TeachableMedicalNews article 03282021
Teachable moment in classrooms:
- chemical basis of life chapter – DNA structure as double helix
- cellular basis of life chapter – DNA replication during mitosis
- cellular basis of life chapter – DNA mutation of a gene usually diminishes protein function
- digestive system – anatomy of pancreatic duct (origin of most pancreatic cancers)
- reproductive system – anatomy of ovary (surface epithelium is the origin of most ovarian cancers)
The news item: Recently this article appeared online about a new pancreatic cancer treatment:
FDA approves drug for treating pancreatic cancer
Health regulators clear AstraZeneca and Merck treatment for disease projected to kill 46,000 Americans this year.
The article states that Lynparza has been approved for the treatment of ovarian cancers with BRCA mutation, and this approval is now extended to pancreatic cancers with the same mutation. The article also states that the BRCA mutation hinders fixing DNA damage, that Lynparza is a PARP inhibitor, and that 46,000 Americans die yearly because of pancreatic cancer.
So, Why Do I Care?? Pancreatic cancer has a very low survival rate, because the diagnosis usually happens in the late stage of the cancer. A new drug will likely increase survival rates among those 46,000 patients.
Plain English, Please!!! First, let’s talk about the BRCA mutation. When cells undergo mitosis (cell division) the DNA is copied (replicated), so the new cell can have as much DNA as the starter cell.