[3] Drugs for Cancer (Start until Chemotherapy, pp. 1-3)

TRUE or FALSE: Cancer is defined as uncontrolled abnormal cell growth.

TRUE

Other term for cancer

Malignant neoplasm

Fill in the blanks: Neoplasm is a group of _____ cells that form a _____

abnormal; mass of tissue

What are the two types of neoplasm?

• Benign

• Malignant

Fill in the blanks:

Benign ___ [is non-cancerous/spreads]

Malignant ___ [is non-cancerous/spreads]

Benign is non-cancerous

Malignant spreads

Differentiate cyst and tumor in terms of appearance

A cyst is an abnormal sac filled with liquid or semisolid matter

A tumor is a mass observed as a lump in the body

TRUE or FALSE: All cysts are benign.

FALSE

Cysts can also be malignant/cancerous.

What is the process done to determine if the cyst or tumor is cancerous/malignant?

Biopsy

What cancer classification is most common?

Carcinoma

Carcinoma is from what type of cell? Give an example of its cancer.

Epithelial cells

Basal cell carcinoma

Sarcoma is from what type of cell? Give an example of its cancer.

Connective tissues

Osteosarcoma

Lymphoma and leukemia are from what type of cell?

Hematopoietic cells

Lymphoma is the cancer of what part of the body?

Lymph nodes

Leukemia is the cancer of what part of the body?

Blood

Germ cell tumor is from what type of cell?

Pluripotent cells

Germ cell tumor in the testicle is called?

Seminoma

Germ cell tumor in the ovary is called?

Dysgerminoma

What is the most common form of cancer in children?

Blastoma

Blastoma is from what type of cell? Give an example of its cancer.

Immature precursor cells or embryonic tissue

Nephroblastoma, retinoblastoma

Why is there no cancer of the heart?

Heart tissue is incapable of cell division.

Match the cancer stages in order (0, I, II, IV) with the description:

A. Early locally advanced

B. Localized

C. Carcinoma in situ

D. Metastasized

C, B, A, D

According to the National Cancer Institute, the TNM system for profiling cancer stands for?

Tumor, Node, Metastasis

T1 - T4 scoring of tumor measures what?

Size and depth

N0 - N3 scoring of node shows what?

If the cancer has reached nearby lymph nodes

Fill in the blanks: In the scoring of cancer metastasis,

___ [M0/M1] means no spread

___ [M0/M1] means it has spread

M0 - no spread

M1 - spread

List the different methods of cancer treatment.

• Surgery

• Radiation therapy

• Hormone therapy

• Stem cell transplant

What are the three goals or actions of chemotherapy?

1. Cure: destroy

2. Control: shrink/stop spread

3. Palliation: shrink/stop spread

These are used in cancer therapy if tumors have large proportions of proliferating cells or cells in growth fraction.

Cell-cycle specific agents

List the types of phase specific cell-cycle specific agents.

• M-phase

• G1

• S

• G2

Give examples of M-phase agents.

• Vincristine

• Vinblastine

Give examples of G1 agents.

• Asparaginase

• Prednisone

Give examples of S agents.

• Methotrexate

• Fludarabine

• Cytarabine

Give examples of G2 agents.

• Bleomycin

• Etoposide

List the types of phase non-specific cell-cycle specific agents.

• Alkylating agents

• Antitumor antibiotics

• Platinum coordination complexes

Give examples of alkylating agents.

• Carmustine

• Busulfan

• Cyclophosphamide

Give examples of antitumor antibiotics.

• Doxorubicin

• Dactinomycin

Give examples of platinum coordination complexes.

• Cisplatin

• Carboplatin

These are used in cancer therapy to kill cancer cells when they are at rest.

Cell-cycle non-specific agents

List the types of cell-cycle non-specific agents.

• Nitrosoureas

• Radiation therapy

Length of chemotherapy treatment depends on these parameters of cancer:

• Type

• Extent

• Drugs given

• Expected toxicities

• Recovery time from toxicity

What method of chemotherapy is implemented to attack cancer cells at vulnerable times, giving the body time to recover afterwards?

Treatment cycles

CA chemo treatment cycle in terms of duration

Minutes, hours, days

CA chemo treatment cycle in terms of frequency

Weekly, bi-weekly, monthly

1 cycle defined in monthly intervals

CA chemo treatment cycle in terms of number of cycles

Determined by research and CTs