Question

apply. Which drugs target specific molecules that drive tumor growth, in the hope that the targeted cells are affected while leaving normal cells untouched? O Fluorouracil ■ Cisplatin Interferon Rituximab ■ Doxorubicin None of the choices

Answer 1

Cancer treatment has different methods. They include chemotherapy and target therapy. Chemotherapy drugs can kill can cells and normal cells during therapy. They usually affect the cells which grow and multiply rapidly. As some of the normal cells in the body also multiply rapidly like cells of GI tract, they can affect the normal cells. Targeted therapy drugs can identify specific biomarkers in the cancer cells like defective proteins on the surface of the cells or inside the cells and specifically act on them which helps to eliminate the normal cells from their action. Interferons are glycoproteins that are produced by cells. It helps in immune stimulation and modulation. Even though it is not used commonly in target therapy, they helps the inhibition of cancer cell growth and killing cancer cells specifically by making the cancer cells to send specific signals which can be recognized by the immune system cells and kill them.

The target therapy drug mainly include  small molecule medicines and monoclonal antibodies in which Rituximab comes under monoclonal antibodies. It specifically attaches to the CD20 protein on B lymphocytes during cancer treatment.

Interferon-alpha is the type that may be used to treat specific giant cell tumors of the bone and in melanoma which helps to stop cancer cells from reproducing.

Flurouracil, cisplatin, doxorubicin are commonly used chemotherapy drugs which kill both cancer and non - cancerous cells.

Thus the answer is, Interferon, and Riruximab