cancer chemotherapy

Question 1

why must be chemo be given over a long period and is high quantities?

Answer 1

in a normal dividing cell population the cells are not all undergoing mitosis at the same time so the drug will only attack a sub-population of cancer cells
aiming to reduce the risk of relapse as a result of resting cells having avoided treatment

Question 2

name the main classes of chemo drugs

Answer 2

alkylating agents 
anti-metabolites 
cytotoxic antibiotics 
microtubule inhibitors
steroid hormone antagonists

Question 3

how do the alkylating agents work?

Answer 3

form covalent bonds within DNA, interfering with both transcription and replication as polymerase is unable to function properly

Question 4

name some examples of alkylating agents

Answer 4

cisplatin, cyclophophamide

Question 5

how do antimetabolite drugs work?

Answer 5

interfere with nucleotide synthesis or DNA synthesis

Question 6

give examples of anti-metabolite cancer drugs

Answer 6

methotrexate, 5-flurouracil, cytarabine

Question 7

how do the cytotoxic antibiotics work as chemo drugs?

Answer 7

direct action on DNA as intercalators

Question 8

give examples of cytotoxic antibiotics

Answer 8

dactinomycin, doxyrubicin

Question 9

name the microtubule inhibitor and how it works

Answer 9

vinca alklaloids
binds to microtubular protein, disrupting tubulin polymerisation. This means that spindles cannot form properly and normal cell division cannot occur

Question 10

in what sort of cancers would you use prednisone ?

Answer 10

lymphocytic cancers typically respond well.

Question 11

which hormone anatgonist is used in prostate cancer ?

Answer 11

bicalutamide - testosterone receptor antagonist

Question 12

which hormone receptor antagonist is used in breast cancer

Answer 12

tamoxifen