Medical techonolgies Flashcards
What are some examples of types of medical technologies we studied?
Therapeutic Cloning
Surgery
Chemotherapy
Radiation Therapy
Biophotonics
Biolopsy
What is a liquid biopsy, and how does it work?
A liquid biopsy is a blood test that detects cancerous tumors. As a tumor grows, pieces can break off and circulate in your bloodstream. A liquid biopsy can identify those pieces.
What exactly can a biospy detect?
Biospys can detect:
Circulating tumor cells (CTCs): A CTC is a cancer cell from the tumor that’s traveling in your bloodstream.
Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA): ctDNA is a DNA fragment from the tumor cell circulating in your blood.
What are the pros of a biopsy?
Accurate Diagnosis: Biopsies provide a definitive way to determine if a suspicious area is cancerous or if other conditions are present, which is more accurate than imaging tests alone.
Monitoring Disease Progression: Biopsies can be used to monitor a condition’s progression or assess the effectiveness of treatment.
Identifying specific conditions: A Biopsy can identify the type of infection or the type of tumor.
What are the cons of a biopsy?
Invasive Procedure: Biopsies can involve some degree of invasiveness, depending on the type of biopsy, potentially causing discomfort or requiring anesthesia.
Risk of Infection: As with any procedure that penetrates the skin, there’s a small risk of infection at the biopsy site.
Possible side effects: Temporary pain, bruising, bleeding, swelling, and in some cases, infection or scarring at the biopsy site
Results are often available within a few days. But this is difficult to predict, because further tests may be needed after the first examination of the sample.
What is Therapeutic Cloning?
If an adult wants to create his/her own
embryonic stem cells…
– A nucleus is removed from one of his/her cells.
– The nucleus is put into an egg cell, which begins
to divide, forming an embryo
– The ES cells are removed, destroying the embryo.
What are the pros of therapeutic cloning?
Stem cells may be able to replace damaged cells in the body
Today: lymphoma, leukemia
Future? Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, diabetes…
Promising animal studies
What are the cons of therapeutic Cloning?
Harvesting ES cells destroys the blastocyst, which had
the potential to become a human, and is often seen as murder.
Research on therapeutic cloning is often strictly regulated in countries like Canada and the United States.
What is chemotherapy?
Chemotherapy is a drug treatment that uses powerful chemicals to kill fast-growing cells in your body.
Chemotherapy is most often used to treat cancer since cancer cells grow and multiply much more quickly than most cells in the body.
What are the pros of chemotherapy?
- Can control the growth and spread of the cancer
- Could bring relief for cancer symptoms
- Chemo can reach and kill cancer cells growing in different parts of your body.
- Can be administered in multiple ways: a pill or liquid, Via injections in muscle or under skin, Applied to your skin
What are the cons of chemotherapy?
The most common side effects include:
Changes in memory and concentration (chemo brain)
Fatigue
Pain
Nausea and vomiting
Diarrhea and/or constipation
Lack of appetite
Infections due to low blood cell counts
Mouth and throat inflammation and sores
Reproductive and sex issues
Chemotherapy can be very fatiguing and in some rare cases worsen the patient’s condition (assuming they hurt the body more than the cancer)
What are the pros of Radiation Therapy?
The benefits of using radiation to treat cancer include:
Highly effective at killing the majority of cancer cells inside a tumor.
It may be the only treatment needed for small tumors, early-stage cancers, and isolated cancer cells that surgery could not detect.
Shrinks tumors to make surgical removal more effective, and it makes surgery possible for formerly inoperable tumors.
High level of patient safety and a very painless procedure.
When combined with other treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation becomes more successful and makes chemotherapy more successful than either method is when used alone.
Radiation may stimulate the body to develop an immune response to the tumor.
What is Radiation Therapy? What kind of radiation do they usually use?
Radiation therapy, also called radiotherapy, is a type of cancer treatment. This treatment uses beams of intense energy to kill cancer cells.
Radiation therapy most often uses X-rays. But other types of radiation therapy exist, including proton radiation.
What are the cons of Radiation Therapy?
Surrounding healthy tissue or organs can be damaged, depending on their location relative to the tumor. This is usually what leads to side effects.
Radiation therapy can only be used on tumors that are visible on a CT image. Sometimes, a PET scan will show spots where cancer is developing but is not yet visible. Those will usually be treated with a systemic drug like chemotherapy.
Lower effectiveness in killing all cancer cells in large tumors.
Radiation is less effective in killing cancer cells in areas with poor blood supply because it reduces oxygen to the tumor area.
Not an option if the patient has previously had radiation to the same area or has certain disorders.
It can have many side effects (depending on the location of the cancer): Fatigue, Changes in the skin over the treatment area (soreness, redness, or peeling), nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dry mouth, sore throat, cough, breathing difficulties, swallowing problems, or hair loss over the treatment area
The development of a second cancer is rare, but the risk is higher for older people or those with specific types of cancer.
What is Biophotonics?
Biophotonics uses light-based technologies to diagnose and treat cancer, including:
- Photodynamic Therapy (PDT): Light-activated drugs kill cancer cells.
- Fluorescence-Guided Surgery: Highlights tumors for precise removal.
- Laser Ablation: Uses lasers to destroy cancer cells.
- Optical Imaging: Detects cancer early with light-based imaging.
What are the pros of Biophotonics?
Minimally Invasive – Less damage than surgery.
Targeted Treatment – Focuses on cancer cells, sparing healthy tissue.
Fewer Side Effects – Milder than chemo or radiation.
Precision & Early Detection – Improves diagnosis and accuracy.
Faster Recovery – Less tissue damage speeds healing.
What are the cons of Biophotonics?
Limited Depth – Light doesn’t penetrate deep tumors.
Photosensitivity – PDT can make skin/eyes sensitive.
Costly & Less Accessible – Requires specialized tech.
Not for All Cancers – Some tumors don’t absorb drugs well.
Multiple Sessions are Needed – Some treatments aren’t one-time.
What kind of cancers does biophotonics show promise in diagnosing/treating?
Biophotonics is promising but best for early or surface-level cancers.
