A chemotherapy regimen is a

regimen A regimen is a plan, or course of action such as a Diet (nutrition), diet, exercise or medical treatment. A salt#Health effects, low-salt diet is a regimen. A course of penicillin is a regimen, and there are many chemotherapy regimens in the trea ...

for

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...

, defining the drugs to be used, their dosage, the frequency and duration of treatments, and other considerations. In modern

oncology Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis, and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's Etymology, etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγ ...

, many regimens combine several chemotherapy drugs in

combination chemotherapy The era of cancer chemotherapy began in the 1940s with the first use of nitrogen mustards and folic acid antagonist drugs. The targeted therapy revolution has arrived, but many of the principles and limitations of chemotherapy discovered by th ...

. The majority of drugs used in cancer chemotherapy are

cytostatic Cytostasis (cyto – cell; stasis – stoppage) is the inhibition of cell growth and multiplication. Cytostatic refers to a cellular component or medicine that inhibits cell division and induce cell death. Cytostasis is an important prerequisite ...

, many via

cytotoxicity Cytotoxicity is the quality of being toxic to cells. Examples of toxic agents are toxic metals, toxic chemicals, microbe neurotoxins, radiation particles and even specific neurotransmitters when the system is out of balance. Also some types of d ...

. A fundamental philosophy of

medical oncology Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis, and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγκος (''� ...

, including combination chemotherapy, is that different drugs work through different mechanisms, and that the results of using multiple drugs will be

synergistic Synergy is an interaction or cooperation giving rise to a whole that is greater than the simple sum of its parts (i.e., a non-linear addition of force, energy, or effect). The term ''synergy'' comes from the Attic Greek word συνεργία ' f ...

to some extent. Because they have different dose-limiting

adverse effect An adverse effect is an undesired harmful effect resulting from a medication or other intervention, such as surgery. An adverse effect may be termed a "side effect", when judged to be secondary to a main or therapeutic effect. The term compli ...

s, they can be given together at full doses in chemotherapy regimens. The first successful combination chemotherapy was MOPP, introduced in 1963 for

lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). The name typically refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlarged lymph node ...

s. The term " induction regimen" refers to a chemotherapy regimen used for the initial treatment of a disease. A " maintenance regimen" refers to the ongoing use of chemotherapy to reduce the chances of a cancer

recurring Recurring means occurring repeatedly and can refer to several different things: Mathematics and finance *Recurring expense, an ongoing (continual) expenditure *Repeating decimal, or recurring decimal, a real number in the decimal numeral syste ...

or to prevent an existing cancer from continuing to grow.

Nomenclature

Chemotherapy regimens are often identified by

acronym An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial Letter (alphabet), letter of each wor ...

s, identifying the agents used in the drug combination. However, the letters used are not consistent across regimens, and in some cases - for example, "BEACOPP" - the same letter combination is used to represent two different treatments.BEACOPP chemotherapy regimen
/ref> There is no widely accepted naming convention or standard for the nomenclature of chemotherapy regimens. For example, either

generic Generic or generics may refer to: In business * Generic term, a common name used for a range or class of similar things not protected by trademark * Generic brand, a brand for a product that does not have an associated brand or trademark, other ...

brand name A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

s may be used for acronyms. This page merely lists commonly used conventions.

List of chemotherapy regimen acronyms

References

External links

Chemotherapy regimens and references

Chemotherapy side effects

Christie Hospital Chemotherapy Patient Information Sheets
{{Chemotherapeutic Agents Chemotherapy regimens

Nomenclature

List of chemotherapy regimen acronyms

See also

References

External links