Cytotoxic drugs-- Drugs that function by destroying cells.
Cytotoxic drugs
Methotrexate is an example of cytotoxic drug to treat skin disorder such as Psoirasis.
Cytotoxic refers to substances or processes that are toxic to cells, typically targeting and destroying them. In the context of cancer treatment, cytotoxic drugs or therapies are used to kill rapidly dividing cancer cells.
Six side effects of cytotoxic drugs (taken from the BNF 54): # Oral Mucositis # Hyperuricaemia # Nausea/Vomitting # Bone-marrow Supression # Alopecia # Tumour lysis syndrome There you go :)
patient after thyroidectmy chronic renal failure after-treatment with loop diuretics and cytotoxic drugs
When mixing cytotoxic agents for IV administration, it is recommended to use a polypropylene syringe. Polypropylene is chemically resistant and compatible with cytotoxic drugs, reducing the risk of drug interaction or contamination. It is important to follow proper handling and disposal procedures when dealing with cytotoxic agents.
Louise Alice Knight has written: 'Modulating sensitivity and response to DNA damaging cytotoxic drugs'
have a stabilizing effect on the immune system. Since the inflammation associated with chronic arthritis is due to malfunctions of the immune system, use of this class of drugs has been shown to be beneficial for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis
CD8+ T cells divide and differentiate into cytotoxic T lymphocytes.
How does chemotherapy work? Normal cells in the body are constantly dividing to produce new cells in order to replace cells which are damaged or worn out. This process of normal cell division is very precisely controlled so that the number of new cells produced exactly matches the number of cells that need to be replaced. A cancer develops when a cell, or group of cells, escape from the normal control process and begin to divide and multiply in a random fashion which leads to an excessive number of cells being produced. Chemotherapy simply means treatment with drugs and can be used to describe the use of drugs in any illness. In cancer treatment 'chemotherapy' is shorthand for 'cytotoxic chemotherapy', the 'cytotoxics' being the main group of drugs used against cancer. The word cytotoxic means 'cell poison' and this actually describes how the drugs work. Cytotoxic drugs interfere with the process of cell reproduction so that when cancer cells come to reproduce (by dividing into two) they are unable to do so and die off. At the present time there are about a hundred different cytotoxic drugs approved for cancer treatment. All of these act in one way or another to interfere with the process of cell division. Unfortunately none of these drugs can tell the difference between normal cells and cancer cells. So they will all affect the reproduction of normal cells as well as cancer cells. This is why cytotoxic chemotherapy often causes unpleasant side-effects. Normal cells will usually recover from the effects of a dose of cytotoxic chemotherapy far more quickly than cancer cells. This is why chemotherapy is often given a number of short courses, with several weeks in between each course to allow for normal cells to recover. In this way treatment can be given which destroys cancer cells but causes no lasting injury to normal cells. Different cancers respond differently to cytotoxic chemotherapy. Some are very sensitive and can be cured with drug treatment. Others often respond to chemotherapy but are not sensitive enough to achieve cure. In these situations chemotherapy is given with the hope of prolonging good quality life. Others, despite all the different drugs available, remain almost completely resistant and unaffected by cytotoxic treatment. The great majority of drug treatment for cancer involves the use of cytotoxic drugs but there are a few types of cancer where treatment with hormones may also be helpful. This is considered in a separate question on hormone therapy for cancer.
A cytotoxic B cell produces antibodies that can directly bind to and kill infected or abnormal cells. These antibodies mark the target cells for destruction by other immune cells, leading to the elimination of the threat.