Learning objectives

The course aims to provide students a detailed description of the biological and biochemical alterations underlying the development of malignancies and resistance to therapies. Specifically, the features common to various types of tumors and the multiple molecular mechanisms involved in tumorigenesis and metastasis formation will be described, with a focus on changes in energy metabolism. In addition, the course will delve into the mechanism of action of the most common chemotherapeutics in clinical use and the resistance mechanisms that cancer cells adopt to survive therapy. The course will also be based on the description of recent published scientific papers, allowing the student to be provided with up-to-date notions. The notions provided during the course will allow the student to develop a critical capacity regarding the biological and biochemical alterations involved in cancer cells, discussing scientific work with the professors.
By the end of the course, the student will have acquired:
a) in-depth knowledge of the main molecular mechanisms involved in tumor formation and metastasis;
b) knowledge of the metabolic alterations of cancer cells;
c) knowledge of the mechanisms of resistance to therapies adopted by neoplastic cells;
d) ability to analyze and understand scientific papers pertaining to the topics covered.