Three patients were admitted to the hospital for experimental cancer therapy. These patients were hypothesized to have different and rare forms of cancer that were caused by mutations in a single gene. (Obviously this is fictional since it takes >1 mutation to cause cancerous transformation of cells). As described below, the hospital staff determined the nature of the mutation in each patient and then proposed treatment with a particular novel chemotherapeutic agent.
1) It was determined that Patient 1 has a single amino acid change at position 12 in Ras that eliminates its ability to hydrolyze GTP. The hospital staff plans to use an experimental drug, Drug X, that prevents dimerization of a receptor tyrosine kinase that signals to Ras.
a) additional information is required to determine if this will be a suitable treatment for this patient
b) I would NOT expect this to be a suitable treatment for this patient
c) I would expect this to be a suitbale treatment for this patient
2) It was determined that Patient 2 has a mutation in both copies of the gene that encodes Rb that abolishes the function of Rb protein. The hospital staff plans to use an experimental drug, Drug Y, that inhibits activity of E2F transcription factors
a) additional information is required to determine if this will be a suitable treatment for this patient
b) I would NOT expect this to be a suitable treatment for this patient
c) I would expect this to be a suitbale treatment for this patient
3) It was determined that Patient 3 has a mutation in MDM2 that prevents it from being phosphorylated and mutations in the p14ARF that block all of its expression. The hospital staff plans to use an experimental drug, Drug Z, that damages DNA in fast-growing cells such as tumor cells.
a) additional information is required to determine if this will be a suitable treatment for this patient
b) I would NOT expect this to be a suitable treatment for this patient
c) I would expect this to be a suitbale treatment for this patient