Chemotherapy
Today, chemotherapy is the first-course treatment for many types of cancer, but is also used to treat a number of other conditions, including auto-immune disorders. Drugs used for chemotherapy damage cells, typically by interfering in the cell cycle or the process of new cell creation. Cancer cells grow and reproduce more quickly than healthy cells, so are more vulnerable to chemotherapy; however, chemotherapy also damages the healthy cells in the body, causing severe side effects.
Chemotherapy was first discovered during World War II. Military scientists were conducting experiments with various forms of mustard gas, and realized that sailors exposed to mustard gas experienced changes in their bone marrow. During the course of this research, they found that nitrogen mustard was effective against lymphoma. Not long after, a compound related to folic acid was found that could treat acute leukemia. This drug was the precursor to methotrexate, a medication still in use today.
Before the invention of chemotherapy, options to treat cancer were relatively few. Small, localized cancers could be removed surgically, and later radiation could be used for some cancers. Chemotherapy provided new treatments for cancers that could not be treated in the past. Today, multiple chemotherapy drugs are typically used together, and can be used alone for some types of cancers, or as adjuvant therapy following surgery.
Research continues to improve chemotherapy options for patients. Today, more targeted drugs may offer less severe side effects, or be designed to respond to specific types of cancers. In addition, new drugs can accompany chemotherapy regimes to reduce side effects. While most types of cancer were once a death sentence, today, survival rates are quite good for many different types of cancer.