Hao Nguyen

1. What are risk factors? How are they used in terms of understanding carcinogenesis? How are they used in terms of screening methods, diagnostic development, and prognosis? Name and describe all risk factors discussed in class. Describe how each risk factor may lead to or increase the chance of carcinogenesis. Are these direct or indirect effects?

2. What is the normal function of an activated p53? Describe all the pathways that are activated by the expression and activation of p53. What is the function of each molecule throughout the pathway? How would the mutation of p53 directly or indirectly lead to the formation of cancer cells? Describe how the mutation of p53 might affect each of the pathways discussed above.

3. What is the normal function of the Rb protein? Describe how the mutation of Rb protein might increase the chance of carcinogenesis.

4. What is a cell cycle? What are the various stages of a cell cycle? How is the cell cycle regulated? What are the major protein families that are involved in cell cycle regulation?

5. What is cell cycle arrest? How is cell cycle arrest regulated?

6. What is apoptosis? What are the two apoptotic pathways? How is each apoptotic pathway regulated?

7. What is epidemiology? How is epidemiology related in cancer biology? How is epidemiology related to cancer treatment and cancer prevention?

8. Name and describe the various types of treatment described in class. What may be some advantages and disadvantages of each type of treatment? Clinicians often prescribe multiple treatments. Why? What must be considered before a treatment is recommended? Would the same recommendation or recommendations apply to all individuals with the same cancer? Would the same recommendation or recommendations apply to all cancers?

9. Name and describe the various methods of prevention. What is the mechanism of each type of prevention (that is, how does each type of prevention work at the molecular level)? Does one method of prevention apply to all cancers? Why or why not. Can more than one method of prevention apply to one particular cancer?

10. What is chemotherapy? What may be some side-effects of this treatment? Why are there side-effects? What may be done to prevent or reduce side-effects?

11. Name and discuss various ways that cancer cells can evade the body's immune system.