org, 2009). The outward advantages of immunotherapy are as follows: certain drugs have fewer side effects and offer patients a higher quality of life, bolstered anti-cancer effectiveness and rates of survival, benefits are often reaped quickly for the patient (cisncancer.org). The disadvantages are as follows: some varieties of this treatment have serious side effects, are very expensive and occasionally offer just a short-term efficacy (cisncancer.org) 5. An overexpression of proto-oncogenes can cause cancer as mutated forms of these genes can promote unrestrained cell proliferation: "oncogenes actively promote proliferation (analogous to the gas pedal of the cell cycle). Mutations that convert proto-oncogenes to oncogenes typically increase the activity" (Hyland). An underexpression of tumor suppressor genes can also put an individual in a precarious situation. Tumor suppressor genes slam the brakes on cell proliferation: not enough of these genes could easily create a situation of unregulated cell growth (Hyland).

Lung Cancer: Case Study

1. Based on this limited history, the patient might have developed chronic bronchitis or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

2. I would ask the patient if her cough is wet or dry, if she's lost any weight or feels an increased sense of fatigue.

3. I would ask the patient if she's ever experience anxiety, if she's had pneumonia and if heart disease is in her family.

4. The pertinent positive on the exam are that her heartbeat is normal, her wheezes are scattered without crackle or rhonchi and she is experiencing no edema. These signs might indicate that the patient is just experiencing an aggravated form of emphysema but not the onset of pneumonia or heart disease. However, the fact that other muscles are helping her breathe indicates a progression of the emphysema.

5. My differential diagnosis has changed in that I think the patient might have a just an aggravated form of emphysema: the disease has merely progressed.

6. I would order chest radiographs, chest x-rays and chest radiographs.

7. I think the patient either has an intensified version of...

Additional tests that might be useful are ones which tests for common tumor markers of cancer such as CEA and NSE.
9. I would advise the patient to eat alkaline foods and to lower the acidity in her body, practice yoga and meditation and to reduce her stress levels and make sure she had a comforting friend to pick her up from the hospital.

10. I would tell the patient that we still would have to engage in a series of tests, before we can say that she is going to need chemotherapy for certain. The fact that the surgery was indicated to be a success and that there are no complications are all good signs, as is the fact that her dyspnea has improved.

References

Cancer.gov. (n.d.). Understanding Cancer Series. Retrieved from Cancer.gov: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/understandingcancer/cancergenomics/AllPages

Cancer.gov/topics. (n.d.). Tumor Markers. Retrieved from Cancer.gov: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/detection/tumor-markers

Cancer.org. (n.d.). Tumor Markers. Retrieved from Cancer.org: http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/UnderstandingYourDiagnosis/ExamsandTestDescriptions/TumorMarkers/tumor-markers-common-ca-and-t-m

Cancerresearch.org. (n.d.). Cancer and the Immune System: Advantages of Cancer Immunotherapy. Retrieved from Cancerresearch.org: http://www.cancerresearch.org/resources/cancer-immune-system/cancer-immunotherapy-advantages.html

CISNCancer.org. (2011). The Promise of Immunotherapy. Retrieved from Cisncancer.org: http://cisncancer.org/research/new_treatments/immunotherapy/promise.html

Folkman, J. (2002). Role of angiogenesis in tumor growth and metastasis. Semin Oncol, 15-18. Retrieved from Role of angiogenesis in tumor growth and metastasis

Hyland, K. (n.d.). Tumor Suppressor Genes and Oncogenes. Retrieved from Ucsf.edu: http://biochemistry.ucsf.edu/programs/ptf/m3%20links/TumorSuppressLEC.pdf

Labtestonline.org. (n.d.). The Test. Retrieved from Labtestsonline.org: http://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/ca19-9/tab/test