Commonly used terms in drug therapy, also referred to as systemic therapy, and their definitions include:
- Adjuvant: Treatment that is given after primary cancer treatment such as surgery is known as adjuvant therapy. Drug therapy applied in this way can reduce the chance of cancer coming back (recurring).
- Chemotherapy: This group of drug medications stops the growth of rapidly dividing cells in the body, both cancerous and noncancerous. Although effective, chemotherapy can cause more side effects than other medication types, because it cannot distinguish between cancerous and healthy cells.
- Cycle: A series of drug therapy treatments that occurs on a regular schedule, with a rest period to allow normal cells to recover. For example, treatment given for 3 weeks followed by 1 week of rest is considered 1 treatment cycle. Multiple cycles of drug therapy make up 1 course of treatment.
- Dosage: The amount of medication taken at 1 time is the medication’s dosage, or dose.
- Dose-dense therapy: An increased schedule of medications every 2 weeks instead of every 3 weeks is called dose-dense therapy.
- Hormone (endocrine) therapy: Some cancers grow in response to the hormones estrogen, progesterone, or testosterone. We use certain therapies to reduce the amount of these hormones in the body or block their effect, slowing or stopping the cancer’s growth.
- Immunotherapy: A type of biological therapy that uses substances to stimulate or suppress the immune system to help the body fight cancer, infection, and other diseases.
- Infusion: This method of treatment delivery puts drug therapy drugs directly into the bloodstream. Infusion is also known as intravenous (IV) infusion.
- Infusion Treatment Area (ITA): Conveniently located in the Stanford Cancer Centers at Palo Alto and South Bay, our infusion centers provide a comfortable setting to receive intravenous (IV) treatment. Experienced nurses at the ITA offer infusion and apheresis services for people with cancer.
- Neoadjuvant: Treatment that is given before primary cancer treatment such as surgery is called neoadjuvant therapy. Drug therapy applied in this manner can shrink cancer tumors to make cancer easier to tolerate and more effective.
- Port: This device sits just under the skin and is used to draw blood and give drug treatments, including intravenous fluids, drugs, or blood transfusions. A surgeon implants the port in an outpatient procedure, and the port may stay in place for weeks or months. It reduces the risk of infection because it lies underneath the skin. It can also be used to deliver contrast dyes for certain scans. A port may be appropriate for anyone on long-term drug therapy or people with metastatic disease because they will be on drug therapy for the rest of their lives.
- Premedications: Medications that you take before receiving drug therapy can prevent or minimize treatment side effects, including nausea, vomiting, and allergic reactions.
- Recurrence: In cancer care, recurrence means disease that comes back after the original treatment. Recurrent cancer usually develops after a period of time during which cancer cells could not be detected in the body.
- Regimen: This is a treatment plan that specifies the dosage, schedule, and duration of treatment and includes all cycles.
- Targeted therapy: These drug drugs slow the growth and spread of cancer by interfering with specific parts of cancerous cells. For targeted therapy to work, the cancer must have the specific markers that a particular medication was designed to target.
For confidential help with your health care questions, contact the Stanford Health Library. Professional medical librarians and trained volunteers, access journals, books, e-books, databases, and videos to learn more about medical conditions, treatment options, and related issues.
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Published April 2018
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