84429 - Cancer Biology

Learning outcomes

Describe the tumor phenotype, the etiology and pathogenesis of cancer, including interactions with the microenvironment and the immune system, and the progression to metastatic spread. Describe the biological and molecular mechanisms of physical, chemical and biological carcinogenesis. Define the principles of tumor classification, grading, and staging. Outline the principles of cancer epidemiology, and assess the relevance of risk factors.

Course contents

INTRODUCTION

What is cancer? Benign and malignant tumors, Nomenclature
and classifications, Epidemiology: the size of the problem (2 hours)

CANCER IS A GENIC DISEASE

Oncogenes (2 hours)

Tumor suppressor genes (2 hours)

Hereditary cancer (2 hours)

NATURAL HISTORY OF TUMORS

Cancer hallmarks, Tumor heterogeneity, Tumor progression (2 hours)

TUMOR – HOST RELATIONSHIPS

Angiogenesis, Microenvironment, Metastatic spread (2 hours)

Tumor immunology (2 hours)

CARCINOGENESIS

Fundamentals of carcinogenesis, Physical carcinogenesis (2 hours)

Chemical carcinogenesis (2 hours)

Complex mixtures: Tobacco, Alcohol, Diet, Environmental pollution (2 hours)

Biological carcinogenesis (2 hours)

CANCER PREVENTION

Primary and secondary cancer prevention, Chemoprevention (2 hours)

Readings/Bibliography

• 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

Attendance to learning activities is mandatory; the minimum attendance requirement to be admitted to the final exam is 60% of lessons. For Integrated Courses (IC), the 60% attendance requirement refers to the total amount of I.C. lessons. Students who fail to meet the minimum attendance requirement will not be admitted to the final exam of the course, and will have to attend relevant classes again during the next academic year.

Professors may authorize excused absences upon receipt of proper justifying documentation, in case of illness or serious reasons. Excused absences do not count against a student’s attendance record to determine their minimum attendance requirement.

Assessment methods

The oral exam of Cancer Biology will cover all the subjects of the course. The student has to answer questions to demonstrate his/her knowledge of specific subjects, the ability to understand the links between different parts of the course, and the use of appropriate terminology.

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The whole exam of Neoplasia as Disease Model will include three parts:
Microscopic
 Histopathology: Analysis of one slide
Oral
 Cancer Biology: 1 question
 Oncological Pharmacology; 1 question
Written (Multiple choice, 4 answers, 1 point for each correct answer, no penalty for wrong answers)
 Medical oncology: 15 questions
 General Surgery: 5 questions
 Oncological Radiology: 5 questions
 Clinical Psychology: 5 questions

Marks
Histopathology: max 30 points, weight 1/11
Cancer Biology, max 30 points, weight 3/11
Oncological Pharmacology, max 30 points, weight 1/11
Written part: 1 point for each question, max 30 points total, weight: 6/11
Final mark: (Written*6/11) + Histopathology/11 + (Biology*3/11) + Pharmacology/11
Full marks in all parts => 30 cum laude

To pass the exam the student must obtain a pass mark in each discipline, i.e.
Histopathology: at least 18/30
Biology: at least 18/30
Pharmacology: at least 18/30
Medical Oncology: at least 8/15 correct answers
Surgery: at least 3/5 correct answers
Radiology: at least 3/5 correct answers
Psychology: at least 3/5 correct answers

 

Teaching tools

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

Office hours

See the website of Pier Luigi Lollini