Anti-cancer Endocrine Therapies - Dr. Wendt Flashcards
What is used to describe a wart produced by an HPV infection?
papilloma
Increasing in cell size is _______ a hallmark of cancer
NOT
Molecular pathology is different from traditional pathology because…
…it uses some kind of genetic testing to indicate therapy or predict for tumor recurrence
T or F: Gene expression analyses like Oncotype Dx are currently used to indicate specific therapies
False
Hemotoxylin is used in pathology to stain the nucleus of cells a __________ color
blueish/purple
Which of the following terms is associated with substitution of tissue type for another?
Metaplasia
HER2 is an example of a ______________
oncogene
BRCA is an example of a _____________
tumor suppressor
Hormones regulate the proliferation in these three cancers
- breast
- prostate
- endometrial
Where are common hormones produced?
- adrenal glands
- ovary
- testis
- adipocytes
Recall steroid receptor signal transduction
- Receptors are cytosolic hormone-dependent transcription factors
- When ligand enters cell and binds to receptor, ligand-receptor complex translocated to nucleus, binds to DNA promoters and induces transcription
Most common/lethal hormone cancers
- prostate
- breast
- lung
Which CYP enzyme associated with aromatase?
CYP19
Molecular action of steroid hormones
- Most hydrophobic steroids are bound to plasma protein carriers. Only unbound hormones can diffuse into the target cell
- Steroid hormone receptors are in the cytoplasm or nucleus
- The receptor-hormone complex binds to DNA and activates or represses one or more genes
- Activated genes create new mRNA that moves back to the cytoplasm
- Translation produces new proteins for cell processes
- Some steroid hormones also bind to membrane receptors that use second messenger systems to create rapid cellular responses
Two major classes of endocrine therapy
- Stop steroid receptor function
2. Decrease production of steroids
Hypothalamus produces _______ that impacts the _______
GnRH; pituitary gland
The pituitary gland produces _______ that impacts _______
FSH & LH; Estrogen + Progesterone
Estrogen receptors (ER) and progesterone receptors (PR) ____________ in tumors
measurable
Well differentiated tumors are more likely to be ____
ER+
poorly differentiated tumors are generally ____
ER-
Remember that poorly differentiated tumors have ________ growth fractions and are generally more ________ to cytotoxic agents
higher; sensitive
Highly significant ___________ between presence of estrogen receptor and the likelihood of response to hormone therapy
correlation
Correlation is even _________ for __________ tumors
PR is estrogen inducible and is a measure of biological response to estrogen
stronger; ER+/PR+
Hormone therapy in breast cancer generally limited to _________ tumors. Can be a useful addition to other chemotherapy in __________ tumors.
ER+/PR+; ER+/PR-
DCIS means…
ductal carcinoma in situ
estrogen receptor primarily binds estrogen where in the cell?
cytoplasm
what enzyme converts androstenedione to estrone?
CYP19
Estrogen receptor positive tumors will be treated with _____________. Estrogen receptor expression and or function can be lost by numerous mechanisms. This is an extremely important ___________ in therapy.
endocrine therapy; determinate
A range of ER positivity are considered for endocrine therapy, usually…
~10%
breast tumor subtypes (4)
- triple negative (ER-, PR-, HER2-)
- HER2+
- Luminal B
- Luminal A
Triple negative: % of breast cancers
15 - 20%
HER2: % of breast cancers
10 - 15%
Luminal B: % of breast cancers
20%
Luminal A: % of breast cancers
40%
Triple negative tumors respond best to…
chemotherapy (similar to other aggressive cancers)
Luminal A tumors respond best to…
endocrine therapy (e.g. antiestrogen or aromatase inhibitor)
About when was tamoxifen discovered…
~1977
Tamoxifen is a __________ that must be metabolized to ____________
prodrug; 4-OH-TAM
Tamoxifen characteristics
- SERM
- Complex pharmacologic actions – both agonist and antagonist activities
- CYP2D6 converts tamoxifen to high-affinity hydroxylated and demethylated metabolites
- Binding to estrogen receptor inhibits both translocation and DNA binding
- Blocks estrogen-dependent breast cancer cell proliferation
- Estrogen agonist effects (1. Incidence of endometrial cancer increased 3-fold 2. Preservation of bone density in postmenopausal women)
- Other estrogen antagonist effects (Hot flashes)
- Drug is effective in both pre- and postmenopausal women
Tamoxifen brand
Nolvadex
Tamoxifen estrogen antagonist effects
hot flashes
Tamoxifen primary use
- Primary use is treatment for resected ER+/PR+ breast cancer (3-5 years Rx)
- Also used for the treatment of metastatic ER+/PR+ breast cancer