Chemotherapy Overview Lecture

Flashcards covering key concepts and vocabulary related to chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy

A type of cancer drug treatment that is systemic.

Alkylating agents

Chemicals that transfer alkyl groups to DNA and can damage DNA in any phase of the cell cycle.

Antimetabolites

Drugs that interfere with DNA synthesis by mimicking nucleotide structures.

Topoisomerase inhibitors

Drugs that cause DNA breaks during replication by stabilizing the topoisomerase-DNA complex.

Antimicrotubule agents

Chemotherapy drugs that affect the dynamics of microtubules in cell division.

Apoptosis

Programmed cell death which may be triggered in cancer cells following chemotherapy.

Systemic therapy

Treatment that affects the whole body, as opposed to local therapy.

Toxicity of chemotherapy

Adverse effects, including hair loss, gastrointestinal damage, and bone marrow suppression.

Drug resistance mechanisms

Ways in which cancer cells can evade the effects of chemotherapy drugs.

Cisplatin

A platinum-based chemotherapy agent, acting similarly to alkylating agents.