DRUGS AND MEDICINE FOR CANCER TREATMENT 1

Drugs and Medicine for Cancer Treatment

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Cancer can be termed as a disease that arises when cellular changes result in uncontrolled

cell division and growth. In recent years, cancer has emerged as one of the increasing causes of

mortality and morbidity globally. Besides the high rate of cancer-related deaths witnessed

worldwide, it is essential to note that if cancer patients are diagnosed early and treated

appropriately, they are likely to live their expected lifespan. Currently, there are many types of

drugs and medicine employed in cancer treatment whereby that are classified based on their

mechanism of action or molecular type. For instance, chemotherapeutic drugs serve as anticancer

drugs, which are used in the treatment of cancerous cells. It is also good to keep in mind that

different medicine categories employed during chemotherapy work differently while fighting

cancer cells. This aspect means that a mixture of chemotherapy medicine can be used when

fighting a specific type of cancer. Thus, different types of cancer have different types of

medicine, and drugs like Abraxane, Adriamycin, Carboplatin, and Cytoxan, among others, are

permitted for their treatment and cure.

Abraxane

Abraxane is a trade name of Paclitaxel (protein-bound), which is its generic name. In

some cases, nab-paclitaxel or Albumin-bound as chemical names may be used by some health

care professionals to refer to Abraxane. Abraxane can be termed as an anticancer drug or rather

cytotoxic or an antineoplastic chemotherapy drug. It is a type of medication classified by

researchers as an antimircotubule, a taxane, and a plant alkaloid agent. Taxotere and Taxol are

additional taxanes available in the drug (Yuan et al., 2020). Abraxane is generally used in the

treatment of advanced-stage breast cancer, whereby it is given as a mixture with other specific

chemotherapy drugs. Abraxane application is typically offered after employing other

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chemotherapy drugs or the surgical procedure has stopped.

Figure 1, Breast cancer stem-like cells (Yuan et al., 2020, p.1)

Paclitaxel (protein-bound) administration happens typically by injecting intravenously

through a vein, specifically through a peripheral venous line or a central line. Besides being an

irritant drug, its injection process takes over thirty minutes with a lot of keenness since tissue

damage issues can arise if the medicine leaks from the vein. There are several side effects

associated with this medication. For instance, low blood count whereby a patient’s white and red

blood cells are likely to decrease, putting him or her at high chances of anemia or infections (Lee

et al., 2020). Immune stimulating medicine can be used after each chemotherapy round to boost a
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patient’s low blood cell count problem. Alternatively, the chemotherapy treatment may be

stopped for a while to allow a patient enough time to recover more blood cells. Hair loss is also a

common side effect related to Abraxane drug. Edema or swelling also may occur as side effects,

particularly for breast cancer-related treatment. It can be treated by ensuring that the patient does

not have lymphedema disease besides cancer. Adriamycin is also another cancer medication that

has similar side effects as Abraxane

Adriamycin

Commonly referred to by its chemical name as Doxorubicin, Adriamycin is classified as

Anthracycline chemotherapy, having Ellence, daunorubicin, mitoxantrone, and Doxil as other

anthracycline components. When used on a cancer patient, Adriamycin kills cancer-related cells

by interfering with their normal reproduction cycle and damaging their genes. Adriamycin is

usually administered in combination with other specified chemotherapy drugs and usually occurs

after surgery as a precaution to minimize the possibility of having early-stage breast cancer

reoccurring. Adriamycin may also be administered before surgery so that oversize advanced-

stage tumors can be shrunk.

Just like Abraxane, Adriamycin is also administered intravenously. Regarding some

notable side effects, Adriamycin can have a severe effect on a patient’s heart. It is advisable for

individuals to test if they have heart problems before administering Abraxane. This precaution

should be accompanied by strict monitoring of developing problems as the treatment process

continues. Other notable side effects are low white blood cells, hair loss, nausea, vomiting, and

appetite changes, among others. Vomiting can be prevented by taking anti-nausea drugs, while

appetite changes can be managed by trying new foods. Carboplatin also has some side effects

similarities with Adriamycin and Abraxane.

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Fig 2, Nausea severity in patients (Shivaprakash et al., 2017)

Carboplatin

Carboplatin is a chemical name of Paraplatin, an anticancer medication classified as the

only platinum-based chemotherapy for treating breast cancer. This medication works by

destroying or weakening breast cancer-related cells through damaging available generic

materials (Sharma et al., 2018). This procedure makes the repairing of genetic damage by a

patient’s cells hard. Carboplatin is applied in the treatment of advanced-stage breast cancer,

whereby it is administered in combination with particular chemotherapy medicines. Just like

Adriamycin, Carboplatin is also passed intravenously into a patient’s veins.

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Fatigue, hair loss, nausea, kidney damage, vomiting, and nerve damage are some of the

notable side effects that may be witnessed due to being treated using Carboplatin. It is advisable

for patients with a history of kidney damage to talk to their doctors before being subjected to

Carboplatin during cancer treatment. A patient suffering from neuropathy, a nerve-related

complication, can be offered pain patches or special cream to help him or her manage such

problems. Eating small amounts of dry food and trying ginger-based foods may help a patient in

easing nausea.

Conclusively, cancer epidemiology in various settings and health priorities explains why

there are variations in individuals' cancer treatment mechanisms and the types of drugs used.

Nevertheless, only after a thorough prescription and examination, essential drug concepts can be

termed proper to be applied to a cancer patient. There is a need to continuously assess medicinal

effectiveness and develop side effects of available medicines to yield promising medical results.

Putting a curable cancer program in place is a valuable tool and a commendable approach to

managing this killer disease that future researchers should focus on.
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Reference List

Lee, H., Park, S., Kang, J.E., Lee, H.M., Kim, S.A. and Rhie, S.J., 2020. Efficacy and safety of

nanoparticle-albumin-bound Paclitaxel compared with solvent-based taxanes for

metastatic breast cancer: A meta-analysis. Scientific reports, 10(1), pp.1-9.

Sharma, P., López-Tarruella, S., García-Saenz, J.A., Khan, Q.J., Gómez, H.L., Prat, A., Moreno,

F., Jerez-Gilarranz, Y., Barnadas, A., Picornell, A.C. and del Monte-Millán, M., 2018.

Pathological response and survival in triple-negative breast cancer following

neoadjuvant carboplatin plus docetaxel. Clinical Cancer Research, 24(23), pp.5820-

5829.

Shivaprakash, G., Udupa, K.S., Sarayu, V., Thomas, J., Gupta, V., Pallavi, L.C. and Pemminati,

S., 2017. Olanzapine versus aprepitant for the prophylaxis of chemotherapy-induced

nausea and vomiting in breast cancer patients receiving doxorubicin-cyclophosphamide

regimen: A prospective, nonrandomized, open-label study. Indian journal of

pharmacology, 49(6), p.451.

Yuan, H., Guo, H., Luan, X., He, M., Li, F., Burnett, J., Truchan, N. and Sun, D., 2020. Albumin

nanoparticle of Paclitaxel (Abraxane) decreases while Taxol increases breast cancer stem

cells in treatment of triple negative breast cancer. Molecular Pharmaceutics, 17(7),

pp.2275-2286.