Question

The cancer drug melphalan is an alkalyating agent of the mustard gas family. It acts in two ways: by causing alkylation of guanine bases and by crosslinking DNA strands together.  

a. Describe two ways in which melphalan might kill cancer cells.  

b. What are two ways in which cancer cells could repair the DNA-damaging effects of melphalan?

Answer 1

Ans.a) Melphalan is chemotherapy drug commonly called as alkylating agents. These alkylating agents are one of the earliest types of drugs used to treat cancer. Melphalan is used to treat multiple myeloma, ovarian, breast, and prostate cancer. It react with the protein which is bond together and form the delicate double helix structure of a DNA molecule by adding an alkyl group to some or all of them. It disturbs the protein from linking up and eventually causes breakage of the DNA strands and death of the cancer cell.

b.) If the cancer cell could repair the DNA damaging effect of melphalan or any other chemotherapy drug, then it will not be used as a treatment of cancer. Focus should be given to destroy the cancer cell not on the ways to prevent the DNA damage of cancerous cells. It will be a escape for cancer cell from alkylating agent which result in the spread of cancer.