Cancer Chemotherapy Flashcards
(29 cards)
What is cancer
group of more than 100 diseases that develop across time
Where can cancer develop
any body tissues
-categorized by organ origin or original cell type
What causes cancer development
-hereditary and environmental factors
-uncontrolled/rapid cell growth
-invasion to surrounding tissues
Metastasis
cancer spreading to other tissues or organs through the blood or lymphatic system
Benign Tumors
- Grow slow and distinct borders
- Don’t invade surrounding tissues
- Don’t invade other parts of the body
- non-invasive/non-metastatic/non-cancerous
Malignant Tumors
- Grow quickly and have irregular borders
- Often invade surrounding tissues
- Can spread to other body parts through metastasis
- Cancerous
Neoplasm
Mass of new cell, tumor
Tumor
group of rapidly dividing cells
Primary lesion
original site of growth
Metastasis
Secondary lesion, traveled to new remote part of the body
What does chemotherapy do
-Kill cancer cells
Chemotherapy affects cell division and growth not:
-loss of function
-invasiveness
-metastasis
Chemotherapy therapeutic index is
very narrow between toxic and therapeutic effect
Drugs working in combination
work better then single drug therapy
Cytotoxic drug groups
-Alkylating agents and platinum compounds
-Antimetabolite drugs
-Antitumor antibiotics
Alkylating agents and platinum compounds
-Drug forms chemical bond to DNA
-Prevents DNA replication and causes of death
Antimetabolite drugs
Prevent synthesis of metabolites required for growth
Antitumor antibiotics
distort DNA structure
Cancer drugs are harmful to
-all rapidly dividing cells
-cancerous cells
Cancer drugs harm which healthy cells
- Hair follicles
- GI tract cells
- Bone marrow cells
Adverse effects of cancer drugs
-Severe vomiting and nausea
-Diarrhea and oral ulcers
-Bone marrow suppression
-Dose-limiting adverse effects
-Drug resistance
Bone marrow suppression
-Infection risk
-Bleeding risk
-Anemia
Dose limiting adverse effects
may prevent drug from being administered in high enough doses to kill cancer
Drug resistance can be avoided with
Usage of multiple drug therapies and increase effectiveness