It may mean that it is not effective at controlling the development of the tumor.
This article will detail how cancer can sometimes spread during chemotherapy and the signs that chemotherapy is malfunctioning.
Verywell / Shideh Ghandeharizadeh
How Does Chemotherapy Treat Cancer?
Verywell / Shideh Ghandeharizadeh
In treating cancer, chemotherapy is the use of drugs that kill fast-growing cells.
These are non-discriminatory killersthey kill any fast-growing cells in the body, not just cancer cells.
Traditional or standard chemotherapy treats cancer by interfering with cancer cells ability to grow and divide.
The drugs do so by disrupting their cycle of cell division.
Cell division is when the cells make copies of their chromosomes and split into two.
In many cases, these drugs are applied to the entire body, called systemic treatment.
Systemic chemotherapy can kill cancer cells that have already spread that doctors havent found yet.
It can be given before, during, or after other treatments.
Types of Chemo
Different classes of chemotherapy drugs work to disrupt the cell cycle in various ways.
Five major types of chemotherapy encompass the majority of common chemotherapy drugs.
A few other chemotherapy drugs act in different ways and dont fall under these categories.
Can Cancer Spread During Chemotherapy?
While chemotherapy is one of the oldest and most successful ways of treating cancer, it doesnt always work.
So, yes, cancer can spread during chemotherapy.
Chemotherapy may not work to shrink or kill advanced and metastasized cancers.
In these cases, your cancer can keep growing and spreading during chemotherapy treatment.
Sometimes, it may require changing the pop in of chemotherapy to see if it can work better instead.
Other times, the goal of chemotherapy may be morepalliativeto reduce symptoms from the tumors.
Some cancers spread during chemotherapy because they undergo changes that make them resistant to chemotherapy.
Resistant cancer cells can then be the seeds of new growth of the primary tumor or of distant spread.
Imaging is used in standardized testing calledRECIST, which stands for “response evaluation criteria in solid tumors.
“RECIST is used with solid tumors to assign scores to how the patient is responding to treatment.
They take scans to monitor the tumor’s size and spread to other parts of the body.
If the chemotherapy is helping your symptoms, that might be a good enough treatment goal.
But if its causing more side effects than youre comfortable with, you may want to consider stopping treatment.
There may be additional treatment options, including clinical trials, that might be a better fit for you.
If youve tried three different treatment options, it may be time to think about stopping cancer treatment.
Talk to your doctor about your options.
Summary
It is possible that cancer can spread while undergoing cancer treatments like chemotherapy.
Doctors use regular scans and testing to determine how your chemotherapy treatment is working.
If cancer continues to spread, they may recommend changes to the treatment plan.
Discuss your options with your doctor.
Advanced cancers of all kinds are the most likely to continue to spread during chemotherapy treatments.
Nearly every cancer can metastasize.
Common types of metastatic cancer include breast cancer, lung cancer, brain cancer, and bone cancer.
Luckily many of these cancers have effective treatment options.
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