The pharmaceutical industry has come up with lots of chemotherapy drugs classified according to the chemical structure, the working principle and the possible associations with other medication. Most drugs are based on chemicals obtained from plants and this very origin or source leaves room to further classification. And, last but not least, one drug may be found in various categories as they may have several effects on the body of the patient. Medical science and professional competence in the health care realm involves a good knowledge of chemotherapy drugs and their specificity.

Alkylating agents is a first class of chemotherapy drugs worth mentioning. These drugs are pretty damaging to the bone marrow because they destroy the DNA to prevent the cancerous cells from reproduction. Lots of cancer cases get treated with this kind of chemotherapy drugs, with the mention that doses are always kept low because of the risk to develop leukemia up to ten years after the cessation of the treatment. Platinum based medication is classified together with alkylating agents because of the similarity in their action.

Antimetabolites are another distinct class of chemotherapy drugs. They are prescribed for the treatment of leukemia, breast tumors, ovary and intestinal cancers and they also interfere not only with the DNA but also with the RNA. The anthracyclines are another variety of chemotherapy drugs included into the antibiotic group. Their action is directed against enzymes that help in DNA replication which is why they prove efficient in a large number of cancer cases.

The category of inhibitors comes next. The topoisomerase inhibitors separate and copy the DNA strands efficiently treating leukemia. The mitotic inhibitors are more natural-based derived from plants and they help in preventing enzymes from producing proteins required in cell reproduction. However, there is one huge risk that patients take when following such a treatment: these chemotherapy drugs may cause peripheral nerve damage to mention only one of the health threats you may fear.

Finally, the corticosteroids represent chemotherapy drugs derived from hormones and designed to treat myeloma, lymphoma and leukemia besides other diseases. In addition to decreasing the cancer cellular growth, they also have a good impact on the way the body reacts to chemotherapy by preventing nausea, vomiting or other types of allergic reactions. These types of drugs may be used as chemotherapy ones or not, depending on the purpose they are supposed to serve.

This article is written by the author to assist you who are looking for health related information. The author also writes other articles that can be found on the special website on home fitness exercise equipment where you are recommended to purchase water exercise equipment.

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