Topics in Cancer Biology

3 units

Cancer has a significant impact upon society in the United States and across the world. This course aims to provide students with a more extensive understanding of what cancer is, how it affects the human body, and how genomics data can be utilized in its care. This course will teach students to be conversant on issues related to cancer, including its etiology, development, genetics, treatments, prevention, and the current state of precision medicine approaches to cancer care. The class will include a combination of lectures and discussions, and each student is expected and encouraged to participate in class discussions and contribute relevant thoughts and ideas. The material will cover the basics of cancer biology using a traditional lecture, including a review of relevant primary literature. The major topics covered in the course include causes of cancer, oncogenes, mutagens and carcinogenesis, cancer genetics and genomics, cancer metastasis, hypoxia, angiogenesis, cancer screening, diagnosis, cancer therapy including immunotherapy, cancer biomarkers, cancer staging, cancer imaging and precision medicine.