cancer biology
TRANSCRIPT
Principles of Cancer Biology and Therapy
Gunjan Mehta, M.Sc., (PhD)Dept. of Biotechnology,
VSC, Rajkot
Cancer and Age
Breast Colon
ALL Testicular CNS
NCCC 1988 - 2004
1. Heart Diseases 685,089 28.0
2. Cancer 556,902 22.7
3. Cerebrovascular diseases 157,689 6.4
4. Chronic lower respiratory diseases 126,382 5.2
5. Accidents (Unintentional injuries) 109,277 4.5
6. Diabetes mellitus 74,219 3.0
7. Influenza and pneumonia 65,163 2.7
8. Alzheimer disease 63,457 2.6
1. Nephritis 42,453 1.7
10. Septicemia 34,069 1.4
Rank Cause of DeathNo. of deaths
% of all deaths
US Mortality, 2003
Nomenclature
• Benign– “Polyp”
• Malignant – Epithelial
• ‘Carcinoma’
– Mesenchyme• ‘Sarcoma’
– Hematopoietic• Leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma
2006 Estimated US Cancer Cases*
*Excludes basal and squamous cell skin cancers and in situ carcinomas except urinary bladder.Source: American Cancer Society, 2006.
Men720,280
Women679,510
31% Breast
12% Lung & bronchus
11% Colon & rectum
6% Uterine corpus
4% Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
4% Melanoma of skin
3% Thyroid
3% Ovary
2% Urinary bladder
2% Pancreas
22% All Other Sites
Prostate 33%
Lung & bronchus 13%
Colon & rectum 10%
Urinary bladder 6%
Melanoma of skin 5%
Non-Hodgkin 4% lymphoma
Kidney 3%
Oral cavity 3%
Leukemia 3%
Pancreas 2%
All Other Sites 18%
Etiology
• Nature– Inherited cancer syndromes
• p53, BRCA1 and 2, MMR
– Immune deficiency syndromes• Inherited/Congenital or acquired
• Nurture– Radiation (cosmic, fallout, radon)– Chemotherapy (MDS)– Viruses and bacteria
• EBV, HTLV-I/II, H. pylori
– Repeated injury (Acid reflux, hepatitis)
Cancer pathogenesis
• Oncogenes– myc, ras, src, abl, bcl2
• Tumor suppressor genes– p53, Rb, APC, MEN1, NF1
• MicroRNA– Transcriptome control
The path to cancer
• Clonal proliferation• Starts from a single cell• Expansion in steps• Pre-malignant states
– Polyp, MDS, MGUS• Serial accumulation of mutations
– Clonal evolution– Resistance
“Hallmarks of cancer”
• Self-sufficiency in growth signals• Insensitivity to anti-growth signals• Evading apoptosis• Limitless reproductive potential• Sustained angiogenesis• Tissue invasion and metastases• Genomic instability
Hanahan & Weinberg, 2000
Tissue and tumor architecture
Dingli & Pacheco, 2008
Cancer stem cells
• Present in most (all) tumors• Small fraction of population• No universal marker• Often resistant to therapy• May be important target of therapy• Cancer initiating cells in mice
Genomic instability
• Is it necessary?– Normal vs abnormal mutation rate
• 2 current views
• Chromosomal instability– Gross translocations, loss and gain of
chromosome parts• Mutator phenotype
– Repair genes• Xeroderma pigmentosum• MMR etc
Cytogenetic abnormalities
• Translocations– Balanced– Reciprocal
• Aneuploidy– Pseudodiploid– Hyperdiploid– Complex– Random loss or gain
Limitless reproductive potential
• Hayflick hypothesis• Limited number of doublings• Telomere maintenance• Telomerase
• Not all tumor cells have this potential– Tumor stem cells
Self-sufficiency in growth signals
Scaltriti et al, 2006
• Autocrine loops
• Over-expression of receptor
• Receptor is always ‘on’
• Downstream signals
Insensitivity to antigrowth signals
Hanahan & Weinberg, 2000
Evading apoptosis
• External triggers• Intracellular triggers• Death receptors• Caspases
– Sensors (8, 9)– Executioners (3)
Sustained angiogenesis
• VEGF• FGF1/2
• Thrombospondin• Thalidomide• Avastin
Tissue invasion and metastases
Tumor burden - Staging
• Tumor– Size, capsule invasion
• Nodes– Involved, how many?
• Metastases– Present/absent
– “Unknown primary”
Imaging
• CT scan• PET/CT• SPECT/CT• MRI
• Staging• Response
Prognostic scoring systems
• Host vs Disease
• Disease burden• Disease biology• Co-morbid conditions• Performance status
Therapy
• Surgery• Radiation• Chemotherapy• Antibodies• Small molecules• Adjunctive
Surgery
• Diagnosis• Therapy
– Curative– Palliative
• Debulking• Symptoms control• Prevent complications
Radiation
• External beam radiation– Gamma photons– Neutron beams
• Radioimmunoconjugates– Antibody targeted radiation
• Radioconjugates– Isotope tagged to bone seeking material
• Free isotopes– 131I, Gallium
Radiation targets
• DNA• Water• Free radical generation
– Oxygen is required– Anti-oxidants are not helpful
• Direct and indirect effects• Not all cells are created equal• Geometry important
• Consolidation– “Mantle radiation”– “Axillary radiation”
• Palliation– Spinal cord compression– Pain relief
Radiation
Radio(immuno)conjugates or -emitters
Free isotopes
Chemotherapy
• Antimetabolites– Antifolates, Purine nucleosides, nucleoside
synthesis inhibitors• Alkylators
– Direct DNA damage (Many), platinum• Spindle poisons
– Vinca alkaloids, taxanes• Topoisomerase inhibitors
– Anthracyclines, Etoposide
Chemotherapy
• Often used in combinations– “CHOP”, “ABVD”, “AC”, “Taxol/Carbo”
• Minimizes resistance• Reduces toxicity
– Different side effects• Can be curative in specific cases
– AML, ALL, HD, NHL, Testicular cancer
Antibodies
• Target specific antigen• Specificity is relative• Various mechanisms of action
– Complement activation– ADCC– Calcium entry– May synergize with chemotherapy
• R-CHOP and CHOP
– Expected or unexpected toxicities
Antibodies
Small molecules
• Target oncogene product– Bcr-Abl, PML-RARA,
• Inhibit signaling at key steps• Safer than chemotherapy• Specific side effects• Specificity is often relative
Small molecules
Adjuncts
• Glucocorticosteroids• Estrogens/anti-androgens/SERMs• Bisphosphonates
The target
• Tumor cells do not live in isolation– Stroma
• Adhesion resistance
– Blood vessels• Angiogenesis inhibitors
– Antibodies (Avastin)– Small molecules (Thalidomide, other IMiDs)
– Immune system• Transplantation• Vaccines
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