Platinum Compound Chemotherapy Flashcards
How is cisplatin activated?
Intracellularly by displacement of the 2 Cl- by water molecules (aquation)
How does aquation activate cisplatin?
Makes it a potent electrophile
What does the activated cisplatin then do?
Covalently binds to DNA to form DNA adducts
What do DNA adducts cause?
Distortion of the DNA
What does DNA distortion cause?
Impaired replication and transcription
In which 2 cancers is cisplatin especially effective?
Ovarian and testicular
Where is cisplatin especially toxic to?
- Kidneys
- GI tract
How is the nephrotoxicity combatted in cisplatin use?
With aggressive pre-hydration techniques
How does carboplatin compare to cisplatin?
Carboplatin is less toxic with similar ant-cancer activity
What is a dose-limiting side effect for carboplatin?
Thrombocytopenia
Can tumour cells be intrinsicly resistant to cisplatin?
Yes
Which cancer can be hypersensitive to cisplatin?
Testicular cancer
What 2 problems lead to intrisic resistance to cisplatin?
- Failure of enough platinum to reach the DNA
2. Failure to achieve cell death after adduct formation
What 3 resistance phenotypes can tumour cells have?
- Altered drug uptake
- DNA damage recognition and repair upregulated
- Altered apoptosis pathways
What can influence the uptake of cisplatin into a cell?
- [K+]
- [Na+]
- pH
- Presence of reducing agents