BMOL40050

Learning Outcomes:

The learning objectives of the Advanced Cancer Biology and Pharmacology module should enable you to:
1. Describe the major environmental risk factors for impacting risk of cancer development.
2. Understand the use of (chemo)prevention strategies to reduce risk of cancer development.
3. Critically evaluate existing and novel therapeutic approaches to cancer chemotherapy.
4. Understand & describe how knowledge of cancer biology can inform development of targeted cancer therapies such as immunotherapies & therapy selection: Develop an appreciation of how omics technologies are facilitating this process.
5. Describe the core issues, molecular approaches, challenges and benefits of developing targeted cancer therapies.
6. Understand how knowledge of the tumour microenviroment, tumour heterogeneity and drug resistance mechanisms affect drug efficacy, and need to be more comprehensively considered in future drug development to improve cancer treatment.
7. Describe how cancer genomics is implemented in clinical routine and clinical trials.
8. Discuss how the gut microbiome can inform development of cancer therapies.
9. Appreciate how Systems Biology and Modelling of Signalling Networks helps us to understand complex biology and to design novel therapeutics.
10. Understand the concept of Personalised P4 medicine approaches to cancer detection and treatment, against the opposing concerns on O4 medicine (such as over-diagnosis, over-treatment).

Indicative Module Content:

Lecture Topics (Provisional list, subject to alteration):
Module Overview & Assessment
Cancer Epidemiology & Aetiology
Cancer Genetics & Targeted therapies (based on cancer genetics)
Cancer Chemoprevention
Targeted therapies: an overview
OMICS Technologies and Advances in cancer treatment
Cancer epigenetics biomarkers and drug development
Tumour heterogeneity and the tumour microenvironment
Circulating tumour DNA / liquid biopsy uses in cancer treatment
Immunotherapy approaches
Cancer research 'real life' examples of targeting epigenetics and tumour microenvironment.
Mechanisms of drug resistance to targeted therapies
Overview on systems medicine approaches / personalised medicine
Microbiome and cancer development and therapy responses
Module review, feedback, and questions on exam

Student Effort Hours:

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:

The primary mode of delivery of content within this module will be through lectures including instructors from interdisciplinary cancer research strands (cancer epidemiology, cancer biology, cancer genomics, drug development, systems medicine).

Student presentations on advanced cancer pharmacology research (such as graphical abstracts and summaries of webinars) are also used to help promote peer learning and cooperation. Grades will be assigned based on academic evaluation of the student presentation.

Self-directed learning using cancer-related BMJ and WHO/IARC learning tutorials will also be utilized for completed certificates for at least two of these activities.

Use of AI is permitted to produce images that may help illustrate the online tutorial graphical abstracts presentations, but note that tools like Biorender are useful for this. Use of AI is not permitted to generate explanatory text or for help in completing the online tutorials. All tools used to help create the graphical abstracts (if used) should be acknowledged in the figure legend.*

*In general the conditions for the use of Generative AI are: You may use AI for planning, idea development, and research. Your engagement with AI stops when you begin to create your submission. Your submissions should therefore be authored entirely by yourself and should show how you have developed and refined these ideas. You should keep a comprehensive record of all outputs generated by AI, and may be required to document these as part of the activities, or present them on demand. An appropriate AI tool may be used to correct grammatical errors and improve the language of text you alone have authored. You must not allow the AI tool to alter the sense of any text, offer a critique of or modify any arguments.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Learning Recommendations:

PHAR30010
BMOL30020

Module Requisites and Incompatibles

Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy

 

Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment
• Self-assessment activities

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Group formative feedback session within the module introduction prior to the exam or long form essay assignment (depending on assessment format) will provide students with a better understanding of the expectations of the exam/assignment. Formative Feedback individually to students by email or face-to-face meetings will be provided for queries they submit on the course content, course assignments, or questions over the assessments. Formative Feedback individually to students by email or face-to-face meetings will be provided for queries they have on preparing the course assignments (with a tutorial also on tips for preparing the course assignments). In class module summary session with invitation for student feedback in class on the module. Student summative feedback will be given based on their course assignment grading and tutor’ comments. Feedback to students after the exam or long form essay (in addition to the comments on their assignment for the grading provided individually to them) can be provided upon request.

Textbooks
The Biology of Cancer, 2ndEd
Robert A. Weinberg
or similar general textbook

Case Studies in Cancer
(Lee RJ, Abramson JS, Goldsby RA)

Rang & Dale’s Pharmacology
Lange’s Basic & Clinical Pharmacology

Original and Review Article PDFs accompany all lectures; these PDFs will be uploaded on Brightspace.

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.