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| Examples: Carboplatin, cisplatin, cyclophosphamide, decarbazine, etoposide IV etoposide oral, ifosfamide, lomustine, mitomycin, thiotepa. |
| Uses: Ovarian, breast, and lung cancers and some leukemias and lymphomas. |
| Antimetabolites |
| These drugs cause cancer cells to die by preventing the production of proteins and nucleic acids that are required by cancer cells to form DNA. They trick cancer cells into accepting them, leading to the formation of defective DNA, which breaks the normal growth cycle of cancer. |
| Examples: Fluorouracil, gemcitabine, hydroxyurea, methotrexate, docetaxel (Taxotere), and paclitaxel (taxol). |
| Uses: Leukemias and ovarian, breast, colon, and pancreatic cancers. |
| Tumoricidal Antibiotics |
| These antibiotics interfere with cancer-cell functioning and can inhibit DNA, RNA, or protein synthesis. Because they are so toxic, they are not normally used against bacterial infections like other antibiotics. They are derived from substances that occur in nature, such as fungi in the soil. |
| Examples: Doxorubicin (Adriamycin) and bleomycin. |
| Uses: Hodgkin's disease and cervical, testicular, breast, bladder, thyroid, and some other cancers. |
| Mitotic Inhibitors |
| These natural substances, derived from the periwinkle plant, stop cancer cells from dividing normally. |
| Examples: Vinblastine and vincristine. |
| Uses: Hodgkin's disease, choriocarcinoma, neuroblastoma, acute lymphocytic leukemia, and breast, lung, and testicular cancers. |
| Biological Modifiers |
| Another group of chemotherapeutic drugs modify the growth and reproduction of cancer cells. |
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