Breast and bone cancers combined will kill an estimated 40,690 Americans in 2010, estimates the National Cancer Institute. Both breast and bone cancers develop due to genetic mutations that occur in previously healthy cells, allowing the cells to proliferate out of control. Many patients with breast or bone cancer receive chemotherapy treatments to fight their cancer and may receive a number of chemotherapy drugs to treat their disease.
Vincristine
One chemo treatment used to fight breast and bone cancers is vincristine. It belongs to a class of drugs called plant alkaloids, also known as microtubule inhibitors. Microtubules are protein structures that provide structural support for the cell and help make up the cell's cytoskeleton. During cell division, a re-organization of the microtubules allows the cell to divide in two, and inhibiting microtubules prevents this re-organization. As a result, breast or bone cancer cells can no longer divide in the presence of vincristine, halting cancer growth and promoting tumor shrinkage. ChemoCare.com indicates that treatment with vincristine can lead to a number of side effects, including weight loss, nausea and vomiting.
Ifosfamide
Another chemo treatment used as therapy for both breast and bone cancers is ifosfamide. This chemotherapy agent belongs to a class of drugs called alkalizing agents, which promote cancer cell death by damaging the cell's DNA. Upon entering the cell, ifosfamide adds small chemicals called alkyl groups to the molecules that make up the structure of DNA. With these alkyl groups added, the cancer cell can no longer synthesize new DNA, and therefore can no longer divide. The addition of alkyl groups to DNA also prevents the cell from synthesizing new proteins required for continued survival, and the cell dies. Bone and breast cancer patients receiving ifosfamide treatment may develop side effects of treatment, such as hair loss or anemia.
Doxorubicin
Doxorubicin is also used as a chemo treatment for both breast and bone cancer. According to ChemoCare.com, doxorubicin is an anthracycline antiobiotic, a family of cell cycle inhibitors. During cell division, cancer cells enter the cell cycle and undergo a series of behaviors to allow for proper cell division. Each phase of cell divison must be carried out in a specific order to allow cell proliferation, and inhibiting a step of the cell cycle prevents successful cell division. As a result, bone or breast cancer cells exposed to doxorubicin cannot complete specific phases of the cell cycle, and they no longer divide. Like other chemo treatments for breast and bone cancer, doxorubin can lead to a number of side effects. Patients may experience nausea and vomiting, or develop mouth sores during treatment, reports ChemoCare.com
