therapeutic options: cancer

Question 1

preventative measures for cancer

Answer 1

• environment/behaviour change
• diet
• screening -genetics
• medication /vaccination

Question 2

treatments of cancer

Answer 2

surgery
radiotherapy
systemic therapy
immunotherapy

Question 3

what type of food stuff probably causes CRC?

Answer 3

red meat

Question 4

what type of food stuff probably causes breast cancer?

Answer 4

saturated fat

Question 5

general advise for reducing cancer risk (diet and lifestyle)

Answer 5

• eat your 5 a day
• exercise 30 mins a day
• avoid obesity

Question 6

cancers screened for

Answer 6

cervical cancer-smeer test
breast cancer- mammography
CRC- faecal occult blood test

Question 7

inherited cancers that families are genetically screened for

Answer 7

familial adenomatous polyposis (causing CRC)

breast cancer caused by BRCA1 and BRCA2

Question 8

local treatments of cancers

Answer 8

• surgery
• radiotherapy
• ablation (freezing, radio-frequency, etc - isolated limb perfusion

Question 9

systemic treatment

Answer 9

• hormonal therapy
• chemotherapy
• immunotherapy
• whole body irradiation (for bone marrow transplants)

Question 10

what is a requirement of surgery in order for it to be successful?

Answer 10

anatomical clearance

Question 11

when is radiotherapy used?

Answer 11

• to shrink a tumour so it becomes operable

- to treat inoberable lesions

Question 12

what does radiotherapy require in order to be successful?

Answer 12

anatomical coverage

Question 13

5 R’s of radiobiology

Answer 13

radiosensitivity
repair
re-population
re-oxygenation
re-assortment

Question 14

repair (5 R’s)

Answer 14

radiation must be given in the correct doses to cause cancer cell damage but limit natural cell death

Question 15

re-assortment (5 R’s)

Answer 15

cancer cells must be targeted in the phase of the cell cycle at which they are most susceptible to radiation damage.

Question 16

re-oxygenation (5 R’s)

Answer 16

cancer cells must be oxygenated so they move through the cell cycle to a stage that will allow them to be killed, if they are stuck in G1 treatment will have no effect

Question 17

re-population (5 R’s)

Answer 17

normal cells need to repopulate areas of dead cancer cells. and these areas can’t be repopulated by more cancer cells.

Question 18

radiosensitivity (5 R’s)

Answer 18

different cells have different responses to radiation

Question 19

when are cytotoxic drugs used?

Answer 19

• for curative treatment
• palliative treatment
• adjuvant treatment (risk of cancer returning)
• neoadjuvant (treatment given to shrink tumour before therapy

Question 20

immunotherapies

Answer 20

• monoclonal antibodies
• innate immune system
• programmed cell death pathway
• CAR T-cell therapy

Question 21

CAR T-cell therapy mechanism

Answer 21

all T-cells removed from body and replaced with T cells that have been modified to be able to detect and destroy cancer cells.