Chemotherapy/ Personalised Medicine Flashcards
What therapy is typically used for breast cancer?
Hormone therapy
What is thyroid cancer sensitive to?
Radioactive Iodine
What is photodynamic therapy?
Using light to active anti-cancer drugs when they are applied topically in regards to skin cancer
Why is chemotherapy given?
To cure cancer To increase the success of other treatments e.g. surgery for ovarian patients Reduce risk of recurrence Treat metastatic disease Palliative setting to relieve symptoms
Give an example of when chemotherapy is used for maintenance?
In breast cancer
Use of Tamoxifen
Can be taken for 5 years after surgery
Relatively non-toxic
Name some curable cancers
Teratoma Seminoma Highgrade non-hodgkin's lymphoma Wilm's tumour Myeloma
Name some cancers with a clear survival benefit
colorectal cancer Small cell lung cancer Oesphageal cancer Ovarian cancer Breast cancer Cervical cancer Low-grad lymphoma Non-small cell lung cancer
Name some cancer with a modest survival benefit
Pancreatic cancer Gastric cancer Hepatoma Sarcoma Bladder cancer Primary brain cancer Nasopharyngeal cancer
Name some cancers with no survival gain from chemotherapy
Melanoma
Renal Cancer
Cholangiocarcinoma
What does melanoma respond to?
Immunotherapies
What was the first chemotherapy drugs derived from?
Mustard gas
How do antimetabolites work?
They look similar to DNA bases, the body recognises them as a subtle change to DNA modification of the DNA bases so can be taken up and since something is missing, it blocks transcription
How many patients typically receive an inadequate chemotherapy dose?
~30%
How many patients receive a chemotherapy dose which is too high?
~10%
What calculation is used to determine the dose of drug given to a patient?
Body surface area calculation
Common side effects of chemotherapy
myelosuppression (decreased production of blood cells)
Immunosuppression
Anaemia
Mucositis (inflammation of the lining of the GI tract)
Alopecia (hair loss)
Fatigue
Why does chemotherapy cause these side effects?
It targets highly proliferating cells
What are the routes for administration of chemotherapy?
IV
Oral
Topical