5 ms·
I presume that it works by allowing chemo doses to the tumor that would be fatal if administered globally (or whatever the word is for (in the patient's bloodst
by ShabbyDoo 17y ago
I presume that it works by allowing chemo doses to the tumor that would be fatal if administered globally (or whatever the word is for (in the patient's bloodstream)? I wonder if this would reduce the side effects of chemo in non-terminally ill patients.
- alex_stoddard 17y agoThe term you are looking for is "systemic". I think targeted delivery of chemo might be more effective in the non-terminally ill, and very likely would reduce side effects. Chemo is effectively poison, just somewhat more toxic to cancer cells than the rest of the body. (Often because it targets cells that are actively dividing - like in a tumor, or your hair follicles or you gut...) In terminally ill cases, where cancer has metastasized to multiple locations in the body you might well still need systemic chemo, because you don't know where all the metastatic sites are.
- pbhjpbhj 17y agoOT, spelling: shouldn't it be "metastasic sites"?