B2 – Upper Intermediate
Research has identified a potential new treatment for a particularly aggressive subtype of prostate cancer. This development could provide more targeted therapy options for patients with this challenging diagnosis, improving outcomes.
Read the article on a promising degrader that targets CDK12 and a related gene to destroy tumors.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/10/241004121704.htm
Vocabulary Questions:
- What does “genetic alteration” mean? “When researchers at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center first identified a new subtype of aggressive prostate cancer, they knew they needed to understand how this genetic alteration was driving cancer and how to target it with treatment.” Use it in a sentence.
- What does “cancer driver gene” mean? “The loss of this gene activates other known cancer driver genes, causing them to be overexpressed at a high level while also causing DNA to be replicated very rapidly.” Use it in a sentence.
- What does “bona fide” mean? “Then, when we added loss of the p53 oncogene, the mice developed bona fide invasive prostate cancer,” said senior author Arul M. Chinnaiyan, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Michigan Center for Translational Pathology and S.P. Hicks Professor of Pathology at Michigan Medicine.” Use it in a sentence.
Discussion Questions:
- What specific subtype of prostate cancer does the new treatment target, and why is it considered aggressive?
- How does the new treatment differ from existing therapies for prostate cancer?
- What are the expected outcomes or survival benefits for patients using this treatment?
- What were some notable side effects of the new treatment observed during clinical trials ?