Department: Quality Improvement
Document Identifier: SD/QM/003/02
Chemotherapy is used to treat many different disorders including but not limited to cancers of different types including blood, skin, bone, brain; in addition to autoimmune diseases including dermatological disorders; such as vitiligo, psoriasis, pemphigus, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, multiple sclerosis, vasculitis, and many others. Chemotherapeutic drugs are used often to kill, alter, or slow the reproduction of rapidly growing cancer cells. However, in the treatment of rheumatic or autoimmune conditions the doses of chemotherapeutic drugs are lower than the doses used for cancer treatment where they work by reducing immune system activity or alter hormonal activity.
Chemotherapeutic drugs can be administered in different forms: intravenously, topically or orally. Patients may receive chemotherapy on an inpatient or outpatient basis. Chemotherapeutic drugs are cytotoxic and have shown to be mutagenic, and/or teratogenic. Their side effects may vary based on the specific drugs used, it may cause nerv...