Course Details in 2025/26 Session

Module Title	LH Cancer Pathogenesis and Treatment
School	Cancer Studies
Department	Inst of Cancer / Genomic Sci
Module Code	01 33832
Module Lead	Drs T. Stankovic & P. Murray (Co-Leads)
Level	Honours Level
Credits	40
Semester	Semester 1
Pre-requisites
Co-requisites
Restrictions	It is a requirement that students achieve a mark of at least 35% in their summative exam
Contact Hours	Lecture-47 hours Tutorial-8 hours Practical Classes and workshops-11 hours Guided independent study-334 hours Total: 400 hours
Exclusions
Description	The objective is to introduce the subject of cancer to the BMedSc students with an emphasis on the scientific basis of the causes of different cancers, their diagnoses and treatment. The course will comprise a general introduction to basic characteristics of immortalised or transformed cells in culture and tumour cells in vivo and the categories of either genes or environmental agents that contribute most to the causation of cancer. Thereafter, the specific characteristics of particular tumours will be examined from a cellular and molecular perspective. The tumour types that will be emphasised are leukaemias and lymphomas, breast cancer and colorectal cancer. The origin of most leukaemias and lymphomas is probably through errors occurring during normal cellular processes and therefore largely unavoidable. Both breast cancer and colorectal cancer are among the most common cancers and have causes which are largely environmental in origin and therefore, potentially, avoidable. Finally the treatment and diagnosis of cancer will be investigated with particular emphasis on new developments.
Learning Outcomes	By the end of the module, students should be able to: Demonstrate a detailed understanding of the fundamental molecular biology applicable to cancer cells and the genetic and environmental risk factors Demonstrate a detailed knowledge of a number of tumour types which illustrate specific aetiologies Demonstrate a critical appreciation of current developments in the fields of diagnosis and treatment of cancer,
Assessment	33832-01 : Overall Module Mark : Mixed (100%)
Assessment Methods & Exceptions	The module is assessed by a combination of a 3 hour written examination (50%) and course work (50%) - experimental data interpretation - practical write up Reassessment: Academic failure: If a student fails the module then they will be required to repeat the failed components only. Failure to submit: Submission of coursework is compulsory for the programme. Students are advised that failure to submit without justifiable reason could result in failure of the module. Students will be required to submit outstanding work to meet the module outcomes.
Other
Reading List