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Other side effects
- Secondary cancer - Chemotherapy has the potental to increase the risk of developing secondary cancers. This is rare and will be caused only by certain drugs. This issue may be discussed with the doctor.
- Immunosuppression and myelosuppression - Chemotherapy can bring about immunosuppression by destroying the bone marrow cells and decreasing the peripheral blood cell count. This may be rectified by transfusing the required components. Severe myelosuppression, can be treated with bone marrow transplantation, either autologous or allogenic.
- Effect on hearing - Some chemotherapy drugs can prevent high-pitched sounds from being heard. They may also create a persistant noise in the ears known as tinnitus, which may be quite disturbing. At such times, it is advisable to consult a doctor.
- Tumor Lysis Syndrome - Some patients with large tumors develop this condition due to the speedy breakdown of malignant cells by chemotherapy. Careful management is required to handle this side-effect as it can lead to death if neglected.
- Organ-specific toxicities are also reported as a fall out of chemotherapy. They include interstitial lung disease, cardiovascular disease, liver and kidney disease and sometimes, secondary cancers.
- Neurocognitive problems, such as loss of concentration, are reported in some patients. This is called post chemotherapy cognitive impairment.
References
- MacDiarmid J.A. et al. (2007)
- "Bacterially Derived 400 nm Particles for Encapsulation and Cancer Cell Targeting of Chemotherapeutics" Cancer Cell 11, 431-445, May 2007
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