Week 11 Integrated case Flashcards
Which tumour suppressor genes and growth factor receptors are frequently involved in cancer and breast cancer respectively?
p53/Rb (in cancer) and HER-2 (in breast cancer) respectively
How does cancer develop? How can a cell escape cell cycle control?
Mutations in tumour suppressor genes and oncogenes can cause a cell to bypass the checkpoint control
What normally happens when DNA damage is detected in a cell?
- Cell cycle arrest
- Damage repair attempt
- Apoptosis
What characteristics do cancer cells have?
- Evade growth suppressors
- Activate invasion and metastasis
- Enable replicative immortality
- Induce angiogenesis
- Resist cell death
- Sustain proliferative signaling
What is the difference between malignant and benign tumors?
Benign tumors: not invasive, contained at a particular site
Malignant tumors: invasive, can spread to other organs
The patient asks the doctor what does stage 3 mean in cancer?
How far has the cancer spread: the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes or to the skin or the chest wall.
What is HER-2 positive breast cancer?
The EGFR-2 (HER-2) has been amplified and hence overexpressed in this type of breast cancer
What is the mode of action of Herceptin?
Monoclonal antibody that binds to the EGFR-2 => inhibits the binding of EGF and stimulation of cell proliferation
Can you explain the side effects of chemotherapy?
Cells with high mitotic activity are affected leading to nausea due to gastric epithelial cells being affected and hair loss due to hair follicle epithelial cells being affected
Which cell types according to their cell division potential would be mostly affected and are related to these side effects?
Cells with high mitotic activity such as hair follicle cells, gastric epithelial cells etc
What are the side effects of radiotherapy?
Skin reactions, swelling of the breast, pain in the breast or chest area, hair loss in the armpit, sore throat, tiredness and fatigue, lymphoedema, change in breast shape, size and colour, also immunosuppression due to wbc can’t replicate
What type of receptors are estrogen receptors?
Steroid receptors which are intracellular (cytoplasmic) receptors
What is the mode of action of tamoxifen and what type of cancer is it given for?
Tamoxifen is an anti-estrogen which is given to patients with ER+ breast cancer. It is an estrogen receptor antagonist that works by inhibiting estradiol binding to the estrogen receptors.
