What Are the Treatments for Cancer in the Lymph Nodes?
- Before a treatment strategy can be made, a determination of the type and stage of the cancer must be obtained by an oncologist. The doctor will determine if the cancer is symptomatic or nonsymptomatic and if caught early (Stages 1 and 2) or later at Stages 3 or 4. The American Cancer Society has created a treatment tool to help determine a treatment course, but it requires the diagnosis detail to complete.
- There are three treatments typically prescribed for lymph node cancer. In the United States, there is a chemotherapy combination known as ABVD, which stands for Adriamycin, Bleomycin, Vinblastine and Dacarbazine. Stanford V combines chemotherapy with radiation treatment, and the third, known as BEACOPP is most often prescribed in Europe and combines a different combination of chemotherapy drugs and has proven effective in more advanced lymphoma.
- This is the most common treatment for lymphoma and can be administered in a doctor's office, usually intravenously through a porta-catheter system. A cycle of treatment consists of two treatments two weeks apart. The oncologist will monitor your white blood cell levels and restage the cancer after four cycles of treatment. Adriamycin and Bleomycin are toxic to fast-growing cancer cells, Vinblastine interferes with cell reproduction and Dacarbazine prevents cell reproduction.
- Chemotherapy and radiation therapy are combined in this treatment. Three cycles of the treatment are typically prescribed, and to the ABV are added Mustargen, which disrupts cell regeneration, Oncovin, which damages the DNA of the cancer, Etoposide damages the cell chromosones, and Prednisone reduces the inflammation that the other drugs cause. This regimen has been proven to be just as effective as ABVD, and it will depend upon individual medical issues determined in partnership with the oncologist.
- The BEACOPP regimen contains, Bleomycin, Doxorubicin (Adriamycin), Etoposide, Vincristine, Prednisone, Cyclophosphamide, another cancer growth disrupter and Procarbazine, which interferes with cell replication. BEACOPP has proven more effective in Stage 3 and 4 German Hodgkins Group Study
Symptoms and Diagnosis
Three Treatment Standards
ABVD
Stanford V
BEACOPP
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