Platinol), cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan, Neosar), dacarbazine (DTIC-Dome), iphosphamide (Ifex), lomustine (CeeNU), mechlorethamine (Mustargen), melphalan (Alkeran), procarbazine (Matulane)
Side effects can include:
reduced bone marrow function, nausea/vomiting, fatigue, loss of appetite,sore mouth, skin changes, reduced fertility
| Anthracyclines |
Anthracyclines slot into grooves in DNA and change it’s structure. This means that it can no longer replicate properly and the cell ‘commits suicide’.
Anthracyclines have had a big impact on the success of blood cancer treatment but they can damage heart muscle. This kind of damage can take years to emerge so you may need to have tests called ECGs at your follow-up appointments to make sure your heart is functioning properly.
Anthracyclines include:
bleomycin (Blenoxane), daunorubicin (Cerubidine), doxorubicin (Adriamycin, Rubex), idarubicin (Idamycin), mitoxantrone (Novantrone)
Side effects can include:
Reduced bone marrow function, nausea/vomiting, sore mouth, hair loss, change in the colour of urine, reduced fertility, heart damage
| Antimetabolites |
Antimetabolites are very similar to one of the four ‘bases’ (chemicals) that join together to make DNA, but when they are incorporated into a new strand of DNA they stop the replication process and the cell dies.
Antimetabolites include:
5-azacytidine (Azacytidine, 5AZ), caldribine (Leustatin), cytarabine/ARA-C (Cytosar-U), fludarabine (Fludara), hydroxyurea (Hydrea, Droxia, Mylocel), 6-mercaptopurine (Purinethol), methotrexate (Rheumatrex, Trexall), 6-thioguanine (Thioguanine Tabloid)
Side effects can include:
Reduced bone marrow function, nausea/vomiting, fatigue, diarrhoea, sore mouth, hair loss, skin changes
| Biological modifiers |
Biological modifiers harness the body's own immune system to kill cancer cells by a mechanism that has not yet been identified.
Biological modifiers include:
interferon (Intron, Roferon-A)
Side effects can include:
Severe flu-like symptoms
| Cell-maturing drugs |
Cell-maturing drugs cause the leuakemia cells to mature more quickly than they do normally, leading to cell death.
Cell-maturing drugs include:
all-trans retanoic acid/ATRA (Vesanoid), arsenic trioxide (Trisenox)
Side effects can include:
Nausea/vomiting, fatigue, diarrhoea, skin changes, headaches
| DNA-repair blockers |
DNA-repair blockers bind to enzymes (biological catalysts) in the cell that repair DNA when it is damaged. If DNA cannot be repaired the cell cannot replicate and it will die
DNA-repair blockers:
etoposide (Etophophos, Toposar, VePesid), teniposide (Vumon), topotecan (Hycamtin)
Side effects can include:
Reduced bone marrow function, nausea/vomiting, hair loss, reduced fertility
| Drugs with molecular targets |
Drugs with molecular targets disrupt specific pathways or processes within the malignant cells causing them to die.
Drugs with molecular targets include:
imatinib mesylate (Gleevec/Glievec/Glivec), thalidomide (Thalidomid), bortezamib (Velacade)
Side effects can include:
These drugs have such different actions that their side-effects are very different too
| Monoclonal antibodies |
Monoclonal antibodies specifically target markers on malignant cells and cause your immune system to attack them. Sometimes these antibodies have drugs or radioactive agents attched to directly kill the cells that they bind to.
Monoclonal antibodies include:
alemteuzumab (Campath), gemtuzumab (Mylotarg), rituximab (Mabthera, Rituxan)
Side effects can include:
Reduced bone marrow function, nausea/vomiting, skin changes, fever
| Protein synthesis disruptors |
Protein synthesis disruptors act by removing a source of molecules (e.g. amino acids) that are essential for protein synthesis in malignant cells due to a lack of a certain enzyme.
Protein synthesis disruptors include:
asparaginase (Elspar, Kidrolase)
Side effects can include:
Nausea/vomiting
| Platelet reducing agents |
Platelet reducing agents affect the maturation of megakaryocytes (the cells that produce platelets) by a mechanism not yet fully understood.
Platelet reducing drugs include:
anagrelide (Agrylin)
Side effects can include:
Nausea/vomiting, diarrhoea, fluid retention, headaches, skin changes
| Steroid hormones |
Steroid Hormones used in high concentrations can kill white blood cells by disrupting the chemical signaling within the immune system. They are manmade drugs based on a hormone that is found in much lower concentrations in our bodies naturally.
Steroid hormones include:
dexamethasone (Decradon, Dexasone, Diodex, Hexadrol, Maxidex), methylprednisolone (Duralone, Medralone, Medrol, M-Prednisol, Solu-Medrol), prednisolone (Delta-Cortef, Orapred, Pediapred, Prelone)
Side effects can include:
Increased appetite, weight gain, menstrual irregularities
| Vinca Alkaloids |
Vinca Alkaloids are derived from plant extracts. They damage special structures in the cell, called spindles. Without these spindles a cell cannot divide and it will die.
Vinca alkaloids include:
vinblastine (Alkaban-AQ, Velban), vincristine (Oncovin, Vincasar Pfs)
Side effects can include:
Reduced bone marrow function, nausea/vomiting, skin changes, mouth ulcers, constipation, reduced fertility
Visit Chemocare to get more information about chemotherapy drugs, the way they work and the side effects they can have. |
|
|
|
