Nasopharyngeal cancer chemotherapy drugs

It is most common to have two or more chemotherapy drugs together to treat cancer. You may hear this called combination chemotherapy. Using two or more drugs together is often more effective than using one drug. The main drugs used in the treatment of nasopharyngeal cancers are

• Cisplatin
• Fluorouracil (5-FU)
• Epirubicin

Other chemotherapy drugs that have been used more recently for nasopharyngeal cancers include

• Docetaxel (Taxotere)
• Paclitaxel (Taxol)

These links will take you to information about the specific side effects of each drug.

If you have stage 3 or 4 nasopharyngeal cancer you are likely to have chemotherapy and radiotherapy at the same time (known as chemoradiation or synchronous treatment). Some people with stage 2 nasopharyngeal cancer may also have this treatment. You may have one of the following

• Cisplatin
• Cisplatin and 5FU
• Carboplatin
• Paclitaxel (Taxol)
• Docetaxel (Taxotere)

Some of this treatment is experimental and you may have it as part of a clinical trial. Doctors use the results from clinical trials to improve treatment for head and neck cancers in the future. There is information about the side effects of chemoradiation on the next page in this section.

You usually have chemotherapy as cycles of treatment. You have these drugs through a drip (intravenous infusion) into your arm, usually once every 3 or 4 weeks. Or you may have the drugs through a tube going into your chest called a central line or portacath. Each 3 or 4 week period is known as one cycle of treatment. You will probably have between 3 and 4 cycles to begin with. If the treatment is working and you’re not having too many side effects you will probably go on to have up to 6 cycles. Your own doctor will decide the exact amount and number of treatments you have. So the complete chemotherapy course can take 6 months or more.