NURS 2004 Chapter Notes - Chapter 101: Drug Resistance, Hyperuricemia, Blister Agent
28 Jan 2017
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Document Summary
The term cancer refers to a single disorder, but rather to a large group of disorders that differ with respect to clinical presentation, aggressiveness, drug effectiveness and prognosis. Cancer cells are characterized by immortality, persistant proliferation, invasive growth and the ability to form metastasis. Cancer can be treated with three different modalities: (1) surgery, (2) radiation therapy and (3) drug therapy. Agents used in drug therapy fall into two main categories: (1) cytotoxic and (2) non- Cytotoxic, such as hormones, immunodulators and targeted drugs. Surgery and irradiation is the choice therapy for solid tumors. Drugs are the treatment of choice for disseminated cancers (leukemia, disseminated lymphomas, widespread metastasis). Drugs can often be used as adjuvants (enhance the bodies response to) to surgery and irradiation to kill malignant cells that surgery and irradiation leave behind. Cytotoxic anticancer drugs are more toxic to cancers that have a high growth fraction then those who are lower.
