Cancer Chemotherapy (M3) Flashcards
What are some of the environmental carcinogens that can cause cancer?
- substance in tobacco
- azo dyes
- aflotoxins
- asbestos
- benzene
- radon
What are the viruses capable of causing cancer (and what types of cancer for each)?
- HBV and HCV (hepatocellular cancer)
- HIV (lymphoma)
- HPV (cervical cancer)
- EBV (nasopharyngeal cancer, Burkitt’s lymphoma, Hodgkin’s lymphoma)
What are cellular genes that code for specific growth factors and receptors that can cause cancer? 1. What are the ones that inhibit apoptosis? 2
- oncogenes
2. Bcl-2 family
What is the gene that is most commonly mutated in solid tumors?
p53
What percentage of patients diagnosed with cancer can be cured?
50%
What are cancers that primary chemotherapy can be curative?
- Hodgkin’s and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
- acute myelogenous leukemia
- germ cell cancer
- choriocarcinoma
- childhood cancers
What type of cancer is primary chemo mostly used for?
advanced cancer
What overall type of cancer is neoadjuvant chemo mostly used for?
localized cancer
What individual types of cancer is neoadjuvant chemo used for?
- anal or bladder cancer
- gastroesophageal or laryngeal cancer
- non-small cell lung cancer
- osteogenic sarcoma
When is adjuvant therapy used?
after surgery
What is the thought that tumor cells grow at an exponential number so anti-cancer agents kill at a constant fraction?
log-kill hypothesis
What is the model of tumors that says exponential growth is matched by exponential retardation of growth and with large tumors, growth fraction is low and fraction killed is small?
Gompertzian Model of tumor growth and regression
What is the advantage of drugs that target the cell cycle for treatment of cancer?
less “collateral damage” of killing health cells
What cell cycle phase do antimetobolites target?
S phase
What cell cycle phase does epipodophyllotoxin target?
G1-S phase
What cell cycle phase do taxanes target?
M phase
What cell cycle phase do Vinca alkaloids target?
M phase
What cell cycle phase does an antimicrotubule inhibitor target?
M phase
What cell cycle phase do antitumor antibiotics target?
G2-M phase
If a tumor is in linear phase of the dose-response curve, should the treatment be stopped, reduced, or continued?
continued
What are the three approaches to dosage intensity?
- dose escalation
- reduction in interval btw treatment cycle
- sequential scheduling of combination regimens
What is drug resistance in absence of prior exposure to anti-cancer drugs called? 1. What is it due to? 2
- primary resistance
2. genomic instability associated with cancer (p53)
What is the resistance that develops in response to exposure to anti-cancer agents? 1. What is it due to? 2. What is the gene that can often be altered? 3
- acquired resistance
- change in genetic machinery of tumor cell
- MDR1
What is the most common cancer in children?
acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)
