Chemotherapy Flashcards
When is the only time a tumour can be removed by surgery?
When the tumour is local
If the cancer is not local, what type of treatment is required?
Systematic therapy
Chemotherapy is absorbed into what?
The bloodstream
How is chemotherapy given?
Orally
IV route
Name a time when neoadjuvant chemotherapy would be required?
If the tumour was too big to operate on and its size needed to be reduced
What are the 4 main classes of cytotoxic agents?
Alkylating agents
Anti-metabolites
Mitotic inhibitors
Antibiotics
Give an example of a alkylating agent
Cisplatin
There are others
What does an alkylating agent drug attach to?
Free guanines on separated DNA strands
Give an example of an antimetabolite
Methotrexate
there are others
What do anti-metabolites have a similar structure to?
Essential metabolites required by cell prior to cell division
What does methotrexate stop the production of?
Purine nucleotides
Give an example of a mitotic inhibitor?
Taxoids
there are others
What do vinca alkaloids block?
Microtubule and spindle formation
What do taxanes do?
Promote assembly of spindle fibres but prevent them from dissembling
Give an example of a cytotoxic antiobiotic?
Plicamycin
