Chemotherapy is a drug usually administered intravenously and works by destroying cancer cells. There are more than 100 drugs used today for chemotherapy treatment, often in combination forms. Each drug works on different phases of the cell cycle and often damage normal cells as well as cancer cells. Three types of lymphoma, cancer of the lymphatic system, include Hodgkin's, non-Hodgkin's and skin lymphoma. Chemotherapy drugs are common treatments for these diseases.
Chemo Drugs for Hodgkin's Lymphoma
Chemotherapy is the preferred treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma when the disease progresses and involves more lymph nodes or other organs, states the Mayo Clinic. There are five chemotherapy combination regimens used for Hodgkin's, including ABVD or adnamycin, bleomycin, vinblastine and dacarbazine, BEACOPP or bleomycin, etoposide, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, procarbazine and prednisone, Stanford V or doxorubicon, vinblastine, mechlorethamine, etoposide, vincristine, bleomycin and prednisone, COPP/ABVD or cyclophosphamide, vincristine, procarbazine and prednisone in conjunction with ABVD and MOPP or mechlorethamine, vincristine, procarbazine and prednisone. ABVD is currently the preferred treatment, while BEACOPP is more intensive and given to those at a higher risk. The New York Times Health Guide explains that patients may receive four to eight cycles of chemotherapy, with a cycle consisting of 28 days. They also state that Stanford V is a standard chemo regimen for Hodgkin's along with ABVD.
Chemo Drugs for Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
The American Cancer Society lists several chemotherapy drugs that are used to treat non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. They are comprised of cyclophosphamide, fludarabine, cytarabine, etoposide, doxorubicin, prednisone, chloraubucel, cisplatin, ifosfamide, bendamustin and bleomycin. One of the most common combination therapies given for this type of lymphoma is referred to as CHOP, or cycophosphamide or Cytoxan, doxorubicin or adnamycin, vincristine or Oncovin and prednisone. Another popular combination omits the doxorubicin and is called CVP. A study published in the "New England Journal of Medicine" compared CHOP with three other intensive chemo drug combinations and found that CHOP remains the best treatment for patients with advanced non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Chemo Drugs for Skin Lymphoma
The American Cancer Society says that for cancers involving the skin, such as skin lymphoma or mycosis fungoides, chemotherapy drugs can be applied topically or directly on the skin. Some of the drugs used to treat lesions from skin lymphoma include mechlorethamine or nitrogen mustard and carmustine or BCNU. "Archives of Dermatology" cites a study of the effects of nitrogen mustard on mcosis fungoides lesions and found that topical nitrogen mustard remains an effective therapy for patients with this disease. Another published study in "Seminars of Dermatology" discovered that topical carmustine or BCNU is an effective treatment for mycosis fungoides.
