Question

Type a 1 page notes or information on Side effects Chemotherapeutic agents and role of Natural products in cancer treatment. Do not write on a page type it on here.

Answer 1

Side effects chemotherapeutic agents-

Cancer cells tend to grow fast and in chemotherapy, chemo drugs are used to kill these fast growing cells. chemotherapy works on active cells. Active cells are those cells which can grown and divide into same types of cells. Active cells are comprised of both normal cells as well as active cells. Chemotherapy has side effects because it affects normal cells along with cancer cells. mainly blood forming cells in bone marrow, cells in mouth, digestive system, reproductive system and hair follicles are generally affected by chemotherapy. Chemotherapy also affects cells of heart, kidney etc.

Factors on which side effects depend-

• Type of drug given to patient
• Person's general health
• Dose or amount of drug
• Route of drug administration
• Timings of dose i.e. how frequently the drug is given
• Location of cancer etc.

Types of side effects- Side effects can be both short term and long term as well as some people does not have side effects while some have lots of side effects. some of the side effects are-

• Fatigue- In this , a person lacks energy and feels tired frequently even after doing a small amount of work. It is the most commonly occuring side effect.
• Hair Loss- chemo drugs affects hair follicles which leads to hair loss which in some people leads to baldness
• Anemia- a person becomes anemic due to damage to blood forming cells.
• Pain- sometimes pain also occurs in chemotherapy. haedaches, muscle pain, pain due to nerve damage, stomach pain etc.
• Apetite loss, Nausea, Vomiting are also some of the other symptoms related with chemotherapy
• Diarrhea- There is loose or watery bowel movements in some patients
• Constipation is also observed in some of the patients. there is sometimes difficult bowel movements or not enough bowel movements.
• Throat and Mouth Sores- Mouth and Throat cells are also damaged by chemo drugs.
• Reproductive Problems- sexual and fertility problems also occurs in some individuals.
• Weight changes- generally weight loss is seen in case of chemotherapy.
• Skin and Nail changes- skin continuously changes. nail and skin also affected by chemo drugs.
• Kidney problems- urine and bladder changes
• Nervous system is also affected. burning , loss of balance , shaking, change in thinking and memory loss, wealness or numbness in hands, feet or both
• Long term effects- generally side effects are short term. when the damage prolonges to cells then the damage become long term . it generally related to concentration and focus , heart cells , kidney cells etc. they once damaged can not be repaired.

ROLE OF NATURAL PRODUCTS IN CANCER TREATMENT-

Natural products plays a very important role in cancer treatment. natural products derived from plants, microbes and marine organisms. dietary sources of natural products have anti- cancer benefits which includes fruits, vegetables and spices which produces biologically active compounds like curcumin,saponins, phytosterols, lycopene, resveratrol etc. Over 60% of cancer drugs are produced from natural products in one or the other way.

1. Mirobial anti-tumour products- bacteria and fungi produces a large number of anti-tumour products. anti-tumour antibiotiocs are the most common one.

Some of the examples of anti-tumour products formed by micro-organisms are -

• Rapamycin(macrocyclic antibiotic produced by fermentation of Streptomyces hygroscopicus isolated from soil sample.
• Anthracyclines-doxorubicin, idarubicin, epirubicin are aromatic polyketides formed from micr-organisms.
• Actinomycin-D, a non- ribosomal peptide synthesised by micro-organisms can act as potential anti-cancer drug.
• Other examples of compounds synthesised by micro-organisms are pentostatin, mithramycin,bleomycin,amrubicin etc.
• 2.Plant anti-tumour products- there a lot of plant derived compounds which have anti- tumour activity. some of them are-
• Curcumin-mpolyphenolic compound has anti- breast cancer activity.it induces apoptosis in breast cancer by incrteasing expression of apoptotic genes.
• Vinca alkaloids-these drugs disrupt microtubules due to which cells get arrested at metaphase and leads to apoptotic death.
• Taxanes- taxanes leads to mitotic arrest due to polymerisation of tubulin heterodimers to microtubules and and supress dynamic changes in microtubules.
• Genistein- it shows anti-breast cancer activity by  inhibiting cell proliferation.
• Other examples of plant- derived anti - cancer compunds are vincristine,lycopene ,camptothecin,teniposide,shikonin, sulforaphane etc.
• 3.Marine organisms anti-tumour products- marine products also show anti-tumour activity- some of the marine products are -Halichondrin B and eribulin,pederin, cytarabine,Aplidine,Theopederins etc. marine organisms have anti- neoplastic activity.