Oncobiology

Code:

MI074260

Acronym:

ONCOB

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Health Sciences

Instance: 2019/2020 - 1S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Microbiology Laboratory
Course/CS Responsible:	MSc in Pharmaceutical Sciences

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
MICF	34	Official Curriculum	4	-	3	52	81

Teaching language

Portuguese

Objectives

It is intended that the students gain knowledge on oncobiology, microbial oncogenesis (particularly oncovirology), imunophysiology of cancer as well as prevention and treatment of cancer.

It is also intended to contribute to the development of the following transversal competences:
- Cognitive competences: analytical, critical, reflective and creative thinking;

- Methodological competences: time management and digital competencies;

- Social competences: interpersonal communication and collaborative work.

 

Learning outcomes and competences

At the end of the Curricular Unit, students should have attained the following competences:

• Understand the biological and molecular basis of cancer.
• Understand the mechanisms of oncogenesis mediated by Helicobacter pylori and by oncogenic viruses.
• Understand the biological basis of novel therapeutic molecular targets and of resistance to anticancer drugs.
• Know how to promote cancer prevention.
• Develop capacity to perform literature search in the oncobiology area.
• Develop analytical thinking, as well as critical, reflective and creative spirit.
• Develop capacity to manage time and develop digital competences.
• Develop capacity to work in group and to make oral and poster scientific communications.

Working method

Presencial

Pre-requirements (prior knowledge) and co-requirements (common knowledge)

Students should have basic knowledge of Biochemistry, Cellular Biology, Immunology and General Microbiology (including basic knowledge of Virology).

Program

Theoretical classese:

I. Oncobiology

- Basic facts about cancer.

- Epidemiology of cancer. Etiology of cancer.

- Molecular basis of cancer. Growth characteristics of malignant cells.

-Self-sufficiency in growth signals. Oncogenes. Cellular proliferation and loss of cell cycle control.

- Insensitivity to growth-inhibitory signals. Tumor suppressor genes.

- Resistance to apoptosis. Anti-apoptotic strategies used by the cancer cells.

- Limitless replicative potential of cancer cells. Maintenance of telomeres and stem-like cell properties of cancer cells.

- The tumor microenvironment. Inflammation in the oncologic process.

- Angiogenesis.

- The epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. Invasion and metastasis. 

- Metabolic alterations: the Warburg effect.

- Genetic instability.

-Hereditary and familiar cancer. Genetic predisposition.

- Genetic, chromosomal and epigenetic alterations in cancer. MicroRNAs as oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes.

- Immunophysiology of Cancer. Host defence against the tumor. Mechanisms of immune response in cancer. Escape of the cancer cells from the immunological response. 

- Multi-step tumorigenesis. 

- Carcinogenesis. Mutagenic agents. Chemical, radioactive and microbial carcinogenesis.

 

II. Microbial oncogenesis

- Helicobacter pylori and gastric cancer. Pathogenesis. Bacterial genotypes. The pathogenicity island. The virulence factors cagA and vacA. Host polymorphisms. Helicobacter pylori and MALT lymphomas.

- Virus and cancer: oncogenic mechanisms. Mechanisms of cellular transformation induced by virus.

- HPV and cervical cancer. High risk HPVs. Co-carcinogens. Molecular basis of the role of E6 and E7 in cellular immortalization and transformation. Interaction with p53, retinoblastoma and cell cycle progression.

- EBV, HHV8 and cancers associated with these virus. Molecular biology of the cellular transformation mechanisms.

- Hepatitis B Virus, Hepatitis C Virus and hepatocellular carcinoma. Mechanisms of oncogenesis and novel therapeutic targets.

- HTLV-1 and adult T-cell leukemia. Mechanisms of oncogenesis. 

 

III. Prevention and treatment of Cancer

- Prevention.

- Novel molecular therapies.

- Cancer drug resistance.

- Progresses in the validation of molecular targets for therapeutic intervention.

- Tests of anti-tumor activity of novel molecules.

- Search of novel tumor biomarkers.

 

Theoretical-practical classes:

Discussion of subjects taught in the theoretical classes.

Resolution of problems, through the elaboration of possible experimental designs.

Discussion of scientific papers.

Elaboration and presentation of two exercises/works made in group (in the form of oral presentation and of poster presentation), requested by the lecturer. The distributed evaluation component of this subject will consist of these exercises/works.

One of the classes may be destined to the presentation of those exercises/works developed by the students in a conference to be organized by the lecturer, at FFUP.

The lecturer will try to organize a study visit to a research institute.

Mandatory literature

Kumar Vinay; Robbins and Cotran pathologic basis of disease. ISBN: 978-1-4557-2613-4
Weinberg Robert A.; The^biology of cancer. ISBN: 978-0-8153-4220-5
David J. Kerr, Daniel G. Haller, Cornelis J. H. van de Velde, and Michael Baumann; Oxford Textbook of Oncology (3 ed.), Oxford University Press, 2016. ISBN: Print ISBN-13: 9780199656103
Lauren Pecorino; Molecular Biology of Cancer: Mechanisms, Targets, and Therapeutics, Oxford University Press, 2016. ISBN: 978-0198717348

Complementary Bibliography

Ruddon Raymond W.; Cancer biology. ISBN: 978-0-19-517544-8
Michael A. Palladino, Dorothy Lobo; Biology of cancer, Pearson, 2012. ISBN: 978-0321774927
Robin Hesketh; Introduction to Cancer Biology, Cambridge University Press, 2013. ISBN: 978-1107601482
Vincent T. DeVita Jr. Jr. MD (Editor), Theodore S. Lawrence MD PhD (Editor), Steven A. Rosenberg MD PhD (Editor); Cancer: Principles & Practice of Oncology: Primer of the Molecular Biology of Cancer, LWW, 2015. ISBN: 978-1496310637
Christoph Wagener, Carol Stocking, Oliver Müller; Cancer Signaling: From Molecular Biology to Targeted Therapy, Wiley-Blackwell, 2016. ISBN: 978-3527336586
John Mendelsohn MD, Peter M. Howley MD, Mark A. Israel MD, Joe W. Gray PhD, Craig B. Thompson MD; The Molecular Basis of Cancer, Saunders , 2014. ISBN: 978-1455740666
Friedrich Marks, Ursula Klingmüller, Karin Müller-Decker; Cellular Signal Processing. An Introduction to the Molecular Mechanisms of Signal Transduction, Garland Science, 2017. ISBN: 9780815345343
Richard Lee, Jeremy Abramson, Richard Goldsb; Case Studies in Cancer. A Clinical Companion to The Biology of Cancer, Garland Science, 2018. ISBN: 9780815345183
L.J. Rosenthal; Mechanisms of DNA Tumor Virus Transformation. Monographs in Virology vol. 23., Series Editor H.W. Doerr, 2001
Ou Jing-Hsiung James 340; Human oncogenic viruses. ISBN: 978-981-283346-4
Dorothy H. Crawford, Alan Rickinson, and Ingólfur Johannessen; Cancer Virus, 2014. ISBN: 9780199653119
David M. Knip; Peter M. Howley; Fields Virology, 6th Edition - 2 volumes, Lippincot, Williams and Wilcons, 2013. ISBN: 9781451105636

Teaching methods and learning activities

- Theoretical classes (2 hours/week): presentation of the program contents, with the help of “Power Point”.

- Theoretical-practical classes (2 hours/week): the theoretical-practical classes will consist essentially in the discussion and development of the concepts and topics taught in the theoretical classes. The students are invited to actively participate in these classes, in group work, through the elaboration and presentation (oral or poster presentation) of themes that will be given by the lecturer.

- The lecturer responsible for the subject will be available for pedagogical assistance to the students during the hours announced at the beginning of the semester. The students may also contact the lecturer by e-mail.

keywords

Health sciences

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation with final exam

Assessment Components

designation	Weight (%)
Apresentação/discussão de um trabalho científico	35,00
Exame	65,00
Participação presencial	0,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

designation	Time (hours)
Apresentação/discussão de um trabalho científico	1,00
Estudo autónomo	28,00
Frequência das aulas	52,00
Total:	81,00

Eligibility for exams

- The presence of the students in the theoretical classes is not compulsory.

- The presence of the students in the theoretical-practical classes is compulsory, according to the “Evaluation Rules” of FFUP, except for the students who, by law, do not need to attend such classes.

-The evaluation methods of the curricular unit follow those of the “Evaluation Rules” of FFUP. The evaluation consists in a distributed evaluation with a final written exam, covering all the subjects taught.

Calculation formula of final grade

- Distributed componente of evaluation:

 The distributed evaluation will take place during the theorical-practical classes and will take into consideration the following components:

a) Elaboration, presentation as a poster and discussion of a theme given by the lecturer (from 0 to 8.0 points);

b) Elaboration, oral presentation and discussion of a second theme given by the lecturer (from 0 to 12.0 points).

The final classification of the distributed evaluation will be given at the end of the semester, in a scale from 0 to 20 points.

Both components of the distributed evaluation are compulsory.

 

- Final Exam:

The final exam will consist in a written exam, which will comprise the topics taught in the theoretical classes.

The classification of the final exam will be expressed in a scale from 0 to 20 points.

The exam is obligatory and the students will require a minimum classification in this final exam equal or superior to 9.5 points in 20.

There will be no oral exams.

 - In order to get approved in this curricular unit, the students need to obtain a minimum final classification of 10 points (see calculation of the final classification, resulting from the two components of the evaluation), according to the “Rules of Evaluation“ from FFUP. Only this final classification will be rounded up to units.

 Calculation of Final Classification:

The final classification of the curricular unit will correspond to the classification obtained in the final written Exam (contribution of 65%) plus the classification obtained in the distributed evaluation (contribution of 35%). The final classification will be expressed in a numerical scale from 0 to 20.

Examinations or Special Assignments

According to the evaluation rules of FFUP.

In case the students do not carry out one of the components of the distributed evaluation, including the cases in which the students, by law, do not need to attend the classes: the students will need to present a written monograph on the theme(s) of the evaluation component(s) they did not perform. Such monographs must be handed personally to the teacher, up to the end of the theoretical-practical classes. The classification of those monographs will correspond to the classification of the evaluation components that the students did not attend (see distributed component of evaluation).

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

According to the evaluation rules of FFUP.

Classification improvement

According to the evaluation rules of FFUP.

Only the evaluation component corresponding to the Final Exam can be repeated in order to improve the classification.