Combination chemotherapy

One of the major advances in haematology during the past six decades has been the development of combination chemotherapy. However, some would dispute the claim that combination chemotherapy has been a major therapeutic advance, arguing that survival for most common cancers has not improved since the advent of chemotherapy. It is certainly true that the survival of children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia has improved and that the drug imatinib mesylate and its derivatives have changed the outcome for most patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia. Likewise, combination chemotherapy has greatly modified the prognosis for patients with Hodgkin lymphoma and some types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. However, it must be said that the application of combination chemotherapy to common non-haematological cancers has not met with similar success. In this chapter, the practicalities of the treatment of blood disorders are discussed, with specific reference to the use of this therapy by the medical profession.