Side effects of cancer chemotherapy drugs

By | April 28, 2012

Cancer chemotherapy side effects, the current clinical use of anti-tumor chemotherapy drugs have different levels of side effects, some serious side effects is to limit the drug dosage or use the direct cause. They kill the tumor cells while also killing normal tissue cells, especially in the growth and development of strong anti-human blood, lymphoid tissue cells. And organization of these cells are the immune defense system, undermining the body's immune system, cancer may be developing rapidly, causing serious consequences. Side effects of chemotherapy toxicity and long-term sub-recent toxicity two. Recent toxicity is divided into local reactions (such as local tissue necrosis, thrombotic phlebitis) and systemic reactions (including gastrointestinal, hematopoietic system, immune system, skin and mucous membrane reactions, nervous system, liver damage, heart reaction, pulmonary toxicity, renal dysfunction, and other reactions, etc.). Mainly long-term toxicity and carcinogenicity of reproductive dysfunction, teratogenesis and so on. In addition, because of its toxic side effects of chemotherapy, and sometimes there can be complications, a common infection, bleeding, perforation, uric acid crystallization.
Common side effects include:
(1) a number of irritating a strong local reaction when the intravenous injection of chemotherapy drugs, can cause severe local reactions. A. phlebitis: performance of the used intravenous site pain, redness, and sometimes can be seen along the vein vein thrombosis and skin pigmentation. R tissue necrosis: When the irritating substances leaking into the subcutaneous strong when the chemical can cause local tissue inflammation, swelling and pain or tissue necrosis and ulcer, prolonged unhealed.
(2) the majority of bone marrow suppression with chemotherapy drugs have varying degrees of bone marrow suppression, and bone marrow suppression and often anti- cancer drug dose-limiting toxicity. In the early bone marrow suppression, especially white blood cells can be expressed as neutropenia, severe thrombocytopenia, red blood cells, hemoglobin can reduce the role of different drugs on bone strength, speed and duration are different, so different degrees of response, while patients can have fatigue, weakness, decreased resistance, easy to infection, fever, bleeding and other symptoms.
(3) gastrointestinal toxicity of most chemotherapy drugs can cause gastrointestinal side effects, manifested as dry mouth, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, and sometimes may appear or ulcerative oral mucositis. Constipation, paralytic ileus, diarrhea, gastrointestinal bleeding and abdominal pain can also be seen.
(4) immunosuppressive chemotherapy drugs is generally more immunosuppressive drugs on immune function have different degrees of inhibition, the body immune system in the eradication of residual tumor cells plays an important role, when the immune dysfunction, the tumor can not easily be controlled, but to speed up the process of recurrence or metastasis.
(5) renal toxicity of chemotherapy drugs can cause some kidney damage, mainly for acute renal tubular epithelial cell necrosis, degeneration, interstitial edema, tubular dilatation, severe renal failure occurs. Can occur in patients with low back pain, hematuria, edema, abnormal urine tests.
(6) chemotherapy drug-induced liver injury in the liver can be acute and short-term response to liver damage, including necrosis, inflammation, medication can also be due to the long, causing chronic liver injury, such as fibrosis, fatty change, granuloma formation, eosinophilic granulocyte infiltration. Clinically manifested as liver function test abnormalities, liver pain, hepatomegaly, yellow psychosis.
(7) clinical cardiac toxicity may be manifested as abnormal heart rhythms, heart failure, cardiomyopathy syndrome (patient showed weakness, exertional dyspnea, paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea, heart failure may have a rapid pulse, breathing fast, liver, cardiomegaly, pulmonary edema, edema, and pleural effusion, etc.), abnormal electrocardiogram.
(8) Pulmonary toxicity of chemotherapy drugs can cause a small number of pulmonary toxicity, manifested as pulmonary interstitial inflammation and pulmonary fibrosis. Clinically manifested as fever, dry cough, shortness of breath, more acute onset, accompanied by an increase in granulocytes.
(9) neural toxicity of chemotherapy drugs can cause some peripheral neuritis, the performance (toe) Ma surgery, chest reflexes, paresthesia, constipation or sometimes can also occur paralytic ileus. Some drugs can produce central nervous system toxicity, primarily manifested as paresthesia, diminished sense of vibration, numbness, tingling, gait disorders, ataxia, lethargy, mental disorders.
(10), some chemotherapy drugs can cause hair loss, varying degrees of hair loss, it is generally said that the hair off, and sometimes other hair can also be affected, this is the result of chemotherapy drugs damage hair follicles. The degree of hair loss usually associated with drug concentration and dose.
Side effects of cancer chemotherapy drugs (11) Others, such as hearing loss, skin Yan, facial flushing or skin, nail deformation, osteoporosis, bladder and urethral irritation, infertility, menopause, sexual dysfunction, male breast increase , also caused by some chemotherapy drugs.
In addition, the chemotherapy drug-induced psychosocial consequences can not be ignored. Chemotherapy drugs cause hair loss, sexual dysfunction in patients with low self-esteem can. Chemotherapy can cause long-term deterioration in patients with weight loss, general weak that it can not work. Chemotherapy may be the most difficult complications of chemotherapy in patients with fear and anxiety. Some symptoms may be due to psychological factors in patients with some patients, such as caused by their own use whenever he thought of the kind of drugs. To "smell" to a strong chemical odor and can cause nausea and even vomiting. This practical experience is actually an illusion, because the same together, and patients who have never smelled nor felt any smell, this is the correct thing to chemotherapy, leaving patients with the psychological side effects .

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