Salvage therapy, also known as rescue therapy, is a form of
therapy
A therapy or medical treatment (often abbreviated tx, Tx, or Tx) is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a medical diagnosis.
As a rule, each therapy has indications and contraindications. There are many different ...
given after an ailment does not respond to standard therapy. The most common diseases that require salvage therapy are
HIV
The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...
and various
cancers
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bl ...
. The term is not clearly defined; it is used both to mean a second attempt and a final attempt. Salvage therapy drugs or drug combinations have, in general, much more severe side effects than the standard line of therapy. This is often true of a
drug of last resort
A drug of last resort (DoLR), also known as a heroic dose, is a pharmaceutical drug which is tried after all other drug options have failed to produce an adequate response in the patient. Drug resistance, such as antimicrobial resistance or anti ...
.
Uses
HIV
Antiretroviral drug
The management of HIV/AIDS normally includes the use of multiple antiretroviral drugs as a strategy to control HIV infection. There are several classes of antiretroviral agents that act on different stages of the HIV life-cycle. The use of multi ...
s (ARVs) are given to slow down the HIV reproduction, which in turn increases quality of life and survival. If the patient's viral load (the amount of HIV in the blood) rebounds after being suppressed by ARVs, the virus has likely developed
resistance to the ARVs. As more and more mutations conferring drug resistance develop in the HIV's genome, it becomes difficult to select an ARV that will meaningfully suppress HIV replication and keep the patient's viral load low. Salvage therapy, in this context, is the attempt to contain the replicating HIV once the usual line of treatments have been exhausted. When at least one regimen containing
protease inhibitors
Protease inhibitors (PIs) are medications that act by interfering with enzymes that cleave proteins. Some of the most well known are antiviral drugs widely used to treat HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C. These protease inhibitors prevent viral replicat ...
has failed in a patient, the subsequent attempts to treat the HIV infection may be referred to as salvage therapy.
Cancers
Salvage chemotherapy is a treatment that is given after the cancer has not responded to other
chemotherapy
Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs ( chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemothe ...
regimens.
NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms
/ref>
See also
* Heroic measure
In medicine, heroic treatment or course of therapy is one which possesses a high risk of causing further damage to a patient's health, but is undertaken as a last resort with the understanding that any lesser treatment will surely result in failur ...
* Linda Grinberg
Linda Gwen Grinberg (May 26, 1951 – May 27, 2002) was an American film librarian and HIV/AIDS activist, based in Los Angeles.
Early life and education
Grinberg was born in Los Angeles, the daughter of film executive Sherman Grinberg and Edn ...
References
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Medical treatments