Doxorubicin

Excerpt

Doxorubicin is an antibiotic derived from the Streptomyces peucetius bacterium. It has widespread use as a chemotherapeutic agent since the 1960s. Doxorubicin is part of the anthracycline group of chemotherapeutic agents. Doxorubicin may be used to treat soft tissue and bone sarcomas and cancers of the breast, ovary, bladder, and thyroid. It is also used to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia, acute myeloblastic leukemia, Hodgkin lymphoma, and small cell lung cancer. This activity will highlight the mechanism of action, adverse event profile, pharmacology, monitoring, and relevant interactions of doxorubicin, pertinent for interprofessional team members in the treatment of patients with cancers for which it is indicated.