Monday, April 20, 2009
Alternative and complementary therapies for cancer treatment.
Many alternatives to traditional cancer therapy exist, but there is little evidence to support their efficacy or assess their potential toxicity, and at present there is no federal regulation of these products. Agents that are commonly used include green tea, echinacea, essiac tea, flaxseed, mistletoe, and coenzyme Q as well as others.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Hormonal therapy
hormones are normally involved in the differentiation , stimulation , and control of certain tissues, including but not limited to lymphoid tissue, the uterus, the prostate, and the mammary glands.
The administration of estrogen to a man ultimately suppresses the production of testosterone which is useful in the treatment of prostate cancer. Corticosteroids have a powerful suppressive effect on lymphoid cells, making them useful in the treatment of acute leukemias, lymphomas, myeloma, and other myeloproliferative disorders.
Estrogen and androgen inhibitors
SERMs can have different tissues, sometimes inhibiting the action of estrogen while sometimes behaving like estrogen . Tamoxifen, which is used not only to treat estrogen-sensitive breast cancer but also to prevent breast cancer in high-risk individuals. Raloxifen is a newer SERM that has been approved for prevention and treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis and is presently being studied in the chemoprevention of breast cancer. Flutamide is a testosterone antagonist used in the treatment of prostate cancer. It works by blocking translation of the androgen receptor to the nucleus. Flutamide is most effective when used in combination with surgical or pharmacologic castration.
Gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue
The pharmacologic equivalent of castration can be accomplished with leuprolide, an analogue of GnRH. Leuprolide is commonly used to decrease testosterone levels in the treatment of unresectable prostate cancer.
Aromatase inhibitors
Aromatase inhibitors can eliminate functional estrogen in this population of women and may be an effective hormonal treatment of breast cancer. Anastrozole is approved for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer and appears promissing as adjuvant therapy for postmenopausal women whose tumors posses estrogen or Progesterone receptors.
The administration of estrogen to a man ultimately suppresses the production of testosterone which is useful in the treatment of prostate cancer. Corticosteroids have a powerful suppressive effect on lymphoid cells, making them useful in the treatment of acute leukemias, lymphomas, myeloma, and other myeloproliferative disorders.
Estrogen and androgen inhibitors
SERMs can have different tissues, sometimes inhibiting the action of estrogen while sometimes behaving like estrogen . Tamoxifen, which is used not only to treat estrogen-sensitive breast cancer but also to prevent breast cancer in high-risk individuals. Raloxifen is a newer SERM that has been approved for prevention and treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis and is presently being studied in the chemoprevention of breast cancer. Flutamide is a testosterone antagonist used in the treatment of prostate cancer. It works by blocking translation of the androgen receptor to the nucleus. Flutamide is most effective when used in combination with surgical or pharmacologic castration.
Gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue
The pharmacologic equivalent of castration can be accomplished with leuprolide, an analogue of GnRH. Leuprolide is commonly used to decrease testosterone levels in the treatment of unresectable prostate cancer.
Aromatase inhibitors
Aromatase inhibitors can eliminate functional estrogen in this population of women and may be an effective hormonal treatment of breast cancer. Anastrozole is approved for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer and appears promissing as adjuvant therapy for postmenopausal women whose tumors posses estrogen or Progesterone receptors.
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