Targeted Therapies Flashcards
What is personalized medicine?
Development and use of targeted therapy specifically in individuals known to have the mutation
Hormone treatments are used in which cancers? (5)
- Breast
- Endometrial
- Ovarian
- Uterine sarcomas
- Prostate
What are the major breast cancer hormonal treatment drugs to know? (5)
- Tamoxifen
- Aromatase Inhibitors
- Anastrozole
- Exemestane
- Letrozole - Goserelin acetate (Zoladex) - GnRH agonist
What class is Tamoxifen?
How does it act in breast tissue and endometrium? (2)
- Tamoxifen is a Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulator (SERM)
- Estrogen antagonist in breast tissue
- Estrogen agonist in endometrium
What is the MOA of Tamoxifen? (4)
- Estrogen enters the cell and binds to an estrogen receptor
- The receptor binds to DNA which triggers cell proliferation
- Tamoxifen enters a cancer cell and binds to estrogen receptors
- When estrogen enters the cell, it can’t bind to the receptors. Cancer cell proliferation is prevented
What are 2 settings in which Tamoxifen is used?
Used in the adjuvant (curative) and metastatic (not curative) settings for hormone receptor (ER or PR) positive breast cancers
What is the dosing of Tamoxifen?
20mg PO once daily
(No indication that going higher is more effective)
How long is Tamoxifen typically used?
5 years - sometimes 10 years when high risk patient
What are we using instead of Tamoxifen in postmenopausal women with breast cancer?
Aromatase inhibitors
(May also be used in premenopause IF ovarian function is suppressed)
What are the side effects of Tamoxifen? (8)
- Flushing, hot flashes!!!!
- Hypertension
- Skin rash
- Fluid retention
- Nausea 5-26% – recommend to take at night to sleep through; should improve as body adjusts
- Mood changes – depression, fatigue
- Arthralgia, arthritis
- Vaginal discharge or dryness
What are the serious side effects of Tamoxifen? (2)
- DVT- PE - stroke
- Uterine cancer
These risks were increased particularly in women on tamoxifen who were 50 years of age or older
What CYP enzymes interact with Tamoxifen?
2D6 and 3A4
What is a drug-drug interaction to be aware of with Tamoxifen?
Anticoagulants - increased risk of bleeds
What is a drug-food interaction to be aware of with Tamoxifen?
Grapefruit juice - inhibits 3A4 which increases Tamoxifen levels
What is the MOA of aromatase inhibitors? (2)
- A potent and selective nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor
- Prevents conversion of androstenedione to estrone and conversion of testosterone to estradiol
AIs are considered treatment of choice for what?
Adjuvant hormonal therapy to lower the risk of breast cancer
recurrence in post-menopausal women with early- stage hormone receptor-positive breast cancer
Name the 3 aromatase inhibitor drugs
- Anastrozole
- Letrozole
- Exemestane
What are the ADEs of aromatase inhibitors? (7)
- Hot flashes and flushing
- Hypertension
- Osteopenia and osteoporosis
- Weakness, arthralgia
- Fatigue
- Less risk for DVT than tamoxifen (≤3%)
- Nausea/Vomiting
Name the GnRH agonist drug
Goserelin acetate
When/how is goserelin acetate used in adjuvant breast cancer treatment?
Used for ovarian function suppression (OFS) for premenopausal women at high risk for a new breast primary (higher risk of recurrence) with hormone receptor positive disease to combine with an aromatase inhibitor rather than tamoxifen alone
When/how is goserelin acetate used in metastatic breast cancer treatment?
Use as a bridge to oophorectomy in premenopausal women
What are the symptoms of prostate cancer? (7)
- Difficulty urinating
- Dribbling after finishing urinating
- Need to urinate often – especially at night
- Pain and blood during urination
- Difficulty having or maintaining erection
- Unplanned weight loss and appetite
- Pain or stiffness in the lower back, hips and pelvis
What are some risk factors for prostate cancer? (4)
- Older age - 65+
- African American higher than Caucasian men
- Family history
- Obesity
What are our treatment options for prostate cancer? (5)
- Watchful waiting – no treatment and physician monitors growth of the cancer with blood tests, rectal exams, biopsies
- Radiation Therapy – external beam RT or internal RT also called brachytherapy
- Radical prostatectomy – surgery to remove the whole prostate gland
- Hormone therapy
- Chemotherapy