Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to directly kill tumor cells.
Indications for the use of chemotherapy include:
- In patients with measurable tumor with known sensitivity to chemotherapy,
such as lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and leukemias.
- As palliation of patients with unresectable and/or metastatic cancer.
- As adjuvant treatment in patients with the goal of eradicating occult micrometastatic disease such as in hemangiosarcoma and osteosarcoma.
- To sensitize tissues to the effects of radiation.
Chemotherapy may be administered intravenously, intramuscularly, intracavitary, or orally depending on the drug. Cancer is not a single diagnosis for which there is one treatment.
Whether chemotherapy is recommended as a primary therapy or as an adjunct to other cancer therapies, as well as the type of chemotherapy administered, is dictated by the type of cancer a patient has.
The goal of veterinary oncologists when treating patients with chemotherapy is to maintain remission of the cancer and prolong survival with a good quality of life.
Chemotherapy in veterinary patients is generally well tolerated. Most patients experience minimal to no side effects with treatment and lead normal active lives.
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