Lung cancer cells are killed by strong medicines.
Lung Cancer cells are killed using strong medicines. Chemotherapy is by far the most effective therapy for lung cancer. Medications help in controlling the growth and proliferation of cancer cells to an extent. Chemotherapy is the most commonly chosen option for treating advanced stages of NSCLC. It is a systematic treatment involving drugs that when taken in, travel through the blood stream and kill cancer cells inside and outside the lung area. Chemotherapy drugs can be taken orally while some are administered intravenously.
Listed below are 5 lung cancer drugs that are commonly used in chemotherapeutic treatment of NSCLC,
- Erlotinib (Tarceva) is a cancer medication that inhibits growth of cancer cells and thereby slows down their spread. It can be taken orally and is an effective antitumor medicine.
- Bevacizumab is a cancer medicine usually used for brain tumors. However, it is used in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel for treating NSCLC. An intravenous drug, bevacizumab inhibits formation of blood vessels that supply nutrients for growth of cancer cells.
- Docataxel (Taxotere) is an intravenous medicine that damages structure involved in cell division. The type and extent of cancer determines the dose and schedule of this drug.
- Cisplatin (Platinol), taken intravenously, is a heavy metal that kills cells by interfering in the proliferation process. The cell cycle is affected and is used in treatment of cancer specifically.
- Pemetrexed (Alimta) is an intravenous medication that stops or slows down growth of cancer cells. It is used for treating NSCLC that has spread or metastasized out of the lungs.
Many clinical trials are studying various combinations of these chemotherapy drugs for different stages of lung cancer. If you are interested in participating in lung cancer clinical trials, please refer the list below or alternately, register at TrialX to be notified of future trials.
[LIST_TRIALS condition=”Lung Cancer”]
