Treatment FAQ

what is induction in cancer treatment

by Gregg Ankunding DDS Published 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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Chemotherapy

  • Induction therapy. Treatment begins with induction therapy, which usually lasts four to six weeks. ...
  • Consolidation therapy. After remission, more chemotherapy can be used to try to stop the cancer coming back (called a relapse).
  • Maintenance therapy. ...
  • Side effects of chemotherapy. ...

Induction chemotherapy is administered at the beginning of your cancer treatment. Its goal is to shrink your cancer before you receive radiation therapy. The term induction chemotherapy is sometimes also used to refer to chemotherapy given before surgery, but the proper term is neoadjuvant chemotherapy.May 3, 2021

Full Answer

What are the stages of chemotherapy?

  • T: The size of the original tumor.
  • N: Lymph node involvement, meaning that cancer has been detected in lymph nodes near the tumor. ...
  • M: Whether the cancer has metastasized to distant parts of the body, such as the brain or bones.

What is a cure for cancer?

To answer these questions, it’s important to understand the difference between a cure and remission:

  • A cure eliminates all traces of cancer from the body and ensures it won’t come back.
  • Remission means there are few to no signs of cancer in the body.
  • Complete remission means there aren’t any detectable signs of symptoms of cancer.

What is induction chemotherapy?

The meaning of INDUCTION CHEMOTHERAPY is chemotherapy usually with high doses of anticancer drugs (as cisplatin or methotrexate) in the initial treatment especially of advanced cancers in order to make subsequent treatment (as surgery or radiotherapy) more effective.

What is consolidation chemotherapy?

  • Adjuvant therapy
  • Intensification therapy
  • Postremission therapy

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What is induction phase of chemotherapy?

1. Induction phase. The aim of induction therapy is to destroy leukemic cells and get your child into morphologic remission. This means that less than 5% of your child's bone marrow cells are leukemic and a normal amount of white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets are being produced.

What does cancer induction mean?

The first treatment given for a disease. It is often part of a standard set of treatments, such as surgery followed by chemotherapy and radiation.

How is induction therapy done?

The induction phase of treatment usually lasts about a month. A procedure that uses a special machine (pheresis machine) to separate and collect specific white blood cells from withdrawn blood. The remaining blood is then returned to the body.

How long is remission induction?

Remission induction therapy. This is the first round of treatment given during the first 3 to 4 weeks after diagnosis. It is designed to destroy most of the leukemia cells, stop symptoms of the disease, and return the blood counts to normal levels.

Is induction therapy the same as chemotherapy?

When chemotherapy is used at the beginning of your cancer treatment and before starting radiation therapy, it's referred to as induction chemotherapy. The goal of induction chemotherapy is to shrink tumors before beginning radiation therapy.

What is the difference between induction and consolidation chemotherapy?

Induction chemotherapy - Chemotherapy given to induce a remission. This term is commonly used in the treatment of acute leukemias. Consolidation chemotherapy - Chemotherapy given once a remission is achieved. The goal of this therapy is to sustain a remission.

How many rounds of chemo is normal?

During a course of treatment, you usually have around 4 to 8 cycles of treatment. A cycle is the time between one round of treatment until the start of the next. After each round of treatment you have a break, to allow your body to recover.

What kind of pain does chemo cause?

Why it happens: Chemotherapy may cause painful side effects like burning, numbness and tingling or shooting pains in your hands and feet, as well as mouth sores, headaches, muscle and stomach pain. Pain can be caused by the cancer itself or by the chemo.

What are the three phases of chemotherapy?

Chemo treatment for ALL is typically divided into 3 phases:Induction, which is short and intensive, usually lasts about a month.Consolidation (intensification), which is also intensive, typically lasts for a few months.Maintenance (post-consolidation), which is less intensive, typically lasts for about 2 years.

What does inducing remission mean?

Listen to pronunciation. (reh-MIH-shun in-DUK-shun THAYR-uh-pee) Initial treatment with anticancer drugs to decrease the signs or symptoms of cancer or make them disappear.

What is the second phase of chemotherapy?

The second phase of chemotherapy is called “consolidation” therapy or "intensification" therapy. During this phase, the chemotherapy drugs are given in higher doses than those given during the induction phase.

Is remission a stage of treatment?

Understanding the Difference Between Cure and Remission Cure means that there are no traces of your cancer after treatment and the cancer will never come back. Remission means that the signs and symptoms of your cancer are reduced. Remission can be partial or complete.

What is induction therapy?

An induction therapy is the first treatment for a disease. Induction therapies are also called first-line therapies or primary therapies. Chemotherapy can be used at different points in your cancer treatment: Concurrent chemotherapy radiation therapy is when chemotherapy and radiation therapy are performed together.

How long does induction chemotherapy last?

When used to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia, treatment usually lasts about 29 days with a 1-week break. Side effects are similar between induction and consolidation chemotherapy.

What is the difference between induction and consolidation chemotherapy?

The term induction chemotherapy is sometimes also used to refer to chemotherapy given before surgery , but the proper term is neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Consolidation chemotherapy is used after initial therapy. It’s intended to target any remaining cancer cells.

What is neoadjuvant chemotherapy?

The term neoadjuvant chemotherapy should be used to refer to chemotherapy before surgery. The goal of induction chemotherapy is to reduce tumor size to make it easier for radiation therapy to get rid of cancer cells and to reduce the chances of cancer spreading to distant parts of your body.

What is consolidation chemotherapy?

Consolidation chemotherapy is used to target cancer cells that are still in the body after initial treatment. Keep reading as we take a look at when induction chemotherapy may be used and how it compares to consolidation therapy and other types of chemotherapy.

What is chemo therapy?

Share on Pinterest. Getty Images. Chemotherapy is a drug therapy that’s used to treat many different types of cancer. Chemicals in chemotherapy drugs target cells that rapidly divide, such as cancer cells. They may also target healthy cells in your body that divide rapidly, such as cells in your hair follicles and gastrointestinal tract.

What are the side effects of chemotherapy?

General side effects of chemotherapy can include: anemia. concentration problems. constipation. diarrhea.

What is induction therapy?

Induction therapy is a term used to describe the first major treatment or therapy administered to a cancer patient. It does not by definition refer to any specific type of therapy in and of itself; rather, it merely refers to the initial therapeutic effort. Sometimes induction therapy goes by other names, such as 'primary therapy' or more commonly, 'first-line therapy' or 'first-line treatment.'

Does induction therapy work for cancer?

Naturally, the hope for all patients and their doctors is that induction therapy succeed, and perhaps cure the patient of his or her cancer (this result is more common in early stage cancers, and more common in lymphoid cancers such as lymphomas and leukemias). In medicine, induction therapies amount to the best-known treatment option for each type of cancer, and typically they will be listed among standard treatment guidelines as first-line treatment options. Such standard guidelines are often not in place for very rare cancers because research has not established which treatment is the best. This does not mean then that rare cancers do not have induction therapies—every case of cancer has an induction therapy if a patient chooses to undergo therapy; the exception is only if they choose to do nothing at all about their cancer.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is the primary induction treatment for ALL. The chemotherapy drugs used can vary depending on the subtype of ALL and prognostic factors. The most common induction regimen includes:

Targeted therapy

Targeted therapy is treatment that uses drugs or other substances to target specific molecules (usually proteins) involved in cancer cell growth while limiting harm to normal cells.

Central nervous system prophylaxis or treatment

The central nervous system (CNS) is the brain and spinal cord. Treatment given to prevent the leukemia cells from spreading to the CNS is called CNS prophylaxis. Treatments to prevent leukemia cells from spreading to the CNS or to kill leukemia cells that have spread to the CNS are often given at the same time as or after induction treatment.

Radiation therapy

Radiation therapy may be given to treat ALL that has spread to the central nervous system (CNS).

Supportive therapy

Supportive therapy is important during every phase of treatment for ALL. It is used to treat the complications that usually happen with treatments for ALL and the disease itself.

Clinical trials

You may be asked if you want to join a clinical trial for ALL. Find out more about clinical trials.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is the main induction treatment for AML. Most regimens are built around the drug cytarabine (Cytosar, Ara-C) and daunorubicin (Cerubidine), which may be combined with other drugs or agents.

Targeted therapy

Targeted therapy is treatment that uses drugs or other substances to target specific molecules (usually proteins) involved in cancer cell growth while limiting harm to normal cells.

Central nervous system treatment

The central nervous system (CNS) is the brain and spinal cord. If the leukemia has spread to the CNS, treatment may include chemotherapy given directly into the spinal fluid (called intrathecal chemotherapy). The drug used in intrathecal chemotherapy is methotrexate or cytarabine. It is given during a

Supportive therapy

Supportive therapy is important during every phase of treatment for AML. It is used to treat the complications that usually happen with treatments for AML and the disease itself.

Clinical trials

You may be asked if you want to join a clinical trial for AML. Find out more about clinical trials.

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