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Efficacy of a Medication for Chronic Myeloid Leukemia

Image from the activity

Topic

  • Genetics
  • Genetic Disease
  • Math & Computational Skills
  • Graph Interpretation

Resource Type

  • Activities
  • Data Points

Level

High School — GeneralHigh School — AP/IBCollege
Saved By
6 Users
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View in Spanish

Description

This activity guides the analysis of a published scientific figure from a study that tested a new treatment for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), a cancer of white blood cells.

In CML, white blood cells divide uncontrollably due to an overactive mutant tyrosine kinase protein called BCR-ABL. In this study, scientists developed and tested a drug, STI571 (trade name Gleevec), that blocks the activity of BCR-ABL. The figure shows the white blood cell counts for six CML patients, each represented by a different line, who were treated with STI571 for 150 days. The dotted line represents the upper limit of a healthy white blood cell count. The “Educator Materials” document includes a captioned figure, background information, graph interpretation, and discussion questions. The “Student Handout” includes a captioned figure and background information.

Student Learning Targets

  • Analyze and interpret data from a scientific figure. 
  • Use patient data to evaluate the efficacy of a medical treatment.

Estimated Time

Within one 50-minute class period.

Key Terms

cancer, cell division, chromosomal translocation, Gleevec, health care, line graph, medicine, oncogene, tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI)

Primary Literature

Druker, Brian J., Moshe Talpaz, Debra J. Resta, Bin Peng, Elisabeth Buchdunger, John M. Ford, Nicholas B. Lydon, et al. “Efficacy and safety of a specific inhibitor of the BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase in chronic myeloid leukemia.” New England Journal of Medicine 344, 14 (2001): 1031–1037. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJM200104053441401.

Terms of Use

Please see the Terms of Use for information on how this resource can be used.

Accessibility Level (WCAG compliance)

PDF files meet criteria. Spanish files meet criteria.

Version History

Date Published 02.01.16
Date Updated 10.06.21

NGSS (2013)

SEP2, SEP4, SEP5

AP Biology (2019)

IST-1.E, ENE-1.G; SP1, SP4

IB Biology (2016)

1.6

AP Environmental Science (2020)

Topic(s): 8.13
Learning Objectives & Practices: EIN-3.B, SP5

Common Core (2010)

ELA.RST.9-12.7
Math.S-ID.3, Math.S-IC.1; MP2, MP5

Vision and Change (2009)

CC2; DP2, DP3

Materials

Image (JPG) 185 KB
Educator Materials (PDF) 986 KB
Student Handout (PDF) 665 KB
Educator Materials - Español (PDF) 488 KB
Student Handout - Español (PDF) 333 KB

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