Module 3 - Chapter 10 - Chemotherapy Flashcards
What does mustard gas exposure does
Suppression of bone marrow
What led to the development of antifolate medications?
the observation that Vitamins folic acid could increase leukemia growth
What medication produced remissions in previously untreatable leukemia?
antifolate medications (which lead to methotrexate)
Give examples of antimetabolites.
Methotrexate and - L-asparaginase (Elspar)
What does antimetabolites do?
block normal growth pathways in all cells
Give examples of DNA-damaging agents?
cyclophosphamide and anthracyclines
Give examples of chemotherapy drugs that can block the formation of microtubules that is required for mitosis, thus preventing the cancer cell from undergoing further replication.
Vincristine (Oncovin) and the taxanes
Why are chemotherapy medications usually given as a cocktail?
- because not one medication given alone can provide a cure
- it is supposed to attack different weaknesses at the same time
- to limit the dose and toxicity of any single agent
- some cells may be resistant to a particular medication
Why is scheduling medication administration very important?
cancers are more likely to develop medication resistance if there are significant delays between planned courses of chemotherapy.
List the distinct purposes of chemotherapy
- Induction chemotherapy
- Adjuvant chemotherapy
- Neoadjuvant chemotherapy
Induction chemotherapy
seeks to cause shrinkage or disappearance of tumours.
Adjuvant chemotherapy
given after surgical excision of a cancer with the goal of eliminating micrometastases.
Neoadjuvant chemotherapy
- given before localized (surgical or radiation) treatment of a cancer.
- Neoadjuvant therapy can shrink a cancer so that surgery may spare more normal tissue.
