Chapter 105: Basic Principles of Cancer Chemotherapy Flashcards
what is the second most common cancer in males and females
lung and bronchus cancer
cancer mostly affects people age __-__ in canada
65-74
most common cancers
- tumors of breast, lung, prostate, colon and rectum
- low growth fraction and responds poorly to drugs
rarer cancers
- lymphocytic leukemia, hodgkin’s disease, certain testicular cancers
- high growth fraction and respond well to drugs
cancer
unregulated cellular proliferation
cancer treatments
- surgerys
- radiation
- drug therapy
what are the 4 drug classes
- cytotoxic agents
- hormones and hormone antagonists
- biologic response modifiers
- targeted drugs
what drug class is most often used
cytotoxic agents
persistant proliferation
- unrestrained growth and division
- do not grow more rapidly than normal cells
invasive growth
tissue penetration
formation of metastases
secondary tumors away from site or orgin
immortality
endless cell dividion
malignant transformation results form
a combination of activating oncogenes (cancer-causing genes) and inactivating tumor suppressor genes (prevent replication of cells that have become cancerous)
what are the 3 stages of malignant transformation
- initiation
- promotion
- progression
Chemotherapy drugs are more toxic to tissues with ___________
high growth fraction
human structures with high growth factor
- bone marrow
- skin
- hair follicles
- sperm
- GI tract
cure requires
100% cell kill
obstacles to successful chemotherapy
- drugs lack selective toxicity
- host defenses contribute to little cell kill (body doesnt recognize cancer cells)
- cure requires 100% cell kill
- absense of early detection
- solid tumors respond poorly
- drug resistance
- heterogeneity of tumor cells (mutations)
benefits of intermittent chemotherapy
allows normal cells to regrow between sessions
myelosupression (bone marrow supression)
reduces the number of circulating neutriophils, platelets and erythrocytes
consequences of myelosuppression
- infection (loss of neutrophils)
- bleeding/thrombocytopenia (loss of platelets)
- anemia (loss of erythrocytes)
considerations in patient care with thrombocytopenia
- use caution when preforming procedures that might promote bleeding
- avoid IM injections
- caution with BP cuffs
toxicities of cancer chemotherapy in the digestive tract
- stomatitis
- diarrhea
- nausea and vomiting
stomatitis
inflammation of the oral mucosa
stomatitis management
- good oral hygiene, bland diet, medicated mouthwash
regimine of choice for nausea and vomiting
combination of Aprepitant [Emend] dexamethasone and a serotonin antagonist such as ondansetron [Zofran]
daunorubicin can cause
serious damage to the heart
cisplatin can cause
injury to the kidneys
vincristine can cause
injury to the peripheral nerves
what scale can we use to determine if treatment is effective
Karnofsky performace scale
