Treatment Options For Hurthle Cell Cancer

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is a cancer treatment that uses drugs to kill cancerous cells throughout the body. This treatment is utilized in cases of Hurthle cell cancer where the cancerous cells have spread throughout the body. The reason for chemotherapy use in such cases is because it has a systemic effect, or it affects the whole body rather than just a specific area. Chemotherapy works to kill cells n the process of the cell cycle. The cell cycle is a process all cells go through to form new cells. Cancerous cells have the property of abnormal and rapid replication using the cell cycle. Chemotherapy, however, targets all cells within the body in any stage of the cell replication process. This mechanism ensures most cancerous cells throughout the body are destroyed, but the effects of chemotherapy are also applied to healthy cells within the process of replication. It is the damage inflicted to healthy cells around the body that gives chemotherapy its reputation of being a harsh therapy. Chemotherapy is often used in patients with Hurthle cell cancer who do not respond to other treatments, cannot undergo surgery, or as a precautionary measure following tumor excision surgery.