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• Cytostatic agents
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Author: Gesche Tallen, MD, PhD, Editor: Maria Yiallouros, Reviewer: Prof. Dr. med. Dr. h.c. Günter Henze, English Translation: Hannah McRae, Last modification: 2020/06/05

Most chemotherapeutic agents target all fast- dividing cells, such as cancer cells in general, rather than a certain (cancer) cell type in particular.

Efficient cancer treatment requires a strategy that leads to a permanent elimination of the malignant cells and a minimum of side effects and complications. An optimal strategy consists of a feasible combination of different treatment modalities including surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy.

Efficient chemotherapy includes a combination of cytostatic agents from different substance groups, which are dosed and applied in the most effective way.

Such combination chemotherapy regimens have proved feasible by various standardised treatment protocols. They differ depending on the type of cancer. They are regularly adjusted to the patient's individual situation and continuously optimised according to the most recent clinical and scientific state of knowledge.

Details on the different chemotherapy regimens applied to the different cancer types can be found in the "diseases" section and guidelines.