Chemotherapy Cancer Treatments

We offer clinical trials to treat brain tumors, breast cancer, prostate cancer and bladder cancer. Ask your doctor if you’re a good candidate for an immunotherapy clinical trial. The U.S. National Institutes of Health also maintains a current list of national clinical trials online.

Precision medicine uses your genetic makeup and other unique factors to determine what chemotherapy (and/or other treatments) will be the most effective. We established the first and most comprehensive program in Michigan, creating treatment plans that cause fewer side effects, extended survival rates and more.

Learn about precision medicine at Henry Ford Health.

We created the OncoStat Clinic to provide patients with an extra level of care for urgent, non-emergency health needs related to side effects from cancer treatment, including chemotherapy.

Learn more about our OncoStat Clinic at Henry Ford Health.

Chemotherapy drugs directly target cancer cells. We use it to:

• Cure cancer
• Relieve cancer symptoms
• Slow cancer’s growth

Chemotherapy can be given to you in several ways:

• Through an IV or injection
• By mouth
• As a topical medication applied to the skin.

You may receive chemotherapy treatment in one of a few places:

• At home
• At your doctor’s office
• In the hospital

Antimetabolites

Antimetabolites interfere with DNA and RNA growth. Examples of antimetabolites include 5-fluorouracil, capecitabine, methotrexate, gemcitabine, cytarabine (ara-C) and fludarabine. Antimetabolites are used to treat chronic leukemia as well as tumors of the breast, ovary and the gastrointestinal tract.

Alkylating agents

Alkylating agents work directly on a person's DNA to prevent cancer cells from reproducing. Examples of alkylating agents include busulfan, cisplatin, carboplatin, chlorambucil, cyclophosphamide, ifosfamide, dacarbazine (DTIC), mechlorethamine (nitrogen mustard) and melphalan. These drugs are used to treat chronic leukemia, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Hodgkin's lymphoma (also known as Hodgkin’s disease), multiple myeloma and certain cancers of the lung, breast and ovary.

Mitotic inhibitors

Mitotic inhibitors are plant alkaloids and other compounds derived from natural products. They can inhibit or stop enzymes from making proteins needed for reproduction of the cancer cells. Examples of mitotic inhibitors include paclitaxel, docetaxel, etoposide (VP-16), vinblastine, vincristine and vinorelbine.

Antitumor antibiotics

Antitumor antibiotics interfere with the growth of cancer cells at the DNA level. They work by stopping enzymes and cell division or by altering the membranes that surround cells. Examples of antitumor antibiotics include dactinomycin, daunorubicin, doxorubicin (Adriamycin), idarubicin and mitoxantrone. These are not the same as antibiotics used to treat infections. Since these agents work in all phases of the cell cycle, they are widely used for a variety of cancers.

Nitrosoureas

Nitrosoureas cross the blood-brain barrier and interfere with enzymes that help repair DNA. Since these agents are able to travel to the brain, they are used to treat brain tumors as well as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, multiple myeloma and malignant melanoma. Examples of nitrosoureas include carmustine (BCNU) and lomustine (CCNU).

Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) is a two-pronged approach for metastatic abdominal cancers. Visible cancer cells are removed then heated chemotherapy is administered to destroy microscopic cells.

Henry Ford Health was the first in Michigan to treat patients with HIPEC, which now has the largest, nationally recognized HIPEC program in the state.

Learn more about Henry Ford Health’s HIPEC program and team.

Pressurized intraperitoneal aerosolized chemotherapy is a minimally invasive surgery for late-stage abdominal cancer that delivers chemotherapy through a nebulizer, a device that uses high pressure to turn chemotherapy into a mist.

Henry Ford St. John Hospital was the first in Michigan to perform a PIPAC procedure and we are one of only a few cancer centers across the country who offer it.

Learn more about PIPAC at Henry Ford Health.