Systemic chemotherapy refers to a type of treatment that uses powerful medications to kill cancer cells throughout the entire body. It is given through the bloodstream, allowing the medication to travel to different parts of the body to target cancer cells that may have spread from the original tumor.
Full definition
While radiotherapy can precisely target just the tumor site,
systemic chemotherapy spreads a wide net, sending drugs speeding throughout the entire body in an attempt to kill cancer cells while also killing many healthy cells.
Fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma (FL - HCC) is a devastating cancer affecting children and young adults and currently does not have an
effective systemic chemotherapy.
It is comparing single - agent intralesional PV - 10 (every 4 weeks)
vs systemic chemotherapy (every 4 weeks) with investigator's choice of either DTIC or TMZ, in a 2:1 randomization.
Inflammatory breast cancer is generally treated first
with systemic chemotherapy to help shrink the tumor, then with surgery to remove the tumor, followed by radiation therapy.
Traditional treatments for osteosarcoma include amputation of the affected limb to address local pain issues, followed
by systemic chemotherapy for the treatment of distant metastasis.
When chemotherapy is taken by mouth or injected into a vein or muscle, the drugs enter the bloodstream and can reach cancer cells throughout the body (
systemic chemotherapy).
Advanced medical oncology that directs use of local and
systemic chemotherapy and radiation therapy including the newest agent, Nexavar, and oral medication that for the first time has convincing evidence of efficacy in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)
Since 90 % of osteosarcomas will spread to the lungs, it is vital that
systemic chemotherapy is started immediately, even if there is no radiographic evidence of spread to the lungs.
Though the cause of infection is unknown, extensive resection of soft tissues, poor soft tissue coverage, use of orthopedic implants, and administration of local and
systemic chemotherapy are thought to be the contributing factors.