Paige Myers & Mahek Shah

 Cancer is a disease in which the DNA of cells becomes damaged or changed and the affected cells do not respond to apoptosis signals, leading to uncontrolled cell growth and division. There are five general types of cancer:  Carcinoma  Sarcoma  Leukemia  Lymphoma and Myeloma  Central Nervous System Cancers

 Leukemia is a cancer of the white blood cells, or leukocytes, that begins in the bone marrow  There are not necessarily tumors present in leukemia; instead cancerous leukocytes crowd out healthy blood cells  This leads to universal symptoms of leukemia, including anemia, immunodeficiency, and easy bruising and bleeding

 ALL is a fast-acting form of leukemia that affects immature lymphocytes  Can also be called acute lymphoblastic leukemia  Most common leukemia in children but least common in adults  Symptoms include: weight loss, night sweats, fatigue, fever, loss of appetite, pain, and swelling

 There are genes that predispose individuals to cancer, however, an individual will not get cancer until it is triggered by environmental factors or other mutations.  Genetic factors:  A rare form of the PRDM9 gene causes the formation of abnormal gametes due to chromosome recombinations at unusual points during meiosis  Excessive synthesis of the Fmn2 gene and protein  A mutation in the GATA2 gene causes Emberger syndrome (lymphedema, immune abnormalities, deafness, and leukemia)  Certain chromosomal translocations determine whether a patient will have a positive or negative prognosis. For example, the Philadelphia chromosome produces a negative prognosis

 Since leukemia is not concentrated as a tumor, chemotherapy is the most common type of treatment  Chemo:  Targets cells that are rapidly dividing by attacking cells in a certain phase of the cell cycle, but cannot differentiate between rapidly dividing cancer cells and rapidly dividing healthy cells  Works by inducing apoptosis in targeted cells, often by damaging their genes

Ras, a G-protein, begins signal transduction pathways that control cell proliferation and apoptosis

 CLL is similar to ALL except it is longer- lasting and affects mature lymphocytes  But, because is slower and lasts longer than ALL, it is also more difficult to treat  Normally affects older adults and rarely affects children

 Little is known about the causes of CLL  Risk factors include: exposure to certain chemicals, family history, race, and gender  CLL is not thought to be genetic; mutations happen later in life  Severity and prognosis is associated with mutations in the NOTCH1 and SF3B1 genes

 The type of lymphocytes that are typically affected in CLL are B lymphocytes (B-cells), so B-cell signaling is critical to many experimental treatments for CLL

 Researchers have developed small molecular kinase inhibitors that target the B-cell signaling pathway  This can induce apoptosis and block interaction between CLL cells and their microenvironment  Also alters lymphocyte trafficking

 In another experimental treatment for CLL, T-cells were genetically altered to recognize the cancer, attack it, multiply, and then diminish. In three patients treated using this approach, B-cells were wiped out completely, increasing the patients’ risk of infection but sending two patients into complete remission and a third into partial remission