Tech Tip
Pharmaceutical agents used to treat cancer are called by several names: anticancer drugs, antineoplastic agents, cytotoxic therapy agents, and chemotherapy agents.
Note
Many of these anticancer drugs have other applications. For example, methotrexate is also used in confirmed ectopic pregnancy when the ectopic mass is still small. It is injected into the muscle and reaches the embryo via the bloodstream, killing the cells that are developing in the placenta. The embryo is reabsorbed into the body, and the fallopian tube is not damaged. Methotrexate, also designated as a folic acid antagonist (Rheumatrex, Trexall), is used to treat noncancerous conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis. The drug 5-fluorouracil is used in ophthalmic surgery. It is injected beneath the outer eye membrane after glaucoma surgery to impede growth of scar tissue that could interfere with the surgical outcome.
Plant alkaloids are derivatives of plant extracts. They block cell division by preventing chromosomes from dividing and migrating to the ends of the cells (the M phase or the metaphase stage of the cell cycle). These agents can be used as single medications or in combination drug therapy. Uses of mitotic inhibitors include treatment of advanced breast and ovarian, colon, pancreatic, and lung cancers and squamous cell cancers of the head and neck. Examples include the medications paclitaxel (Taxol) and docetaxel (Taxotere), which are derived from the bark and needles of the European yew tree. Others are vinblastine (Velban); vincristine (Oncovin), derived from the periwinkle plant; and etoposide (Toposar), derived from the May apple.
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