PHCL 4020: Chemotherapy: Test Bank |Verified Practice
Questions with A+ Answers | Final Exam Guide FOR 2025/2026
(the most recent quizzes)
Cancer cells are characterized by - persistent proliferation, invasive growth, and the ability to
form metastases.
Cancer can be treated with three basic modalities: - surgery, radiation therapy, and drug
therapy
Agents used for drug therapy fall into two main groups: - (1) cytotoxic agents and (2)
noncytotoxic agents, such as hormones, immunomodulators, and targeted drugs.
Surgery and/or irradiation are the treatments of choice for - most solid tumors.
Drugs are the treatment of choice for disseminated cancers which are: - leukemias,
disseminated lymphomas, widespread metastases
Drugs are also used as adjuvants to surgery and irradiation to kill - malignant cells that
surgery and irradiation leave behind
The cell cycle has four major phases: - G1, in which cells prepare to synthesize
deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA); S, in which cells synthesize DNA; G2, in which cells prepare for
mitosis (division); and M, in which cells actually divide. Following mitosis, the resulting daughter
cells may either enter G1 and repeat the cycle, or enter G0 and become mitotically dormant.
The growth fraction of a tissue is defined as the ratio of - proliferating cells to cells in G0.
Tissues with a large percentage of proliferating cells and few cells in G0 have a - high growth
fraction.
Tissues composed mostly of G0 cells have a - low growth fraction
Cytotoxic anticancer drugs are more toxic to cancers that have a high growth fraction than to
cancers that have a low growth fraction because - cytotoxic anticancer drugs are more active
against proliferating cells than against cells in G0.
The most common cancers are - solid tumors of the breast, lung, prostate, colon, and rectum
have a low growth fraction, and hence respond poorly to drugs.
rarer cancers - such as acute lymphocytic leukemia, Hodgkin's disease, and certain testicular
cancers—have a high growth fraction, and hence tend to respond well.
, To cure a patient of cancer - we must produce 100% cell kill, which is rare with
chemotherapy alone.
Killing of cancer cells follows first-order kinetics: - at any given dose, drugs kill a constant
percentage of malignant cells, regardless of how many cells are present.
Over the course of chemotherapy - cancer cells often become drug resistant, thereby
decreasing the chance of success.
The purpose of intermittent chemotherapy is to allow normal cells to repopulate between
rounds of treatment: - Unfortunately if the cancer cells repopulate as fast as (or faster than)
normal cells, there will be no reduction in tumor burden with each round of treatment, and
hence treatment will fail.
Multidrug chemotherapy is generally much more effective than single-drug therapy because -
combination therapy can (1) suppress drug resistance, (2) increase cell kill, and (3) reduce
injury to normal cells (at any given level of anticancer effect).
Ideally, the drugs used in combination therapy should have - (1) different mechanisms of
action, (2) minimally overlapping toxicities, and (3) good efficacy when used alone.
For drugs that act during a specific phase of the cell cycle: - selecting the right dosing
schedule is critical to success
Toxicity to normal tissues is the major obstacle to - successful therapy with cytotoxic
anticancer drugs.
Cytotoxic anticancer drugs injure normal tissue because - these drugs lack selective toxicity
As a rule, serious toxicity occurs to normal tissues that have a - high growth fraction (ie,
bone marrow, gastrointestinal [GI] epithelium, hair follicles, sperm-forming cells).
Myelosuppression (toxicity to bone marrow) can reduce the number of neutrophils, platelets,
and erythrocytes, thereby - posing a risk of infection (from loss of neutrophils), bleeding
(from loss of platelets), and anemia (from loss of erythrocytes).
Loss of neutrophils and platelets during chemotherapy is common; - significant loss of
erythrocytes is relatively rare, but can happen with certain drugs (eg, cisplatin).
In patients taking myelosuppressive drugs, - neutrophil counts must be monitored.
If neutropenia is substantial (absolute neutrophil count below 500/mm3): - the next round
of chemotherapy should be delayed.
Questions with A+ Answers | Final Exam Guide FOR 2025/2026
(the most recent quizzes)
Cancer cells are characterized by - persistent proliferation, invasive growth, and the ability to
form metastases.
Cancer can be treated with three basic modalities: - surgery, radiation therapy, and drug
therapy
Agents used for drug therapy fall into two main groups: - (1) cytotoxic agents and (2)
noncytotoxic agents, such as hormones, immunomodulators, and targeted drugs.
Surgery and/or irradiation are the treatments of choice for - most solid tumors.
Drugs are the treatment of choice for disseminated cancers which are: - leukemias,
disseminated lymphomas, widespread metastases
Drugs are also used as adjuvants to surgery and irradiation to kill - malignant cells that
surgery and irradiation leave behind
The cell cycle has four major phases: - G1, in which cells prepare to synthesize
deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA); S, in which cells synthesize DNA; G2, in which cells prepare for
mitosis (division); and M, in which cells actually divide. Following mitosis, the resulting daughter
cells may either enter G1 and repeat the cycle, or enter G0 and become mitotically dormant.
The growth fraction of a tissue is defined as the ratio of - proliferating cells to cells in G0.
Tissues with a large percentage of proliferating cells and few cells in G0 have a - high growth
fraction.
Tissues composed mostly of G0 cells have a - low growth fraction
Cytotoxic anticancer drugs are more toxic to cancers that have a high growth fraction than to
cancers that have a low growth fraction because - cytotoxic anticancer drugs are more active
against proliferating cells than against cells in G0.
The most common cancers are - solid tumors of the breast, lung, prostate, colon, and rectum
have a low growth fraction, and hence respond poorly to drugs.
rarer cancers - such as acute lymphocytic leukemia, Hodgkin's disease, and certain testicular
cancers—have a high growth fraction, and hence tend to respond well.
, To cure a patient of cancer - we must produce 100% cell kill, which is rare with
chemotherapy alone.
Killing of cancer cells follows first-order kinetics: - at any given dose, drugs kill a constant
percentage of malignant cells, regardless of how many cells are present.
Over the course of chemotherapy - cancer cells often become drug resistant, thereby
decreasing the chance of success.
The purpose of intermittent chemotherapy is to allow normal cells to repopulate between
rounds of treatment: - Unfortunately if the cancer cells repopulate as fast as (or faster than)
normal cells, there will be no reduction in tumor burden with each round of treatment, and
hence treatment will fail.
Multidrug chemotherapy is generally much more effective than single-drug therapy because -
combination therapy can (1) suppress drug resistance, (2) increase cell kill, and (3) reduce
injury to normal cells (at any given level of anticancer effect).
Ideally, the drugs used in combination therapy should have - (1) different mechanisms of
action, (2) minimally overlapping toxicities, and (3) good efficacy when used alone.
For drugs that act during a specific phase of the cell cycle: - selecting the right dosing
schedule is critical to success
Toxicity to normal tissues is the major obstacle to - successful therapy with cytotoxic
anticancer drugs.
Cytotoxic anticancer drugs injure normal tissue because - these drugs lack selective toxicity
As a rule, serious toxicity occurs to normal tissues that have a - high growth fraction (ie,
bone marrow, gastrointestinal [GI] epithelium, hair follicles, sperm-forming cells).
Myelosuppression (toxicity to bone marrow) can reduce the number of neutrophils, platelets,
and erythrocytes, thereby - posing a risk of infection (from loss of neutrophils), bleeding
(from loss of platelets), and anemia (from loss of erythrocytes).
Loss of neutrophils and platelets during chemotherapy is common; - significant loss of
erythrocytes is relatively rare, but can happen with certain drugs (eg, cisplatin).
In patients taking myelosuppressive drugs, - neutrophil counts must be monitored.
If neutropenia is substantial (absolute neutrophil count below 500/mm3): - the next round
of chemotherapy should be delayed.
