What is platinum chemotherapy?

Platinum-based antineoplastic drugs (informally called platins) are chemotherapeutic agents used to treat cancer. They are coordination complexes of platinum. These drugs are used to treat almost half of people receiving chemotherapy for cancer.

How does platinum-based chemotherapy work?

Platinum-based drugs are effective against cancer because at their centre is a platinum atom joined to two ammonion molecules and two chloride ions. The compound is negatively charged, but when it enters the cancer cell it becomes positively charged because the chloride ions are replaced by water molecules.

Why is platinum in chemotherapy?

The platinum compounds are largely used in the treatment of lung, breast, ovarian, and colon cancers. The chemotherapeutic mechanism of platinum compounds is typical of DNA-binding alkylating agents. If the DNA damage exceeds the ability of the cell to repair, the cell undergoes apoptotic cell death.

What is the most powerful chemotherapy?

Doxorubicin (Adriamycin) is one of the most powerful chemotherapy drugs ever invented. It can kill cancer cells at every point in their life cycle, and it’s used to treat a wide variety of cancers.

Do platinum chemo drugs cause hair loss?

Why Chemo Causes Hair Loss Chemotherapy drugs work systemically (throughout the body) by interfering with the division and growth of rapidly growing cells. The dose of chemotherapy: Higher doses generally have a greater risk for hair loss.

What are the side effects of platinum?

Other common and well-known side effects of platinum-based chemotherapy include nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, stomatitis (inflammation of mouth and lips) pain, mucositis (painful inflammation and ulceration of mucous membranes lining the digestive tract), alopecia (hair loss), anorexia (loss of appetite), cachexia (loss …

What does platinum do to the body?

The health effects of platinum are strongly dependent upon the kind of bonds that are shaped and the exposure level and immunity of the person that is exposed. Finally, a danger of platinum is that it can cause potentiation of the toxicity of other dangerous chemicals in the human body, such as selenium.

What are the harmful effects of platinum?

* Platinum may cause a skin allergy. If allergy develops, very low future exposure can cause itching and a skin rash. * Platinum may cause an asthma-like allergy. Future exposure can cause asthma attacks with shortness of breath, wheezing, cough, and/or chest tightness.

Which chemo is called the Red Devil?

In the world of cancer treatment, Adriamycin is often called the “Red Devil,” both for its bright, red Kool-Aid color and its nasty side effects. The drug can cause tissue damage if not administered correctly. It can also cause heart damage, though that’s a lesser occurring side effect.

Why is chemo so expensive?

Factors Contributing to Increase in Cost of Chemotherapy . One of the factors leading to higher average cost of chemotherapy is the introduction of newer and better drugs, which are also extremely expensive. Also, a larger number of patients can now avail themselves of chemotherapy because of reimbursements by insurance companies.

What actually happens in chemotherapy?

Chemotherapy works against cancer by killing fast-growing cancer cells . Chemotherapy (also called chemo) is a type of cancer treatment that uses drugs to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy works by stopping or slowing the growth of cancer cells , which grow and divide quickly. Chemotherapy is used to:

What is platinum doublet therapy?

Platinum-based doublet chemotherapy (PT-DC) is the standard of care as first-line therapy for patients with non–oncogenic-driven advanced (stage IIIb /IV) non–small-cell lung cancer ( NSCLC ).

What is contraindication of chemotherapy treatment?

So the main contraindications for the course of chemotherapy are: Intoxication of the body. Metastasis in the liver. High level of bilirubin. Metastasis in the brain. Cachexia.

What is platinum chemotherapy? Platinum-based antineoplastic drugs (informally called platins) are chemotherapeutic agents used to treat cancer. They are coordination complexes of platinum. These drugs are used to treat almost half of people receiving chemotherapy for cancer. How does platinum-based chemotherapy work? Platinum-based drugs are effective against cancer because at their centre is a platinum…