Cancer causing drugs

Viruses are small infectious agents composed of a nucleic acid genome (DNA or RNA) encased by structural proteins and in some cases a lipid envelope. They are the causative agents of a number of human infectious diseases, the most important for public health today being acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), hepatitis, influenza, measles, and vituses causing diarrhoea (e.g., rotavirus). In addition, certain viruses contribute to the development of cancer. Antiviral drugs inhibit viral replication by specifically targeting viral enzymes or functions and are used to treat specific virus-associated diseases. 

Sen. E. Kennedy described DES as a known cancer-causing agent... on thousands of American dinner tables. Consumers create groups such as the Committee to Get the Drugs Out of the Meat (DOOM) and criticize the FDA... 

After the surgery, new antibodies and killer lymphocytes that cause rejection may develop within days. To prevent this from happening, or at least reduce the chances of it, scientists have discovered and developed a number of immunosuppressive drugs that help extend the life of the transplanted organ and, thus, the life of its recipient. Corticosteroids and the cancer chemotherapy drug azathioprine were the first drugs used to suppress the immune system for organ... 

HT3 receptors in the gastrointestinal tract and in the vomiting center of the medulla participate in the vomiting reflex (see Chapter 62). They are particularly important in vomiting caused by chemical triggers such as cancer chemotherapy drugs. 5-HTip and 5-HT4 receptors also play important roles in enteric nervous system function. 

Cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan and Endoxan) is used in the treatment of Hodgkin s disease, lymphosarcoma, and other lymphomas. It is employed as a secondary drug in patients with acute leukemia and in combination with doxorubicin in women with breast cancer. A drug combination effective in the treatment of breast cancer is cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, fluorouracil, and prednisone (CMFP). Cyclophosphamide is also an immunosuppressive agent. The toxicity of cyclophosphamide causes alopecia, bone marrow depression, nausea and vomiting, and hemorrhagic cystitis. 

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