Cancer Pt. 2 Flashcards
What is Chemotherapy?
-Use of nonselective cytotoxic drugs that target vital cellular machinery or metabolic pathways critical to both malignant and normal cell growth and replication
What is the Primary Goal of Chemo?
Eliminate enough tumor cells so the body’s defense can eradicate any remaining cells
Forms of Cancer Treatment
- Chemotherapy
- Surgery
- Ionizing radiation
- Targeted Disruption
- Immunotherapy (Vaccines against oncogenic viruses)
Surgery as a form of Cancer Treatment
- To prevent cancer (colon polyps)
- Biopsy for diagnosis and staging
- Lymph node sampling: Sentinel nodes (first node draining cancer)
- **Debulking surgery (removing tumor)
- **Palliative surgery (alleviate symptoms)
Ionizing Radiation as a form of Cancer Treatment
Goals:
- Eradicate cancer without excessive toxicity - Avoid damage to normal structures - -Ionizing radiation damages the cancer cell’s DNA * Ionizing Radiation: (Some have either this or chemo or both) - Does not damage normal cells like chemo but is more targeted to where the cancer is at
True/False
Cancer occurs in genes but two-thirds(2/3) of all cancers are caused by environmental/lifestyle factors interacting with genes
True
What are the most frequently diagnosed types of cancer?
Prostate and Breast Cancer
Genetics, epigenetics, and environmental factors interact to cause cancer
True/False
True
What is Epigenetics?
- It’s a change in genetic expression (phenotype) without DNA mutation (e.g., DNA methylation-silences Tumor suppressor genes)
- Usually involves nutritional factors that silence genes that should be active or activate genes that should be silent
- Epigenetic processes can be influenced by environmental/lifestyle including in utero
Environmental/Lifestyle Factors that Increase the Risk of Cancer
- Tobacco
- Diet/Nutrition
- Obesity
- Alcohol Consumption
- ionizing Radiation
- UV Radiation (i.e. Sun exposure/Tanning Beds)
- Electromagnetic Radiation
- Amt of Physical Activity
- Air Pollution
What is the top cancer-causing infection?
Human Papilloma Virus(HPV)
Cervical Cancer in 99.7% of women is caused by the Human Papilloma Virus.
True/False
True
What is the most common STD in US?
HPV
Paints, Metals, Dyes are all part of chemical and occupational hazards that are considered to be carcinogenic(cancer-causing agents)
True/False
True
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