Chemotherapy is a type of drug treatment used to destroy fast-growing, defective and/or malignant cells within the body. Doctors may use chemotherapy in an attempt to kill or halt the production of the harmful cells that underlie a variety of medical conditions. Sometimes used in an attempt to cure diseases such as cancer, chemotherapy may also be used as an adjunctive treatment to reduce pain or help to improve outcomes from surgery or other medical procedures.
Cancer Treatment
Chemotherapy is commonly used in the treatment of various cancers in an effort to kill or slow the growth of malignant cells. Depending upon the type, stage and location of the tumor(s), doctors may employ chemotherapy with different goals in mind. In some cases, chemotherapy may be used alone or in combination with other treatments--such as radiation--in an effort to cure the cancer, according to MayoClinic.com. In other cases--particularly among patients with advanced, metastatic disease--chemotherapy may be used solely to provide palliation, or pain relief.
Doctors may also use chemotherapy prior to surgery in an effort to shrink the tumor before the operation. They may also administer chemotherapy after surgery in an attempt to kill any remaining cancerous cells that were missed during the procedure.
Autoimmune Disease Treatment
Doctors may use low doses of chemotherapy to control the overactive immune systems of people with autoimmune disorders. For example, chemotherapy drugs may facilitate the treatment of multiple sclerosis--a condition in which a faulty immune system prompts the release of white blood cells which attack the brain and spinal cord, causing progressive, debilitating neurological symptoms. According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, chemotherapy works on the immune system by slowing the production of white blood cells, in turn helping to stop or slow the progress of the disease. In October 2000, the Food and Drug Administration approved the chemotherapeutic agent mitoxantrone for use in some patients with progressive and/or relapsing neurological symptoms caused by multiple sclerosis.
Physicians may also use chemotherapy to treat patients suffering from serious cases of lupus--an inflammatory, autoimmune disorder affecting the joints, kidneys, skin and other organs. According to the Lupus Foundation of America, patients at risk of organ damage as a result of persistent, severe flare-ups caused by a highly overactive immune system may be particularly well-suited for chemotherapy, which can dampen the immune response and help to curb further organ damage.
Bone Marrow Ablation
People with certain diseases--such as aplastic anemia and certain leukemias and lymphomas--suffer from a defect in the production of bone marrow--sponge-like tissue found inside of some bones that is made up of cells that help to oxygenate the blood, fight infection and regulate normal blood clotting. These patients sometimes require a bone marrow transplant--a procedure in which faulty bone marrow cells are replaced with healthy ones. According to MedlinePlus, doctors may use chemotherapy prior to the transplant in a procedure called bone marrow ablation. Ablative treatment helps to destroy malignant cells so that they do not interfere with the growth of the transplanted healthy cells. During an autologous bone marrow transplant--a procedure in which the patient receives his own stem cells as opposed to those from a donor--doctors typically remove the patient's bone marrow, administer high doses of chemotherapy and then return the stem cells to the body after ablation.
