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Oral Chemotherapy

Oral chemotherapy at a glance

  • Oral chemotherapy is a cancer treatment that uses powerful drugs taken by mouth (capsule, liquid or tablet) to kill cancer cells or slow their growth.
  • Oral chemotherapy drugs work in the blood to damage the fast-growing cancer cells.
  • They also damage healthy growing cells, which results in the side effects of oral chemotherapy.
  • Oral chemotherapy regimens can be just as effective as intravenous (within the vein) chemotherapy treatments, but are more convenient and less invasive.
  • In gynecologic oncology, oral chemotherapy is used to treat cancers of the female reproductive system, including ovarian, cervical, uterine, fallopian tube and vaginal cancers.

What is oral chemotherapy?

There are more than 100 types of chemotherapy drugs in various forms. Oral chemotherapy is a cancer treatment that uses powerful drugs taken by mouth to kill cancer cells or slow their growth.

Most chemo treatments are taken orally (capsule, liquid or tablet) or directly into the bloodstream via an IV (intravenous chemotherapy, or IV chemotherapy). Oral chemotherapy treatments can be just as effective as intravenous chemotherapy treatments. However, not all chemotherapy drugs can be taken orally because they are unable to be absorbed by the stomach. In addition, some patients may not be able to take certain oral chemotherapy drugs due to nausea or vomiting.

Oral chemotherapy drugs are also more expensive then many of their IV counterparts.

Advantages and disadvantages of oral chemotherapy

Oral chemotherapy has advantages over IV chemotherapy in that it is more convenient and less invasive. Patients can receive their scheduled dose at home instead of needing to visit a clinic for an injection. Fewer hospital/doctor office visits mean less interference in a patient’s daily life. Oral chemotherapy provides patients with a greater sense of control over their treatment. Oral chemotherapy may also help to reduce the amount of resources needed for inpatient and ambulatory (outpatient) care services pertaining to chemotherapy.

It’s important for patients to be aware that oral chemotherapy requires adherence to special instructions. For example, some oral chemo drugs require special storage or a patient to follow a strict timetable for administration.

Patient counseling is crucial to ensure that patients completely understand all implications of the drug and take it correctly.

Side effects and complications of oral chemotherapy

Oral chemotherapy is a systemic therapy, which means that it circulates through the body in the blood to kill cancerous cells. But it also harms healthy cells, which may result in side effects. The side effects experienced from oral chemotherapy will vary depending on each individual. Some side effects that one may experience include:

  • Fatigue
  • Skin rash
  • Nausea/vomiting
  • Diarrhea
  • Hair loss
  • Mouth sores
  • Low blood counts

Side effects typically disappear shortly after discontinuation of treatment.

Oral chemotherapy complications

One possible complication of oral chemotherapy is that patients don’t adhere to their instructed regimen, undermining the effectiveness of the treatment. Issues with adherence may be a patient’s confusion and misunderstanding of his or her therapy regimen, which may result in missing doses or doubling up on doses. This can result in less effective treatment or more severe side effects.

Another complication with oral chemotherapy is the potential for drug interactions. Many oral chemotherapy drugs will interact with other prescription or over-the-counter drugs and may cause side effects. This reinforces the idea that patient counseling is crucial in ensuring the success of all oral chemotherapy treatments.