Course

Unit 1

Introduction: Introduction to carcinogenesis; Clonal origins of cancer, Experimental biology, Clinical data, Linking laboratory and clinic; Defining a neoplasm: Classifying cancers.

Unit 2

Epidemiology: Descriptive epidemiology, Analytical epidemiology, Criteria required to establish causality, Biomarkers, Molecular epidemiology, Factors that influence human carcinogenesis; Chemical and radiation carcinogenesis: Chemical carcinogenesis, Radiation carcinogenesis.

Unit 3

Growth: Cancer cells, Senescence, Cell mortality and telomerase, Apoptosis and cancer; Responding to the environment: General features, How a cell interacts with its environment, Hydrophobic growth regulatory molecules, Cross-talk between signaling pathways

Unit 4

Invasion and metastasis: Escape from local control and invasion, Intravasation, Transport in the bloodstream, Extravasation, Angiogenesis, Gene changes involved in metastasis

Unit 5

Crowd Control: Mechanisms of immune response to cancer, Tumour microenvironment, Pro- and anti-tumour activities in tumour microenvironment, How tumor cells evade from immune responses

Unit 6

Principles of cancer treatment: Principles behind the treatment of cancer, New forms of treatment; Approaches to cancer prevention.

Pre-requisites: Undergraduate level basic biology, chemistry and medical science

Total number of classes: 45

Course Outcome

CO1 To understand carcinogenesis, clinical connection and classification of cancers based on cellular origin

CO2 To understand the epidemiology of cancer including biomarkers and chemical and radiation-related origins of cancer

CO3 To learn about the connection between cell division, cell differentiation and apoptosis, and cancer.

CO4 To understand invasion of cancer cells and colonization at other sites in the body

CO5 To learn about tumour immunology, immune evasion of cancer cells and new forms of cancer therapy

Programme Outcomes (PO)

PO1: Bioscience Knowledge

PO2: Problem Analysis

PO3: Design/Development of Solutions

PO4: Conduct Investigations of complex problems

PO5: Modern tools usage

PO6: Bioscientist and Society

PO7: Environment and Sustainability

PO8: Ethics

PO9: Individual & Team work

PO10: Communication

PO11: Project management & Finance

PO12: Lifelong learning

0 – No affinity; 1 – low affinity; 2 – Medium affinity; 3 – High affinity

Program Specific Outcomes. (PSO)

PSO 1 – Biochemical organization and cellular complexity in function

PSO 2 – Biomolecules in Medicine

PSO 3 – Molecular basis of disease

PSO 4 – Molecular technology in diagnosis and therapy

PSO 5 – Cellular based approaches in diagnosis and therapy

PSO 6 – Microorganisms in Medicine

PSO 7 – Nanoscale entities and its significance in Medicine

PSO 8 – Tissue architecture engineering in Medicine

PSO 9 – Compounds as drugs and its efficacy

PSO 10 – Bioinformatics and biological data use

1. Ruddon RW: Cancer Biology, 4^th Edition, Oxford University Press, 2007.
2. King RJB, Robins MW: “Cancer Biology”, Third Edition, Pearson Education Ltd, 2000.
3. Robin Hesketh.  Introduction to Cancer Biology,  Cambridge University Press, 2012.
4. Weinberg, Robert A.  The Biology of Cancer, Second Edition.  New York:  Garland Science, 2013.