Colon cancer is the third leading cause of death in America. According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 150,000 Americans will be diagnosed in 2010, and 50,000 will not survive. Treatments can include surgery, radiation, chemotherapy or a combination of treatment modalities and surgical options.
Antineoplastic Drugs
Adrucil (fluoroucil) works as an antineoplastic drug used for slower-growing tumors as a form of chemotherapy. Adrucil.com describes this drug as delivered intravenously or as an adjunctive treatment in combination with other chemotherapies. This drug is recommended for earlier stages of certain cancers and it is generally not used with metasticized types.
Eloxatin (oxaliplatin) is an antineoplastic drug which is similar to the rest which interfere with the growth of tumors. Drugs.com indicates that the goal of treatment is to reduce tumor size until such a point that the cancerous cells are destroyed by the body itself.
Camptosar (irinotecan), an intravenous form of chemotherapy, is an antineoplastic agent and works by the active metabolite SN-38 which binds to the DNA which is cancerous. This medication attacks the DNA (cytotoxicity) and breaks the double strand which allows the cancer to replicate and grow.
Erbitux (cetuximab) is another antineoplastic drug which interferes with cancerous tumor growth. As Drugs.com suggests with the other drugs in this class, it deprives the tumor(s) of much needed nourishment (blood) to grow and can starve them to the point of extinction by the body.
Folic Acids
Wellcovorin (leucovorin) is a folic acid which is used to increase production of new cells and in the prevention of cancerous DNA cells from replication. According to the American Cancer Society, Wellcovorin is also used to prevent anemia which results from chemotherapy, to counteract medications which could have been administered in very large doses, or to retract overdoses. This medication is administered in pill form.
Metastatic Cancer Drug
According to the American Cancer Society, Vectibix (panitumumab) is used for those with metastatic cancers that have been resistant to other drug treatments. Vectibix works by interfering with tumor growth and is a more aggressive monoclonal antibody. This drug is delivered intravenously and is considered a last method of action to treat, due to considerable side effects.
Another drug listed under this category is Xeloda (capecitabine). The American Cancer Society posits that this is the first orally-administered form of chemotherapy which is FDA approved for metastatic cancers of the colon, rectum and Dukes' C Stage III types. This pill form alleviates the need for intravenous chemotherapy and is more convenient than the more traditional forms.
Alternative Drug Therapy
Avastin (bevacizumab) is not a chemotherapy but a tumor-starving therapy which works by blocking vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). It is the blood vessels which feed tumor growth and provide them the nourishment they need to spread to other organs. According to Avastin.com, this drug may be used alone or in conjunction with other treatment modalities (i.e. chemotherapy).
