Goals of chemotherapy
Curative Chemotherapy

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There are four different aims at prescribing cancer chemotherapy:

• curative intent,

• adjuvant intent,

• palliative intent,

• experimental intent.

Chemotherapy with curative intent

Chemotherapy is the main step in curing cancer (and generally follows another therapeutic modality). If chemotherapy is not correctly performed, the patient’s chances for recovery are considerably reduced.

Explanatory diagram of the aim of chemotherapy with curative intent.

The obvious consequence is the necessity to use the best protocol (i.e. the best chemotherapeutic association), with the best dosage (i.e. often the highest possible dosage) with the highest chance of curing the patient. As the above diagram shows, without chemotherapy, there is little chance of survival. We should always offer our patients the best chances of being cured.

Within this category, we should classify chemotherapy for:

• leukaemia,

• lymphoma,

• testis cancer,

• placental choriocarcinoma,

• embryonic tumours of childhood,

• osteosarcoma

• neuroblastoma,

• locally advanced ovarian carcinoma,

• small cell lung cancer,

• breast inflammatory cancer.

Due to the necessity to obtain a lasting, complete response, which is the only real way to offer long-term survival, we need to be prepared to assume our responsibility and to take risks for our patient; risks involving potential high toxicity, blood transfusion, prolonged hospitalisations and sterile rooms.