|
Epidemiology of cancer
The "vocabulary" of clinical oncology for
medical biotechnologist. Analysis of
frequency, distribution and trend of major neoplasms on a European
perspective. Major causes of cancer, to identify and develop strategies for
prevention and control. Epidemiology and problems of rare cancers. Precision
and personalized oncology.
Pathogenesis of cancer
The hallmarks of cancer and cancer stem cells:
self-renewal, replicative immortality, cancer initiating activity and
metastasis, resisting cell death. Models of cancer organization and
therapeutic implications. Pathways involved in stemness maintenance; methods
and limitations in studying cancer stem cells. Tumor microenvironment and the
cancer stem cell niche. Cancer cell plasticity and genetic instability.
Effect of tumor microenvironment on cell plasticity. Senescence: promoting
and inhibiting effects in cancer progression, outcome on cancer cell and
tumor microenvironment; therapeutic implications. Tumor microenvironment:
cytokine pro-tumor effect and cytokine directed anti-cancer therapy. Genome
instability: definition and cause; the catalogue of mutations as a tool to
monitor the neoplastic progression and to assess the patient’s therapeutic
response. Epigenetic reprogramming: modifications of DNA methylation and
histone modifications in cancer, therapeutic use of methylation inhibitors
and histone acetylase inhibitors. Epigenetic reprogramming in cancer through non-coding
RNA.
|
Prerequisites for admission:
|
|
The student must have acquired the fundamental
concepts of the biological and molecular pathogenetic mechanisms of cancer
(alteration of proliferation, apoptosis and genetic instability), of the
statistical analysis and the basic laboratory techniques for the study of
cellular functions, phenotype and genome.
|
Assessment methods
and criteria (Exam) The exam will be
a written questionnaire of six open-ended questions on the topics listed in the
program for the duration of one hour and a half.
The evaluation
parameters will include the ability to organize the answers, the ability to
critically reason on the study carried out and to integrate the notions
acquired; the quality of the exposition, the competence in the use of the
specialized vocabulary.
The mark will be
expressed in thirtieths and will be the mean of the marks obtained in the six
questions.
To pass the
exam, all the answers must be sufficient.
The result of
the written exam will be communicated on the Ariel portal.
|