Read article Chemotherapy for carcinoid
This page tells you about chemotherapy for carcinoid.
Chemotherapy for carcinoid
Chemotherapy uses anti cancer (cytotoxic) drugs to destroy cancer cells. Chemotherapy isn’t usually a first choice of treatment for carcinoid. But you may have it
- If you can’t have surgery
- If you have a fast growing tumour
- To shrink a tumour before surgery
- After surgery
You may have chemotherapy together with other treatments, including a somatostatin analogue. The type of chemotherapy depends on where your carcinoid tumour is.
Side effects of chemotherapy
The side effects you may have include feeling sick, hair loss, a drop in blood cell counts, fatigue (feeling tired and weak), and changes in how your kidneys work.
You can view and print the quick guides for all the pages in the Treating carcinoid section.
Chemotherapy uses anti cancer (cytotoxic) drugs to destroy cancer cells. These drugs work by disrupting the growth of cancer cells. The drugs circulate in the bloodstream around the body.
Chemotherapy isn’t generally a first choice of treatment for carcinoid. But you may have it
- If you can’t have surgery
- If you have a fast growing tumour
- To shrink a tumour before surgery
- After surgery
You may have chemotherapy together with other treatments, including a somatostatin analogue.
Chemotherapy seems to work better for some types of carcinoid than others. We know from research that carcinoid that responds to somatostatin analogues may not respond so well to chemotherapy. We need more research into which chemotherapy drugs work best for each type of carcinoid tumour.
The type of chemotherapy depends on where your carcinoid tumour is. For carcinoid of the digestive system, doctors use a combination of some of these drugs
If your carcinoid is affecting your lung, the drugs that doctors usually give are
The side effects you may have from chemotherapy for carcinoid include
- Feeling sick
- Hair loss
- Low blood cell counts leading to an increased risk of infections, bleeding, and feeling tired
- Fatigue
- Change in how your kidneys work
We don't yet know much scientifically about how some nutritional or herbal supplements may interact with chemotherapy. Some could be harmful. It is very important to let your doctors know if you take any supplements. Or if you are prescribed them by alternative or complementary therapy practitioners.
Talk to your specialist about any other tablets or medicines you take while you are having active treatment. There is information about the safety of herbal, vitamin and diet supplements in the complementary therapies section of CancerHelp UK.
Some studies seem to suggest that fish oil preparations may reduce the effectiveness of chemotherapy drugs. If you are taking or thinking of taking these supplements talk to your doctor to find out whether they could affect your treatment.
You can find detailed information about chemotherapy in CancerHelp UK’s chemotherapy section. It explains about
- What chemotherapy involves
- Planning chemotherapy
- How you have chemotherapy
- General side effects of chemotherapy
- Living with chemotherapy
If you would like more detailed information about chemotherapy, contact our cancer information nurses. They would be happy to help.
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