Lecture 39 Anticancer therapies radiation and drugs for cancer Flashcards
What are the key properties of a cancer cell?
- they reproduce without regard to normal restraints on cell growth and cell division
- they invade and colonize areas normally reserved for other cells
Do all cancer cells metastasize?
- no
When are tumors considered benign?
- if the neoplastic cells do not become invasive
When are tumors considered malignant?
- if it acquires ability to invade surrounding tissue
What is a consequence of malignant tumors invasiveness?
- they produce cells that break out of their primary site and form secondary tumors at other sites
What are the sites where secondary tumors are formed?
- metastases
Is a single mutation enough to cause cancer?
- no
What are potential risk factors for cancer?
- radiation exposure
- UV light from the sun
- chemicals (carcinogens)
- life-style (smoking, certain diets)
- Viruses (EBV, HIV, HPV)
Where are the most common cancers of epithelia?
- reproductive tract
Why does the risk of cancer increase with age?
- the longer you live the more likely you are to develop a second hit or exposed to a cancer causing environment
If you are exposed to 2-naphthylamine more than 5 years what happens?
- onset of cancer was earlier
- and risk increases
Duration of exposure does what?
- increases risk and influences time of onset
What is p53 key in?
- a key mechanism in the cellular response to DNA damage
If DNA damage is a critical determinant of progression to next stage, what protein is involved?
- p53 involved
What does Mdm2 lead to?
- p53 being ubiquinated and degraded
What happens after DNA damage in cell cycle?
- DNA damage
- Phosphorylation
- Mdm2 removed
- P53 binds to p21 (Cdk inhibitor)
- Cdk inhibitor translated and shuts down G1/s-cdk and S-cdk
What is p21?
- a cdk inhibitor that is translated once p53 binds to its transcription factors
What happens is p53 doesnt function properly?
- wont have brake that happens when there is DNA damage
What is p53?
- tumor suppressor
What is the basic strategy for cancer treatment drugs?
- to induce so much damage to tumor cells via DNA damage that they cant divide
What are the side effects of cancer treatment drugs?
- they can have the same effects on non cancer cells
What is external beam therapy?
- uses a machine to send high energy beams from outside the body to the tumor area
What is internal radiation therapy?
- radioisotope given internally, radiation generally only travels a short distance depending upon the isotope and its energy
What treats thyroid tumors?
- iodine therapy
internal radiation therapy
How does photon therapy work?
- works either by direct ionization of atoms in the DNA chain or indirectly by ionization of water to form hydroxyl radicals that can then damage DNA
What does charge particle or proton therapy do?
- uses a particle accelerator to beam high-energy particles (protons or carbon, boron or neon nuclei)
What is an advantage of proton therapy?
- better ability to precisely localize the radiation dosage and less damage to surrounding healthy tissue
How does doxorubicin work?
- doxorubicin intercalates between base pairs in the DNA helix, thereby preventing DNA replication and ultimately inhibiting protein synthesis
What is another way doxorubicin works?
- forms oxygen free radicals resulting in secondary cytotoxicity
What does bleomycin do?
- forms complexes with iron that reduce molecular oxygen to superoxide and hydroxyl radicals which cause single and double stranded breaks in DNA
How does cisplatin work?
- inorganic platinum agent
- forms highly reactive platinum complexes which bind to nucleophilic groups such as GC-rich sites in DNA
- inducing intrastrand DNA cross links as wells as DNA protein cross links
- these cross links result in apoptosis and cell growth inhibition