Chapter 43: Drugs Used to Treat Cancer Clayton/Willihnganz: Basic Pharmacology for Nurses, 17th Edition

1. The nurse is educating a patient with cancer about combination chemotherapy. Which is an accurate statement? a. “Combination chemotherapy is the administration of an antineoplastic drug that will be toxic during a specific phase of cellular growth.” b. “Combination chemotherapy is the administration of an antineoplastic drug that is active throughout the cell cycle.” c. “Combination chemotherapy is the administration of antineoplastic drugs that change the way the body responds to cancer or strengthens the immune system.” d. “Combination chemotherapy is the administration of antineoplastic drugs, which results in cell death during different phases of the cell cycle.” ANS: D Use of combination drug therapy is superior in therapeutic effect to the use of single agent chemotherapy. DIF: Cognitive Level: Comprehension REF: Page 669 OBJ: 1 TOP: Nursing Process Step: Implementation MSC: NCLEX Client Needs Category: Physiological Integrity NOT: CONCEPT(S): Clinical Judgment; Patient Education 2. The cell cycle-specific agent vincristine sulphate (Oncovin) acts in which phase of the cell’s life cycle? a. S phase b. Mitotic phase c. Phase G1 d. Phase G0 ANS: B Vinca alkaloids block the formation of the mitotic spindle during mitosis, thus inhibiting cell division. The S phase is the stage of active synthesis of two sets of DNA. Phase G1 is considered a presynthetic phase in which the cell prepares for DNA synthesis by manufacturing necessary enzymes. G0 is the largest variable in the cell cycle and, during this resting phase, the cell is not actively replicating. DIF: Cognitive Level: Knowledge REF: Page 667 | Page 668 OBJ: 1 TOP: Nursing Process Step: Implementation MSC: NCLEX Client Needs Category: Physiological Integrity NOT: CONCEPT(S): Clinical Judgment 3. What is the importance of correlating the dosage schedule with cell cycle-specific drug therapy? a. Ongoing proliferation