Chapter 14, Problem 1IA

Summary Introduction

To determine:

A patient has inoperable cancer and is given a drug that reduces the rate of cell division. Determine the reason for the change in the count of white blood cells and also, the reason for changes in the patient’s environment for studying the compensatory effects of the changes.

Introduction:

A patient has been diagnosed with inoperable cancer and is prescribed a drug by the doctor, which reduces the rate of the cell division of the cells in the human body. This drug will affect the regulation of the cell cycle of the body. The cell cycle includes different stages like G₂, G₁, M (mitosis) and S (synthesis) phase. The drugs alter the duration of these stages and the cancer cells move towards apoptosis. This will lower the total count of the white blood cells in the blood, due to the induction of death and apoptosis of the cancer cells in the body.