Chemotherapy is a general term for treatments that use chemical agents (drugs) to kill cancer cells. Many different kinds of drugs are used, either alone or in combination, to treat different cancers. The specific drug or combination used is chosen to best combat the type and extent of cancer present.
Chemotherapy drugs are tested against various forms of cancer in an effort to find out which drugs work against that particular type of cancer. Multiple drugs, each individually effective against a certain cancer, are often combined to try and maximize the effect against the cancer. Drugs are combined so that there are few overlapping side effects, to make the treatment more tolerable. These combinations are then tested in clinical trials to see how effective they are. If a combination works better than the current "standard" treatment, it will become the new standard therapy.
The work of Chemotherapy is to destroy cancer cells but unfortunately, it cannot distinguish the difference between a cancer cell and some healthy cells. So this therapy eliminates not only kills the fast-growing cancer cells but also other fast-growing healthy cells in our body which include hair and blood cells. So very often there are unwanted side effects of chemotherapy like:
1. Low white blood cell count
2. Low red blood cell count
3. Nausea
4. Low platelet count
5. Vomiting
6. Hair loss
7. Fatigue
Some of these side effects are temporary and quite uncomfortable. Mostly people fear chemotherapy because of these side effects. But over the last few decades many of these side effects have been successfully controlled. Some types of Chemotherapy have only some minimal side effects. So this therapy is very often the best option for a successful outcome.
It is designed to improve chemotherapy benefits for liver cancer by increasing the amount of chemotherapy delivered to the site of the tumor. Chemotherapy is dispensed from a specialized infusion system in which a catheter is placed into the hepatic artery to directly deliver the chemotherapy to the liver. A fully implanted system is used so that the pump that connects to the catheter in the hepatic artery is implanted under the skin. This allows for long-term administration of chemotherapy medication directly into the liver. The pump is periodically filled with chemotherapy by your oncologist. Direct infusion of chemotherapy into the liver minimizes the side effects of the chemotherapy and allows high doses to be administered. Infusion of chemotherapy directly into the hepatic artery to minimize the side effects of the chemotherapy is an option in selected patients with liver cancer or metastatic spread of cancer to the liver. This treatment has been of special interest in patients with colorectal cancer with liver metastasis. Because liver metastases from colorectal cancer derive more than 80% of their blood supply from the hepatic artery, hepatic arterial infusion is well suited as an alternative or together with systemic chemotherapy for the treatment of liver tumors. Hepatic artery infusion of chemotherapy has also been used in patients after liver resection for colorectal cancer spread to the liver. This is most advanced technique available for the treatment of liver disorder patients. This surgical technique is most preferred by most of the liver surgeons. The benefits of Hepatic artery infusion chemotherapy are this chemotherapy often leads to a better response of the liver disease compared to regular chemotherapy and delays further growth of the tumor, HAI therapy shows a trend toward increased survival rates, HAI therapy shows reduced systemic side effects that are associated with regular chemotherapy, HAI therapy enhances quality of life. As the surgical technique is most advanced thus the side effects reduces after the surgery as compared to other surgical procedures.
