Exam 4 - OTC/Herbal and Cancer Flashcards
What are the roles of the FDA and the FTC in regulating OTC/herbal supplements?
FDA: reviews claims, makes recommendations. Deems OTC drugs safe and effective. Herbal supplements not regulated unless deemed unsafe.
FTC: oversees advertising
Differentiate prescription, OTC, and “behind the counter” drugs.
Prescription - must have a physicians order, regulated by FDA
OTC - freely available, low harm/abuse profile - not “safe”
Behind-the-counter - Sold in pharmacies, must be obtained from a pharmacist. (Pseudoephedirine, insulin - in some states)
What is GRASE?
Active pharmaceutical ingredient in OTC drugs can be Generally Recognized as Safe and Effective
What are the puported benefits of echinacea?
Improvement in cold symptoms like rhinovirus by increasing WBC and cytokines. Inhibits COX enzymes.
What are the puported benefits of garlic?
- HMG-CoA Reductase inhibition (not significant)
- antiplatelet, antimicrobial, antineoplastic (minimal supporting data)
What are the puported benefits of ginkgo?
Increased blood flow, free radial scavenger, increased CNS receptors, decreased fibril formation
What are the puported benefits of St. John’s Wort?
Antidepressant, increases CYP450, should not be taken with MAOI’s or SSRI’s
List the purported benefits of ginseng, milk thistle, saw palmetto, kombucha, kava kava, aloe, and black cohosh.
What are the benefits and uses of vitamins and minerals?
They are primarily beneficial for people who have a vitamin or mineral deficency. In the US, we are not generally deficent in any one except maybe Vitamin D.
Differentiate cancer, neoplasia, and tumor.
Cancer - malignant neoplasm or tumor
Neoplasia - abnormal growth of tissue
Tumor - non-specific term for lump or swelling, often used interchangably with neoplasm.
What are the 3 traditional cancer treatments?
Surgery, radiation, chemotherapy
Define Primary, Adjuvant, and Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy.
- Primary - chemotherapy, limit spread
- Neoadjuvant - surgery primary treatment, chemo used pre and post surgery to reduce tumor size
- Adjuvant - Surgery and chemo used equally, goal is disease free survival
What are general chemotherapy toxicities?
N/V, bone marrow depression, alopecia, impotence, spontaneous abortion, immunosuppression, hazard to staff
Explain the difference between cell-cycle specific and non-specific drugs.
- Cell cycle specific – act against specific proteins involved in cell cycle progression
- Cell cycle nonspecific – effect not reliant on cell cycle progression
What is the MOA of alkylating agents and drug examples?
Alkylates DNA causing cross linkage, abnormal base pairing, and DNA strand breakage lead to decreased cell proliferation.
Cyclophosphamide, chlorambucil
