Therapeutic Chemoembolization is a medical procedure that involves the injection of chemotherapy drugs directly into a tumor to destroy cancer cells. The word is spelled using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), which uses symbols to represent the sounds of speech. The phonetic transcription of this word is /ˌθɛrəˈpjuːtɪk kimoʊˌɛmbələˈzeɪʃən/. This transcription shows that the word contains a stressed syllable (the "pu" in "therapeutic") and several syllables with unstressed vowels (the "the" in "chemoembolization").
Therapeutic chemoembolization is a medical procedure that involves the combined administration of chemotherapy drugs and embolic agents to treat cancerous tumors. This technique is primarily used in the treatment of liver cancer, although it may also be utilized in other types of tumors found in various organs.
The procedure starts with the insertion of a catheter into an artery leading to the tumor site. Through this catheter, a mixture of chemotherapy drugs, such as doxorubicin or cisplatin, is directly delivered to the tumor. The chemotherapy drugs work by destroying cancer cells or inhibiting their growth.
Simultaneously, embolic agents, often in the form of small particles, are also injected through the catheter to block the blood vessels supplying the tumor. By doing so, therapeutic chemoembolization enhances the effectiveness of the chemotherapy drugs by allowing them to stay longer within the tumor and restricting blood flow, depriving the tumor of vital nutrients it needs to survive.
This localized treatment approach helps to minimize the systemic effects of chemotherapy, targeting the tumor directly while reducing damage to healthy tissues. Moreover, therapeutic chemoembolization can be repeated as necessary, making it a potentially curative procedure or a bridge to other treatments such as surgery or liver transplantation.
In summary, therapeutic chemoembolization is a medical technique that combines chemotherapy drugs and embolic agents to treat cancerous tumors by delivering drugs directly to the tumor while cutting off its blood supply.
The etymology of the word "Therapeutic Chemoembolization" can be broken down as follows:
1. Therapeutic: The word "therapeutic" comes from the Greek word "therapeutikos", which means "healing" or "pertaining to treatment". It is derived from the Greek word "therapeuein", meaning "to attend" or "to heal".
2. Chemo-: The prefix "chemo-" comes from the word "chemistry", which refers to the science of substances and their transformations. In medical terminology, "chemo-" is often associated with chemicals or drugs that are specifically used for therapy or treatment.
3. Embolization: The word "embolization" is derived from the Latin word "embolus", which means "plug" or "stopper".