A fundamental philosophy of medical oncology, including combination chemotherapy, is that different drugs work through different mechanisms, and that the results of using multiple drugs will be synergistic to some extent. Because they have different dose-limiting adverse effects, they can be given together at full doses in chemotherapy regimens.[1]
The first successful combination chemotherapy was MOPP, introduced in 1963 for lymphomas.
The term "induction regimen" refers to a chemotherapy regimen used for the initial treatment of a disease. A "maintenance regimen" refers to the ongoing use of chemotherapy to reduce the chances of a cancer recurring or to prevent an existing cancer from continuing to grow.[2]
Nomenclature
Chemotherapy regimens are often identified by acronyms, identifying the agents used in the drug combination. However, the letters used are not consistent across regimens, and in some cases - for example, "BEACOPP" - the same letter combination is used to represent two different treatments.[3]
There is no widely accepted naming convention or standard for the nomenclature of chemotherapy regimens. For example, either generic or brand names may be used for acronyms. This page merely lists commonly used conventions.
^Mayer RJ (February 2009). "Targeted therapy for advanced colorectal cancer—more is not always better". N Engl J Med. 360 (6): 623–5. doi:10.1056/NEJMe0809343. PMID 19196680. letter commenting on the Clinical trial: Tol J, Koopman M, Cats A, Rodenburg CJ, Creemers GJ, Schrama JG, Erdkamp FL, Vos AH, van Groeningen CJ, Sinnige HA, Richel DJ, Voest EE, Dijkstra JR, Vink-Börger ME, Antonini NF, Mol L, van Krieken JH, Dalesio O, Punt CJ (February 2009). "Chemotherapy, bevacizumab, and cetuximab in metastatic colorectal cancer". N Engl J Med. 360 (6): 563–72. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa0808268. hdl:2066/79995. PMID 19196673.
^Cancer.net - Explaining Maintenance Therapy
^BEACOPP chemotherapy regimen
^"MVAC Still the 'Best Treatment' for Advanced Bladder Cancer Patients. 1999". Archived from the original on 2012-01-09. Retrieved 2010-11-18.
^"Ovarian Cancer Chemotherapy: Know Your Treatment Options".
^Kiesewetter B, Mayerhoefer ME, Lukas J, Zielinski CC, Müllauer L, Raderer M (2014). "Rituximab plus bendamustine is active in pretreated patients with extragastric marginal zone B cell lymphoma of the mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT lymphoma)". Ann. Hematol. 93 (2): 249–53. doi:10.1007/s00277-013-1865-3. PMID 23925930. S2CID 12851937.
^El Weshi, A; Memon, M; Raja, M; Bazarbashi, S; Rahal, M; El Foudeh, M; Pai, C; Allam, A; El Hassan, I; Ezzat, A (October 2004). "VIP (etoposide, ifosfamide, cisplatin) in adult patients with recurrent or refractory Ewing sarcoma family of tumors". American Journal of Clinical Oncology. 27 (5): 529–34. doi:10.1097/01.coc.0000135815.94162.83. PMID 15596925. S2CID 6362786.
^Kosmidis, P; Mylonakis, N; Fountzilas, G; Pavlidis, N; Samantas, E; Karabelis, A; Kattis, K; Skarlos, D (July 1996). "A prospective randomized phase III study in non-small-cell lung cancer comparing cisplatin, ifosfamide, vinblastine (VIP) versus cisplatin, ifosfamide and etoposide (VIP-16). Hellenic Co-Operative Oncology Group". Annals of Oncology. 7 (5): 517–20. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.annonc.a010642. PMID 8839908.
External links
Chemotherapy regimens and references
Chemotherapy side effects Archived 2012-08-15 at the Wayback Machine
Christie Hospital Chemotherapy Patient Information Sheets