Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy drugs kill
cancer cells by preventing them from growing and dividing.
These drugs are systemic treatments. This means that the drugs
can treat cancer that has spread throughout the body. Chemotherapy
may be given alone, or in combination with surgery and/or radiation.
Chemotherapy can be administered
intravenously (IV), which means the drug is given through a vein
into the bloodstream, or orally (by mouth). Usually, patients
receive chemotherapy as an outpatient treatment at a hospital, clinic,
or doctor's office. The time needed for each treatment session
depends on the type of chemotherapy. In some cases, a hospital
stay may be necessary if the doctor wants to monitor the patient
during treatment.
There are three drug treatments
approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the
treatment of pancreatic cancer: fluorouracil (5-FU), gemcitabine
(Gemzar®) and erlotinib (Tarceva®). There are numerous
other chemotherapy drugs in clinical
trials for pancreatic cancer.
Click here to learn more about targeted
therapies.
FDA Consumer Information Sheets
(for some drugs):
Consumer
Information Sheet - Avastin
Consumer Information Sheet - Alimta
Consumer
Information Sheet - Erbitux
Consumer
Information Sheet - Xeloda
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