Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy contains chemical drugs whose substances combat tumour cells while protecting healthy body cells as much as possible. They can on the one hand inhibit the growth of cancer cells and on the other hand directly damage cancer cells. The former are called cytostatics and the latter cytotoxics.

Chemotherapy starts with cell division. The life cycle of human cells is divided into resting, dividing and dying phases. Cancer cells are usually in the resting or division phase, with division being completely uncontrolled and more frequent than in healthy cells. The effectiveness of chemotherapy is based on this different cell growth. It attacks those cells that are currently dividing and damages certain molecular structures in the cell nucleus.

Unfortunately, healthy body cells, such as blood stem cells, are also attacked, so that the haematopoietic system is affected by high-dose chemotherapy.

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