What is cyclophosphamide?
cyclophosphamide is a chemotherapeutic agent used to treat several types of cancer. In addition, it is used to treat certain autoimmune disorders. Cyclophosphamide is also called cytophosfan. This medicine is a type of chemical known as nitrogen mustard alkylating agent. This is called an alkylating agent because it is able to add a chemical group called the alkyl group to the deoxyribonucle (DNA) molecules. When administered by the patient, the drug is in inactive form. After the drug is taken, it is converted to an active medicinal form in the liver. The active drug has chemotherapeutic activity. The active form of a drug kills cancer cells by adding an alkyl group to the DNA cancer cells. This prevents cell division and can cause cells to die.UMors such as breasts, ovaries, bladder and prostate cancer. When used as a cancer medicine, cyclophosphamide is administered in conjunction with other chemotherapy drugs. This combination of chemotherapeutic drugs is able to slow down or stop the growth of cancercells.
Further use of cyclophosphamide is in the treatment of autoimmune disorders. These disorders arise as a result of a non -functional immune response. The immune system normally attacks only foreign cells such as bacteria and viruses. In autoimmune disease, the immune response begins to attack one or more of their own body proteins, leading to an inflammatory response to the tissues that express these proteins. Autoimmune disorders such as systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis may sometimes be treated with this drug.
Most people who take cyclophosphamide only experience typical side effects associated with chemotherapy. These include nausea, vomiting, hair loss, fatigue and suppressed bone marrow activity leading to the depression of the immune system. People who use this medicine are prone to infection and any symptoms of infection should be taken seriously. Among other potentialsIlyally serious side effects include blood in urine, reduced urine production, slow healing of wounds, easy bruises or bleeding and joint pain.
In addition to these short -term side effects, this drug may cause some serious long -term effects for chemotherapy. This is because even if the drug can slow down or stop the growth of cancer cells, it is carcinogen. People taking this medicine are an increased risk of developing bladder cancer or other type of cancer later in life. This medicine can also cause temporary sterility and occasionally cause permanent sterility.