Cancer Pharmacology and Treatment module (BS42027)

Semester 2

This module aims to provide you with advanced research-led teaching of key topics in cancer pharmacology and treatment and will build on specialised areas of pharmacology, biochemistry, molecular cell biology and genetics that all students will have encountered through the core modules taken during Semester 1 of Level 3 and during Semester 1 of their Level 4 honours year. As this module carries a specialist emphasis on pharmacology, it is also a core complement of the modules which contribute to this degree stream at Level 4. The module also aims to strengthen your skills in problem solving, critical analysis of scientific literature, and in self-directed learning.

After successful completion of this module you will be able to explain central concepts in the field of cancer pharmacology and relate these to the development and treatment of cancer and will understand the principles that underlie:

• current approaches to cancer treatment
• drug targets
• mechanisms of action of commonly prescribed chemotherapy drugs
• chemoprevention
• drug resistance
• cancer stem cells
• cancer pharmacogenetics
• personalised medicine for cancer