Side effects of chemotherapy

1, local reaction: phlebitis, local tissue necrosis.

2. Bone marrow suppression: Most chemotherapy drugs have different degrees of bone marrow suppression. Bone marrow suppression can be manifested as leukopenia, especially granulocytopenia. In severe cases, platelets, red blood cells and hemoglobin can all be reduced. At the same time, patients can also have symptoms such as fatigue, decreased resistance, easy infection, fever and bleeding.

3, gastrointestinal toxicity: most chemotherapy drugs can cause gastrointestinal reactions, manifested as dry mouth, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, and sometimes oral mucositis or ulcers. Constipation, paralytic intestinal obstruction, diarrhea, gastrointestinal bleeding and abdominal pain can also be seen.

4. Immunosuppression: Chemotherapy drugs are generally immunosuppressive drugs, which have different degrees of inhibition on the immune function of the body. When the immune function is low, the tumor is not easy to control, but it accelerates the process of recurrence or metastasis.

5. Nephrotoxicity: Some chemotherapy drugs can cause renal damage, mainly manifested as acute necrosis and degeneration of renal tubular epithelial cells, interstitial edema, renal tubular dilatation and severe renal failure. Patients may have low back pain, hematuria, edema and abnormal urine test.

6. Liver injury: The liver reaction caused by chemotherapy drugs can be acute and transient liver injury, including necrosis and inflammation, or chronic liver injury caused by long-term medication, such as fibrosis, steatosis, granuloma formation and eosinophil infiltration. Clinically, it can be manifested as abnormal liver function, pain in liver area, hepatomegaly and jaundice.

7. Cardiotoxicity: Clinically, it can be manifested as arrhythmia, heart failure, cardiomyopathy syndrome (patients are manifested as weakness, active dyspnea, paroxysmal dyspnea at night, and heart failure can cause rapid pulse, shortness of breath, hepatomegaly, cardiac enlargement, pulmonary edema, edema and pleural effusion. ), and the electrocardiogram is abnormal.

8. Pulmonary toxicity: A small amount of chemotherapy can cause pulmonary toxicity, manifested as interstitial inflammation and pulmonary fibrosis. Clinically, it can be manifested as fever, dry cough and shortness of breath. Most patients have acute onset and granulocyte increase.

9. Neurotoxicity: Some chemotherapy drugs can cause peripheral neuritis, which is characterized by numbness of fingers (toes), disappearance of tendon reflex, abnormal sensation, and sometimes constipation or paralytic intestinal obstruction. Some drugs can produce central nervous toxicity, mainly manifested as paresthesia, weakened vibration, numbness, tingling, gait disorder, ataxia, lethargy, mental abnormality and so on.

10, alopecia: some chemotherapy drugs damage hair follicles, and the degree of alopecia is usually related to the concentration and dose of drugs.

1 1, others: hearing loss, rash, flushing on face or skin, nail deformation, osteoporosis, bladder and urethra irritation, infertility, amenorrhea, sexual dysfunction, male mammary gland enlargement, etc. It may also be caused by some chemotherapy drugs.