Treatment for Neoplasia Flashcards
What is treatment done to achieve?
- Cure -> eradicate the tumor
- Control -> Control malignancy or growth
- Palliative -> Make pt. comfortable and as functional as possible
What are the 6 treatment options?
- Radiation
- Chemotherapy
- Surgery
- Hormonal Therapy
- Immunotherapy
- Combination therapy
In a nutshell, what does radiation therapy do?
Kills of the malignant cells by bombarding chemicals into those cells.
What is the aim of radiation therapy?
Cure/Control (kill malignant cells)
How does radiation therapy achieve necrosis?
By bombarding the chemicals in the malignant cells with radiation and from free radicals that cause cell death.
What is the function of these free radicals?
It interferes with DNA, proteins & membranes (kills cells preventing them from replicating) and causes oxidation of cell structures & nuclear + mitochondrial DNA
What does radiation therapy disrupt?
It disrupts cell DNA (made of chemicals eg. nitrogenous bases) and break up genetic molecules -> cells cannot regulate function because bonds in DNA are broken -> cell death.
What is the challenge in radiation?
Focusing radiation on cancer cells and not own cells.
What may the outcome of radiation be to the tumor?
It may shrink or debunk a tumor.
In a nutshell, what does Chemotherapy do?
Prevents cancer cells from dividing.
What intervention is used for chemotherapy?
Pharmacological - injecting drugs intravenously, intramuscularly, or taken PO in capsules, pills, or liquids.
What do the pharmacological drugs target in chemotherapy?
Rapidly growing cells in the body
What can the pharmacological drugs “accidentally” target in chemotherapy?
Other rapidly growing cells such as cells in the bone marrow, digestive system, & hair follicles
If chemotherapy accidentally targets its own cells, what are some side effects that can arise?
Impaired immune function, nausea, & hair loss.
What is the main function of chemotherapy?
It targets cell division and growth.
How does chemotherapy inhibit cell division of cancer cells?
By targeting enzymes to disrupt cellular processes and it inhibits DNA, RNA, and protein synthesis
- It withdraws essential components for survival of cancer cells.
What is the challenge of chemotherapy?
Focusing on cancer cells
What is the function of surgery in chemotherapy?
Excising the tumor
What is surgery often followed by?
Radiation or chemotherapy
Why are other treatment options typically followed by surgery in chemotherapy?
Because surgery removes as much of the tumor as possible and then uses other therapy treatments to target any cancer cells that managed to survive = combination therapy
What kind of cancer is surgery most effective for?
Skin cancer
What is immunotherapy?
Inducing, enhancing, or suppressing an IR
What does immunotherapy use?
Cytokines, antibodies, and antigens
How does immunotherapy work?
You culture immune cells in the lab and inject them into the body (produce activated cytotoxic T cells that are ready to fight)
In a nut shell, what occurs in hormonal therapy?
Tumors depends on certain hormones so remove the hormone
Ex. What would you administer if a tumor was dependent on estrogen?
Administer testosterone because testosterone has the opposite effect of estrogen
What do you treat hormonal therapy with?
Drugs that are hormones or hormone antagonists
What would you administer if a tumor was dependent on estrogen?
Administer testosterone which has the opposite effect of estrogen
In hormonal therapy, what do you treat the patient with?
Drugs that are hormones or are hormone antagonists.
What is combination therapy?
When you combine 2 or more (often 3) of the above therapies.
What are some common combination therapies used?
- Radiation + immunotherapy
2. Surgery + Chemotherapy + Radiation
What can you do to limit side effects in combination therapy?
You can use each treatment in a lower dose.
What are some common problems with cancer therapy?
- difficult to restrict to only malignant cells (targets normal cells as well)
- normal rapidly proliferating cells are killed
- Recurrence of growth
