Chemotherapy for prostate cancer: What you need to know

Chemotherapy is taking or injecting anti-cancer drugs into a vein. Chemicals travel through the bloodstream, killing or stopping malignant cells from growing in many parts of the body. Although it is difficult to cure the disease, chemotherapy for prostate cancer will also offer some benefits.

Chemotherapy is often prescribed when cancer cells have spread outside the prostate (metastasized) and hormone therapy is no longer effective. Recent research has also shown that chemotherapy for prostate cancer can be helpful if given along with hormone therapy. However, chemotherapy is not the standard method for treating early-stage prostate cancer.
Specifically, chemotherapy can be used to:
Reduce symptoms of very severe or metastatic disease, improve the patient's quality of life. Improves the outcome of prostate cancer surgery if taken for a short time postoperatively. Combined with hormone therapy to improve patient outcomes. Prolongs the survival of prostate cancer patients no longer responding to hormone therapy. Treatment of advanced prostate cancer for men carrying the AR-V7 gene variant.

For prostate cancer, chemotherapy is often used once, including:
Docetaxel (Taxotere) Cabazitaxel (Jevtana) Mitoxantrone (Novantrone) Estramustine (Emcyt). In most cases, the first prostate cancer chemotherapy drug given is docetaxel, in combination with the steroid drug prednisone. After starting docetaxel, many men experience improvement in disease-related symptoms, including pain, fatigue, and lack of energy.
If it doesn't work (or the drug stops working), cabazitaxel is usually the next to be tried. There are also a number of other chemotherapy infusion options available for prostate cancer.
Docetaxel and cabazitaxel have been shown to prolong life on average compared to older chemotherapy drugs. They can slow cancer growth and reduce symptoms, thereby improving quality of life. However, chemotherapy is difficult to cure prostate cancer.
Other cancer chemotherapy drugs being studied for use in prostate disease include carboplatin, oxaliplatin, and cisplatin.

Prostate cancer chemotherapy is usually given by injection into a vein (IV), or given over a set period of time. The entire procedure is done in a chemotherapy clinic or hospital. Some medications, such as estramustine, will be taken as an oral tablet.
Usually, patients who want to receive chemotherapy for cancer need a larger and more rigid IV line. These are called central venous catheters (CVCs) or central venous access devices (CVADs). They are used to introduce drugs, blood products, nutrients, or fluids into the bloodstream, as well as to draw blood for testing. There are different types of CVC central venous catheters, the most common of which are peripheral (port) and peripheral magnetic (PICC).
Doctors will give cancer chemotherapy in cycles, with each treatment interval being a rest period so you can recover from the effects of the drugs. The longest cycle is usually 2-3 weeks. The specific schedule will vary depending on the medication used. For example, some drugs are given only on the first day of the cycle, others are given for several days in a row or once a week. At the end of the cycle, the chemotherapy schedule repeats to start the next cycle.
The length of treatment for advanced prostate cancer depends on the level of tumor activity and the side effects the patient experiences.

Chemicals will focus on attacking rapidly dividing cells, thereby having the ability to fight cancer cells. But other cells in the body also divide rapidly, such as cells in the bone marrow (where new blood cells are made), the lining of the mouth and intestines, the hair follicles... Hence this area. can also be affected by chemotherapy and lead to side effects.
The side effects of chemotherapy for prostate cancer depend on the type and dose of the drug, as well as the length of time it is used. All chemotherapy drugs work differently, so it can also be difficult to predict side effects for each patient. Some common side effects can include:
Hair loss Mouth sores Loss of appetite Nausea and vomiting Diarrhea Easy to get infections (due to too few white blood cells) Easy bruising or bleeding (due to having too many white blood cells) low platelets) Fatigue (from having too few red blood cells) These side effects usually go away after treatment is finished. There are a number of ways to reduce these side effects, for example taking medicine to help prevent or reduce nausea and vomiting.
In addition, some other side effects are more common with certain chemotherapy drugs, for example:
Docetaxel and cabazitaxel sometimes cause serious allergic reactions. Therefore, doctors often give patients anti-allergic drugs before each chemotherapy for prostate cancer. Docetaxel and cabazitaxel can also damage nerves (called peripheral neuropathy), causing numbness, tingling, or burning in the hands or feet. Mitoxantrone can cause leukemia after several years of use, but at very rare rates. Estramustine increases the risk of blood clots. If you notice any side effects during chemotherapy, let your doctor know for prompt treatment. In some cases, it may be necessary to reduce the dose of chemotherapy drugs or delay or stop chemotherapy for prostate cancer to prevent the effects from getting worse.

To manage the side effects of prostate cancer chemotherapy, patients can follow some simple guidelines:
Pay attention to your body: Be aware of all reactions, both within expected and undesirable effects of drug use. Be proactive: Make a list of your medications and ask your healthcare provider about signs to look out for, as well as when to go to the clinic. Take time to relax and recover: Chemotherapy drugs are very powerful and can harm the body, so patients need to find ways to reduce stress, such as listening to music, doing yoga or stretching exercises. walk or watch TV. Keep a diary: Record all the physical and emotional changes you experience while taking the medication. This list will make it easier for you to remember questions to ask your doctor when you visit the clinic, and to help the medical staff manage side effects. Finally, patients should consult their doctor about any side effects they have experienced, for prescriptions to avoid or more specific treatment instructions.
Early cancer screening is considered a perfect measure in the timely detection and treatment of all types of cancer. Vinmec International General Hospital currently has a high-tech cancer screening and examination package, including genetic testing, imaging, and biomarkers for early tumor detection. A single gene test can assess the risk of 16 common cancers in both men and women, including prostate cancer.

References: cancer.org; hopkinsmedicine.org; ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
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