Treatment of haematological malignancies Flashcards
What is cancer?
A disease of uncontrolled cell division
Thus, targeting cell division is important in systemic treatments
What are ways we can kill cancer?
Induce DNA damage to kill cancer cells
Induce mitotic arrest to kill cancer cells
What are examples of anti metabolite chemotherapy?
Methotrecate
False substrates
What are examples of cytotoxic antibiotics?
anthracyclines
What are examples of mitotic spindle poisons?
Vinca alkaloids
Vincristine
Vinblastine
What are examples of alkylating agents?
Cyclophosphamide
Chlorambucil
Melphalan
What chemotherapies impair DNA structure and health?
Anti-metabolites
Cytotoxic antibiotics
What chemotherapies target M phase?
Mitotic spindle poisons
What chemotherapies impair DNA structure and covalently adducts with DNA?
Alkylating agents
What are a side effect of anthracyclines?
Cardiomyopathy
What are side effects of vinca alkaloids?
Neuropathy
What are side effects of alkylating agents?
Infertility
Secondary malignancy
What are sources of stem cells for transplantation?
Tissue source - mobilised blood versus bone marrow
Patient source - autologous, allogenic (sibling, unrelated)
What is TP53 mutant disease?
Loss of the checkpoint regulator TP53 means that DNA damage is not sensed and cell cycle arrest and / or apoptosis is not initiated
e.g. mutant TP53 CLL has poor prognosis with chemotherapy based treatment
Mutant TP53 AML has a dismal prognosis
Why are steroids important with chemotherapy?
Powerful role in lymphoid malignancies - ALL, lymphomas
