What is cancer and why is it so difficult to cure? Cancer is a disease that everybody has been and/or will be affected by during their lives, directly and/or indirectly. You will gain a comprehensive understanding of the disease, including what defines a cancer cell, and the mechanisms underlying cancer cell formation and behaviour. This will enable you to understand why cancer is particularly difficult to treat successfully, why cancer therapies are associated with significant adverse effects, and how cancer treatments have nevertheless dramatically improved over time and continue to do so. This knowledge will enable you to become an expert in cancer, who is up-to-date on this important disease and equipped to follow and understand future developments and progress in the field.
Lecture 20 hours, Workshop 12 hours
800 words Short Writing Piece. Assessment Details: Critical Analysis of Misinformation worth 40%.
1,000 words Short Writing Piece . Assessment Details: Critical Analysis of a Topical Research Question worth 60%.
Reassessment Method: Like-for-like
On successfully completing the module, students will be able to:
1. Appraise the causes, origin, and nature of cancer.
2. Evaluate the prospects and limitations of current and future cancer therapies.
3. Assess how experimental (preclinical) and clinical data inform our knowledge on cancer
4. Critique scientific information from research articles to form coherent arguments.
5. Critically evaluate evidence-based analyses of cancer-related information and claims.
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