L18,19 - Cytotoxic Drugs in the Treatment of Cancer I & II Flashcards
5 features of Cancer cells?
- Uncontrolledcell proliferation
- Decreasedcellular differentiationandloss of‐function
- Evadingimmune destruction/ surveillance
- Abilitytoinvade surroundingtissue
- Metastasis
What is the significance of cancer heterogeneity?
Heterogeneity = many tumour cells with different proliferative mechanisms and cell lines
> > need drugs with different MoA to kill all tumour cells
List 6 modalities of treating cancer?
- Surgery
- RadiationTherapy
- Chemotherapy
- HormonalTherapy
- TargetedTherapy
- Immunotherapy
Explain why tumour growth plateaus up to a certain size?
Decrease nutrient and insufficient space because of limited vascularization (angiogenesis cannot keep up with growth rate)
What are the goals and principles of cancer treatment? exam
Improve survival and QoL
1) Cure: eradicate every neoplastic cell = long-term, disease-free survival
2) Control disease: stop the cancer from enlarging and spreading = extend survival, QoL
3) Palliation: alleviate symptoms, avoid life-threatening toxicity= QoL
Earliest chemotherapy drug?
Injected mustine to treat Hodgkin’s lymphoma (1950s)
Difference between palliative and curative chemotherapy?
Palliative = transient remission, extend survival but eventually deadly
Curative = reduce tumour burden by radiation +/- surgery until micrometastasis is impossible
Difference between neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy?
Neoadjuvant = reduce tumor burden before surgery / radiation
Adjuvant = short course of high-dose drug therapy after radiation / surgery to kill residual cells, prevent recurrence
What chemotherapy strategies are used for relapse/ unresponsive cancers?
Salvage therapy: curative high-dose
What are the 2 typical phases of chemotherapy?
Induction therapy = high dose to induce complete response to start regimen
Maintenance = low-dose, long-term for complete remission/ delay regrowth
List 6 common side effects of chemotherapy?
Affect rapidly dividing cells
- Nauseaandvomiting
- Alopecia(hairloss)
- Fatigue
- Mucositis
- Myelosuppression
- Neurotoxicity
Explain how chemotherapy induces nausea and vomiting?
CNS: directly activate the medullary chemoreceptor trigger zone / vomiting center
GI: Release serotinin > stimulate 5-HT3 in CNS
Drug given to limit nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy?
5‐HT3 receptorblockers: Ondansetron
single dose, long duration of action
Difference between inherited, acquired and multidrug resistance to chemotherapy?
Inherited = intrinsic (i.e. melanoma) Acquired = Tumour mutation against cytotoxicity Multidrug = Amplified gene for efflux pump (P-glycoprotein)
Which chemotherapy drug is highly carcinogenic?
Alkylating agent
> > Treatmentinducedtumors
List 4 advantages of drug combination in chemotherapy.
1) Maximal cell killing within tolerance
2) Kill Wider range of cell lines (heterogeneity)
3) Prevent resistance development
4) Reduce dose of each agent with similar dose-limiting toxicities
Give one example of chemo drug combo.
CHOP = Alkylating agent (cyclophosphamide) Topoisomerase II inhibitor (doxorubicin) Anti-microtubule (vincristine) Prednisone
Define the phases of cell cycle?
G1, S, G2 and M phases
M phase: Prophase Metaphase Anaphase Telophase
Describe the cellular events that occur in Prophase and Metaphase.
Prophase: nucleolus disappears, chromatin condenses, mitotic spindle begins to form
Metaphase: nuclear envelope fragments, spindle is complete, chromosomes are aligned in the center of the cell
Describe the cellular events that occur in Anaphase and Telophase.
Anaphase: chromatids of each chromosome separate, daughter chromosomes move to opposite ends of the cell
Telophase: daughter nuclei form, cytokinesis begins
Classify chemotherapy drugs by cell-cycle specificity and which cancers are targeted?
- Cell-cycle specific = High-growth-fraction malignancies i.e. haematologic cancers
- Cell-cycle non-specific = Both low and high growth fraction malignancies
Give examples of cell-cycle specific chemo drugs?
G0, G1: Hormonal drugs, (paclitaxel)
S: antimetabolites (e.g. 5-fluorouracil, hydroxyurea, azathioprine, Mycophenolate mofetil), Topoisomerase I,II inhibitors (Topotecan, Teoposide), Mitotic inhibitors
G2: Mitotic inhibitors, Taxanes, Bleomycin
M: vinca alkaloids (e.g. vincristine)
Classify chemo drugs based on MoA?
Cytotoxic drugs:
- Alkylating agents
- Antimetabolites
- Cytotoxic antibiotics
- Plant derivatives
Hormones
Miscellaneous
3 classes of chemo drugs that are cell- cycle/ S-phase specific?
- Anti‐metabolites»_space; S phase
- Mitoticinhibitors > Metaphase, Anaphase
- Topoisomeraseinhibitors > S phase
General MoA of anti-metabolites?
Synthetic, stucturally related to endogenous Purine, Pyrimidine, Folates
> > disrupt availability of normal purine / pyrimidine nucleotide precursors
> > disrupt DNA/RNA synthesis
General MoA of mitotic inhibitors?
Affect equilibrium between polymerized and depolymerized microtubules in mitotic spindle in metaphase
> > fail anaphase in mitosis
General MoA of topoisomerase inhibitors?
Inhibit topoisomerases from religating DNA strands after cleavage
> > fail unwinding and winding of DNA
> > fail DNA replication
Distinguish the general MoA between topoisomerase I and II inhibitors?
I = Induces transient DNA single-strand breaks II = induce DNA double-strand breaks