The Different Types of Chemotherapy Drugs

Anthracyclines

Anthracyclines are anti-tumor antibiotics that interfere with enzymes involved in DNA replication. These agents work in all phases of the cell cycle. Thus, they are widely used for a variety of cancers. A major consideration when giving these drugs is that they can permanently damage the heart if given in high doses. For this reason, lifetime dose limits are often placed on these drugs.

Examples of anthracyclines include daunorubicin, doxorubicin (Adriamycin '), epirubicin, and idarubicin.

Other anti-tumor antibiotics include the drugs actinomycin-D, bleomycin, and mitomycin-C.

Mitoxantrone is an anti-tumor antibiotic that is similar to doxorubicin in many ways, including the potential for damaging the heart. This drug also acts as a topoisomerase II inhibitor (see below), and can lead to treatment-related leukemia. Mitoxantrone is used to treat prostate cancer, breast cancer, lymphoma, and leukemia.

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