Antibiotics and Bacterial Infections

Oncology Antibiotics

Laboratory-produced drugs used to target and destroy cancerous cells. Therapeutic anticancer antibiotics have become an accepted treatment for certain types of cancer. These drugs bind specifically to primary and metastatic cancer cells to block cell growth, while limiting effects on surrounding healthy cells. Antibiotic medicines kill malignant cells by fragmenting the DNA in the cell nucleus and by oxidizing critical compounds which are necessary for the cell. For patients receiving chemotherapy, there is an increased risk of infection due to a low white blood cell count (neutropenia) caused by a toxic effect of chemotherapy on the bone marrow. Preventive antibiotic therapy before the development of fever prevents illness and death in people with a low white blood cell count after chemotherapy.