MedifocusHealth

• Fatigue
• Hair loss
• Nausea
• Skin rash
• Weight loss

Side-Effects of Chemotherapy

A drawback of chemotherapy for the treatment of cancer is that it can produce a variety of undesired side-effects. The side-effects of chemotherapy vary depending upon the type of drug(s) used, the dosage, and the length of time that the chemotherapy is administered. In general, common side-effects of cancer chemotherapy may include:

• Hair loss
• Mucositis - Inflammation of the lining of the mouth and gastrointestinal tract, which can be very painful.
• Increased susceptibility to infections
• Increased susceptibility to bleeding and bruising
• Fatigue and general feeling of weakness
• Nausea and vomiting
• Loss of appetite

The side-effects of cancer chemotherapy are temporary and usually disappear after treatment has been completed. A variety of strategies are available to better control the side-effects of chemotherapy and patients should discuss with their oncologist the various options that can be used to minimize or reduce these adverse side-effects.

Hormonal Therapy

The presence of hormone receptors on the surface of cancer cells in some patients with advanced-stage liver cancer provided the rationale for attempting to use anti-hormonal therapy to slow the progression of the disease. Tamoxifen hormonal therapy has been used successfully for the treatment of some types of breast cancer (estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer). Unfortunately, clinical trials of tamoxifen for the treatment of advanced-stage liver cancer have been disappointing and have not shown a benefit in terms of increasing survival. Other forms of hormonal therapy, including a variety of antiandrogens and aromatose inhibitors (eg., anastrozole) are currently being investigated.

Radiation Therapy

External beam radiation therapy uses high-energy beams of radiation from a special machine called a linear accelerator to direct radiation to a tumor. External beam radiation therapy may sometimes be used as a means of alleviating pain in patients with liver cancer but is rarely used as a primary mode of treatment for liver cancer. In some cases, doctors may inject a radioactive isotope directly into the hepatic artery (the primary blood supply to liver tumors) in an attempt to shrink the tumor. This form of radiation therapy is called local radiation therapy. Once injected into the hepatic artery, the radioactive isotope is transported via the bloodstream to the site of the liver tumor where it emits high doses of energy to kill the cancer cells. The most common radioactive isotopes used for local radiation therapy of liver cancer include iodine-131 Lipiodol and Yttrium-90 microspheres. Unfortunately, neither external beam radiation nor local radiation therapy has shown significant benefits in terms of survival in patients with liver cancer.