BRAF Inhibitors Jordan Talia Christine M. Cornejo Jesse Hirner BRAF is an oncogene encoding the BRAF protein, a component of the MAPK signaling pathway, that regulates cell proliferation, differentiation, survival,…

Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) Inhibitors Timothy M. Dang Daniela Kroshinsky The human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER) family of proteins is normally involved in cell growth and survival.1 HER1,…

Bleomycin Jasmine Rana Bernice Y. Kwong A fermentation product of Streptococcus verticillus, bleomycin exerts a cytotoxic effect on replicating cells by inducing DNA double strand breaks. Bleomycin is administered systemically…

Microtubule Inhibitors Timothy M. Dang Daniela Kroshinsky Microtubule inhibitors are comprised of largely two classes of chemotherapy—taxanes and vinca alkaloids. Taxanes are cytotoxic drugs that promote the polymerization of tubulin…

Anthracyclines Emma H. Weiss Caroline A. Nelson Jonathan S. Leventhal Anthracycline antibiotics are derived from Streptomyces species and are a commonly used cytotoxic treatment for both solid and hematologic malignancies…

Antimetabolites Sheila Shaigany Paul I. Schneiderman Antimetabolites represent a broad class of chemotherapy agents that halt tumor growth by disrupting cellular division in the S phase of the cell cycle….

Topoisomerase Inhibitors Abdulhadi Jfri Christopher Iriarte Victor Huang Topoisomerases are enzymes involved in DNA structure, specifically in breaking and rejoining the phosphodiester backbone of double stranded DNA.1 Topoisomerase I inhibitors…

Alkylating Agents Sheila Shaigany Alkylating agents are highly reactive cytotoxic agents that damage DNA by covalently attaching an alkyl group to guanine molecules present in DNA. This leads directly to…

Severe Cutaneous Adverse Reactions Elisa M. Schunkert Andrew C. Walls Severe cutaneous adverse reactions (SCARs) to drugs include several potentially lifethreatening conditions, such as: SJS/TEN (Stevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis) SJS/TEN-like…

Inflamed Actinic Keratoses Emma H. Weiss Caroline A. Nelson Jonathan S. Leventhal Inflammation of clinical and subclinical actinic keratoses is commonly seen with systemic administration of antimetabolites, such as 5-fluorouracil,…