METRONOMIC CHEMOTHERAPY

Dr. Kapil Kumar Garg*

ABSTRACT

Conventional chemotherapy protocols include administration of chemotherapy drugs on certain specific days with period of rest in between to reduce their side effects and toxicity. The rest period also allows body tissues including bone marrow to recover from damage inflicted by these drugs. Downside of this practice is that it gives tumour cells enough time to regrow and develop drug resistance. To address this issue, a novel way of administering conventional chemotherapy drugs in a frequent low dose protocol was introduced. This strategy called metronomic chemotherapy (MCT) leads to reduction in tumour growth by inhibiting angiogenesis and has changed the traditional approach of treatment in the field of oncology.

Keywords: Metronomic Administration, Chemotherapy, Angiogenesis.