Recent advances in chemotherapy. Administration and nursing implications.

This article provides an overview of the recent advances in the use of chemotherapy as a treatment modality with selected types of cancers. During the next decade, additional gains should be made in the development of effective therapeutic regimens with the development of new drugs and different combinations as well as changes in dosages and scheduling. It is hoped that these advances will result in prolonging disease-free as well as overall survival. Nurses caring for patients receiving these innovative and complex regimens in various care settings will be challenged to be knowledgeable, skilled, sensitive, and creative in the development of interventions to meet the unique needs of patients and their families.