Antineoplastics: General Concepts Flashcards
What is the primary feature of cancer?
cancer alters DNA - either genetic or epigenetic
a typical definition of a “cure” is what?
5 years of disease-free survival
What is differential sensitivity in chemotherapy?
It’s the goal of eradicating the cancer cells WITHOUT affecting normal tissue
What are the 5 processes targeted by antineoplastic drugs?
- rapid cell growth (cytotoic drugs0
- angiogenesis/metastasis
- lack of differentiation - make them differentiate
- cell surface markers/lack of immune response
- defective gene products
Do we ahve drugs that correct th eunderlying defect for cancer?
No - we can’t fix the genetics yet
What are some cells affected by cytotoxic drugs?
- cancer cells
- bone marrow
- GI mucosa
- hai follicles
- taste buds
- cells that were previously irradiated
- fetus
What’s the dose-limiting side effect of the cytotoxic drugs?
bone marrow suppression - that’s why we give the drugs in cycles
IN order to reduce the impact of the recovery/resistance problems, what are three key principles of antineoplastic drug therapies?
- use high doses and dose escalation
- minimize recovery interval
- employ sequential scheduling during combination chemotherapy
Which will be less effetive at treating cancers with lowg rowth fractions: cell cycle specific or cell cycle nonspecific?
cell cycle specific - since they wont work on cells in G0
What are the two main classes of CCS drugs? What phases do they affect?
- plant alkaloids: G2-M
2. DNA synthesis inhibitors: S
Of the CCS and CCNS drugs, which is schedule dependent and which is dose dependent?
CCS - schedule dependent
CCNS - dose dependent
(sort of common sense)
What does the cell kill hypothesis propose?
that actions of CCS drugs follow first order kinetics - so a given dose kills a constant PROPORTION of a tumor cell opoulation rather than a constant number of cells (works best for leukemias and lymphomas)
Can you stop treatment when symptoms resolve?
no! - you have to continue past the time when cancer cells can even be detected using conventional techniques
What are some factors of the cancer itself that will affect outcome?
- growth fraction (% not in G0)
- doubling time
- type
- stage
- resistance
What are some patient factors that will affect outcome?
- overall health - karnofsky scale
- bone marrow capacity
- liver function
- kidney function
- age
- compliance