Systemic treatments are those that have effects throughout the body rather than being applied directly to the cancer. Chemotherapy is a form of systemic treatment that uses drugs to kill cancer cells or to stop them from growing. Systemic cancer therapy includes Hormonal therapy Chemotherapy (anti-cancer drugs) Targeted drug therapy Immune therapy

Systemic cancer therapy includes chemotherapy (ie, conventional or cytotoxic chemotherapy), hormone therapy, targeted therapy, and immune therapy (see also Overview of Cancer Therapy).

Drug treatments (such as chemotherapy, immunotherapy, or targeted therapy) are often called "systemic" treatments because they can affect the entire body.