CanThera Cancer Therapy Center
1314 East Sonterra Blvd
Suite 5101
San Antonio, TX 78258
Phone: (210) 404-0044
FAX:    (210) 404-0045

Drugs used in Cancer Therapy

In this section we will provide a brief description of the drug categories used in systemic cancer therapy as well as links to general drug information sites and individual drug websites. You can locate your drug of interest either by its name or by group to which it belongs.

Drug categories

Medications employed in therapy of cancer can be broadly divided into two categories: anti-cancer agents and supportive care agents.

Anti-cancer drugs

Anti-cancer agents kill cancer cells or suppress their growth. They could belong to several groups:

• Chemotherapy agents
  
• Hormonal Therapy agents
  
• Targeted Therapy agents
  
• Biologic Therapy agents
  

Supportive Care Agents

Supportive care agents are used to prevent or counteract side effects of cancer therapy or complications caused by cancer itself. There are different types of supportive care medications, some of which are presented below:

• Anti-nausea agents
  
• Agents that counteract depletion of white blood cells caused by chemotherapy
  
• Agents that counteract depletion of red blood cells caused by cancer itself or by cancer therapy
  
• Medications used to control pain
  
• Agents that are used to strengthen bones which are weakened by cancer itself or by cancer therapy
  
• Medications to prevent allergic reactions
  
• Medications for therapy-related diarrhea
  
• Medications for therapy-related nerve damage

For additional information please see Cancer treatment types: Systemic Therapies (Tab) and Side Effects of Cancer Therapy (Tab). You can also take a look at General Drug Information Websites below:

General drug information websites

National Cancer Institute Drug Dictionary
http://www.cancer.gov/templates/drugdictionary.aspx?expand=A

Medline Plus (Service provided by US National Library of Medicine and National Institute of Health
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginformation.html

Healthcare's First Drug Information Search Engine
http://www.askpharmaoncology.com/index.jsp

Rx List
http://www.rxlist.com/script/main/hp.asp

Drugs@FDA with patient information
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/drugsatfda/index.cfm