66157 - Oncology and Molecular Immunopathology

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student will have reviewed the main concepts of immunology, updated to the latest knowledge. The student will have acquired the basic concept of the immune system as a component in the onset of major diseases, will have learned all the basic control mechanisms for maintaining tolerance to self and the possible effects of human aging. The student will be able to understand how new technologies can be critical to the identification of genetic variants for the study of epigenetic effects and expression with the aim of identifying the molecular changes underlying these immune diseases . The student will be aware of possible manipulation of the immune system along with new therapeutic perspectives.

At the end of the course the student:

• Knows the tumor phenotype, the pathogenesis of cancer, including interactions with the microenvironment and the immune system, and molecular tumor progression to metastatic spread.
• Knows the molecular mechanisms of physical, chemical and biological carcinogenesis, epidemiological and molecular epidemiology of cancer, basics of prevention and drug therapies, biological and genetic, with particular reference to the tools offered by biotechnology.
• Identifies the stages of tumor development and tumor types relevant in human cancer and can define molecular targets for innovative targeted therapies 
• Can assess the relevance of the various risks of cancer and to predict the applicability of new approaches prevention and treatment in oncology.

Course contents

MOLECULAR IMMUNOPATHOLOGY

(Immunopathology is not part of the syllabus for students of Oncology courses "corsi mutuati")

 

Infectious immunity

Vaccines

Transplantation immunity

Hypersensitivity: Allergy and Autoimmunity

Immunodeficiencies

 

MOLECULAR ONCOLOGY

Introduction, definitions and classification
    Basic Oncology and Medical Oncology
    The size of the problem
    Benign and malignant tumors

Tumors are genic diseases
    Oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes, gatekeeper and caretaker
    Mechanisms of cancer gene activation/inactivation and their consequences
    Therapeutic implications of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes
    Genetic predispositions

The neoplastic phenotype
    Growth, Differentiation, Cell death
    Genomic instability
    Morphological and metabolic features

Natural history
    Monoclonality, Heterogeneity
    Preneoplastic lesions
    Progression

The causes of cancer
    Exogenous and endogenous carcinogens
    Biological and molecular mechanisms of physical, chemical and biological carcinogenesis
    Cancer epidemiology
    Primary, secondary and tertiary cancer prevention. Chemoprevention. Immunoprevention

Tumor-host relationships
    Angiogenesis
    The metastatic process
    Paraneoplastic syndromes
    Tumor immunology

Fundamentals of cancer therapy
    Basis and molecular/biological mechanisms of cancer therapy: radiation therapy, drugs, biological and immunological agents, gene therapy

Readings/Bibliography

• Abbas, Lichtman, Pillai: Immunologia cellulare e molecolare, Elsevier.
• Robbins. Kumar & Klatt. Il manuale di patologia generale e anatomia patologica. Edra Masson.
• Pontieri, Russo, Frati: Patologia Generale, (only chapters on oncology), Piccin.
• Boyle, Levin: World Cancer Report 2008. IARC, Download free PDF file at www.iarc.fr
• Weinberg: The Biology of Cancer, Garland Science.
• Pecorino: Molecular Biology of Cancer, Oxford University Press.
• DeVita, Lawrence, Rosenberg: Cancer, Principles and Practice of Oncology, LWW.

Teaching methods

Lectures.

Assessment methods

The oral exam will cover all the subjects of the course. For students of Oncology courses ("corsi mutuati"), the exam will exclude Immunopathology.

The student has to answer questions to demonstrate his/her knowledge of speciifc subjects, the ability to understand the links between different parts of the course, and the use of appropriate terminology.

Teaching tools

All the slides used for lectures are made available to the students.

Office hours

See the website of Pier Luigi Lollini

See the website of Patrizia Nanni