Chemotherapy and Targeted Molecular Therapy

Medical Oncologists and Hematologists focus on treating cancer with drugs and other agents, which travel throughout your body’s entire system to destroy cancer cells and help the body defend itself. Chemotherapy is "systemic treatment" as opposed to radiation oncology, which focuses treatment on a specific part of the body.

Chemotherapy may be given before or after surgery. Most chemotherapy drugs are administered by intravenous infusion over minutes to several hours. Other types of chemotherapy are administered by injection or in pill form. The duration of treatment depends on the type of the cancer and the treatment regimen. Chemotherapy is given in cycles, allowing a rest period between treatments.

Targeted or Molecular Therapies use drugs that block the growth and spread of cancer by interfering with cancer cell growth and division in different ways and at various points during the development, growth, and spread of cancer. By focusing on molecular and cellular changes that are specific to your cancer, targeted cancer therapies provide effective treatment for cancer while sparing most healthy tissue.

To select a medical oncologist who treats colorectal cancer, visit our Colorectal Cancer Specialists web page.

Reviewed 03/2011