Step I Chemotherapeutics

Started by acpce1
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acpce1

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Its my last day to study... The 900 pound gorilla awaits at 8am tomorrow. I'm trying to cram in the last couple of things that I put off because I don't like to memorize things.

I'm now trying to go through the chemotherapeutics... Does anybody think that I should know which cancers are treated by which drug? I mean, is it important that I know that cytarabine treats AML, dactinomycin treats lymphomas, and busulfan treats CML? I don't wanna :scared:

Any advice from those who have taken it already?

Thanks!
Adam
 
acpce1 said:
Its my last day to study... The 900 pound gorilla awaits at 8am tomorrow. I'm trying to cram in the last couple of things that I put off because I don't like to memorize things.

I'm now trying to go through the chemotherapeutics... Does anybody think that I should know which cancers are treated by which drug? I mean, is it important that I know that cytarabine treats AML, dactinomycin treats lymphomas, and busulfan treats CML? I don't wanna :scared:

Any advice from those who have taken it already?

Thanks!
Adam

You don't need to know this type of detail... This is for the heme-onc fellows. It would be worth knowing that Imatinib is used to tx CML but you shouldn't worry about the rest. Otherwise, focus of major drugs, MOAs, and important toxicities (know the drugs that are cardiotoxic, cause pulmonary fibrosis, hemorrhagic cystitis, seizures, hand-foot syndrome, etc). And of those key drugs, know their MOAs and what stage of the cell cycle they target. Good luck.
 
Ceez said:
doesn't the exam start at 9?
Well, my paper says that my appointment time is 8:30 am and that I should arrive 30 minutes prior to my scheduled time.


Thanks for the advice, babinski bob. The info is in First Aid, so I figured they (the NBME) asked these type of questions in the past. God, I hope not.

In addition, do you think I need to know MOA's for the anti-parasitics? Those are yuck too.
 
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acpce1 said:
Well, my paper says that my appointment time is 8:30 am and that I should arrive 30 minutes prior to my scheduled time.


Thanks for the advice, babinski bob. The info is in First Aid, so I figured they (the NBME) asked these type of questions in the past. God, I hope not.

In addition, do you think I need to know MOA's for the anti-parasitics? Those are yuck too.

MOAs are always game for questions... IMHO, you should always know the MOA and major side effects for drugs, and the general class of drugs. Super specific treatments is more step 2 material unless it's a super big point (for ex. ACE inhibitors for pts w/ DM, etc....).
 
Every question I had on chemotherapy dealt with MOA or side effects, for ex.:

S/E of Bleomycin -- duh
MOA of MTX -- duh