Systemic means
"affecting the entire body". Patients with
advanced prostate cancer, hormone refractory prostate
cancer, or prostate cancer with distant metastasis will
undergo chemotherapy whose effect is systemic. The faster
dividing cells associated with metastasized prostate
cancer are killed by the cytotoxic effects of chemotherapy,
unfortunately, other quickly dividing cells are also
affect, such as those in the hair follicles, bone marrow,
and gastrointestinal tract.
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