Therapeutic options in cancer Flashcards
State some therapeutic options in cancer.
Diet and environment
Screening
Genetics
Chemo-prevention
Treatment
Compare local and systemic treatment therapy in cancer.
Local (regional) treatment - surgery, radiotherapy - etc.
Systemic treatment - hormonal treatment, chemotherapy, biological therapy, immunotherapy, CAR - T cell therapy etc.
State the requirements for treatment as a therapeutic option in cancer.
Location of the cancer must be known - found by examination and by use of radiology / imaging.
Type of cancer must be known - pathology / cytology.
Describe the requirements of local therapies of cancer.
Surgery - needs anatomical clearance.
Radiotherapy - needs anatomical coverage
(can make inoperable cancers, operable) - can maintain function
Describe the principles of radiotherapy.
5 R’s of radiobiology.
Radiosensitivity
Repair
Re-population
R-oxygenation
Re-assortment
NOTE:
Can be combined with chemotherapy (systemic)
Important role in palliation
Describe systemic treatment
Beneficial for widespread disease - but can result in widespread toxicity.
Targeted agents now used in mixture with chemotherapy.
Targeted agents have potential to be specific - hormone therapy, can target a tumour mutation.
Describe targeted therapies in cancer.
‘Specific’, based on molecular science.
- Intracellular growth control points.
Describe ‘non-specific’ immune therapy.
This is innate (involving macrophages/NK cells).
Programmed cell death pathway uses the immune system to attack the ‘foreign’ cancer cells.
Describe ‘specific’ immune therapies in cancer.
These use monoclonal antibodies (e.g. HER-2 in breast and gastric cancer).
Use chimeric antigen receptors (CAR) T-cells.
Describe how chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cells aid in (specific) immune therapies.
Artificial T-cell receptors, using retroviral vectors to give a specific cell killing function directed against cancer cells.
