Cancer patients being treated with chemotherapeutic drugs designed to destroy rapidly dividing cells are monitored closely for changes in their red and white blood counts. Why so?

Video transcript

Hey, everyone. Let's look at our next question. Chemotherapy is designed to target rapidly dividing cells including both cancer cells and healthy cells in the body. If the treatment suppresses white blood cell production, what is its possible consequence for the patient? A? It will cause anemia. B, it will increase the vulnerability to infections. C it will deplete the oxygen source or d it will increase the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the tissues. Well, to think about the consequence of suppressing white blood cell production, let's think about what it is that white blood cells do. And of course, we can recall they are essential to the immune system. So when we look at our possible consequences and our answer choices and think about the role of the immune system that will lead us to choice B, it will increase the vulnerability to infections, fewer white blood cells. The immune system won't operate as efficiently as it usually does. When we look at our other answer. Choices. Choice A, it will cause anemia. Well, an anem anemia is a deficiency in the number of red blood cells or of hemoglobin. So, anemia would result if the treatment suppresses red blood cell, white pro product, red blood cell production, not white blood cell production. So I'm going to put R BC result if it were suppressing red blood cell production. So it still might result as a result of chemotherapy. But in this case, our question specifically addresses suppression of white blood cell production. So that's why choice A is not correct. And then choice C and D similar problem deplete the oxygen source, increase the accumulation of carbon dioxide. This would be also a result of suppression of red blood cell production. Since red blood cells transport oxygen to tissues and transport carbon dioxide away from the tissues. So both of those C N D would be consequences of a suppression of red blood cell production. So the consequence of suppressing white blood cell production would be choice B it will increase the vulnerability to infections. See you in the next video.