The title of your essay is;
Discuss the role of the tumour microenvironment in
promoting drug resistance in breast cancer.
Essay:
Maximum 2,000 words (+
references + figures)
200-word abstract (not Inc. in total word count)
800-word introduction
1,000-word critical analysis of scientific data
200-word conclusion
Format
for essay:
1. Dissertation length and
format
The dissertation should be a maximum of 2,000 words long, excluding the title and contents page,
abstract, figures with their legends and the reference list. Normally this
equals 10-12 pages in total. Usually, 10-15 references are cited. Reference
citations within the project text count in the word limit.
Typing should be Arial 11 point font, 1.5 lines spacing and pages
numbered.
2. Dissertation structure
and contents
Should have seven sections
in this order – Title page, Contents, Abstract, Introduction & hypothesis, critical
analysis, conclusion, References.
a) Abstract
A short summary, 200 words, of the whole dissertation, in the form of a
single paragraph should appear on a separate page. It should cover the main
points of the introduction, literature analysis and
conclusions. References are not included. It is recommended that you write the
abstract last, as it is a summary of the whole project.
b) Introduction (800 words)
The Introduction should be a clear and concise analysis of published
work in the field that can be easily understood by scientists who are not necessarily
experts in the field. There should be evidence of a thorough understanding of
the area of study and its importance. The selection of papers cited should be
wide ranging and show evidence of analysis of alternative points of view and/or
experimental strategies. All papers should be fully referenced and you should
have read all of the studies cited. You can use peer-reviewed papers and
reviews. End the introduction with a clear hypothesis to be tested.
Hypothesis: I hypothesis
that, the immune cells of the tumour microenvironment protect the tumour from
targeted cancer therapies and are key in promoting drug resistance.
My aims to test this hypothesis is to focus on the role of (choose a
specific cell type or immune mediator – i.e. CAFs or macrophages, or mediators
such as TGF or CXCL12) in promoting drug resistance.
c) Critical analysis (1,000
words)
This should centre on investigating your hypothesis, to prove or
refute. This should be a concise and clear review of the primary papers chosen
(choose at least 2 articles) and how they relate to the essay title. Analyse
the research findings within the papers and compare/contrast to one another.
Tables and figures should be used where appropriate to support the written text
and to organise/convey key concepts/data. Aim, where possible, to produce your
own charts, tables and diagrams that may summarise the work of others or bring
together various elements of knowledge. You should include key data figures
from your chosen primary articles to discuss.
It is the nature of scientific research that conflicting results are
sometimes reported, and previous studies that may not agree with your own
findings, must be fully acknowledged and discussed.
d) Conclusion (200 words)
In this section, you must draw clear conclusions from
the critically appraised literature and suggestions of ideas for future studies can
be included.
Repetition of any statements or arguments made in the
Introduction and the critical analysis sections should be avoided. The conclusion
should take place against the background of previously published studies and
show evidence of reading and critical thinking in this regard. Link back to
your hypothesis here.
e) References (Citing references
in the text)
Two methods for citing references in the text and listing them in the
reference list are commonly used. You may choose which you use, but do not use
a mixture of both.
Style 1. Harvard The authors are
named in the text, e.g. (Kennedy and Cunningham, 2019) and when more than two
authors are cited (Kennedy et al., 2019). For example;
“Westfall et al., (2016)
reported that stimulation of the sympathetic nerves evoked a rise in mean
arterial blood pressure. This response was inhibited by antagonists of
α-receptors (Kennedy et al., 2019).”
If there are multiple citations for a specific point, they should be
cited in the text in chronological order and separated by semi-colons e.g.
(Westfall et al., 2016; Kennedy et al., 2019).
Style 2. Vancouver The references are numbered
in the order that they appear in the report, e.g.
“Stimulation of the sympathetic
nerves evoked a rise in mean arterial blood pressure (1). This response was
inhibited by antagonists of α-receptors (2).”
Assessment of essay:
Essay (70%)
|
Section |
Criteria |
|
|
Abstract |
· |
|
|
Introduction |
· · · · |
|
|
Critical analysis |
· · · |
|
|
Conclusion |
· · |
|
|
References |
· |
Papers: Ideally want around 6-8 key papers to start with which will form the
basis of your dissertation, these initially will help you get a background to
the topic and with the introduction
–
From these you will perhaps focus on 2-3 in more depth.
Main literature analysis section: The subject area was deliberately more
general so that you could find your own niche within the topic to focus in on. While
the hypothesis has been written for you, I would advise adapting/tweaking it
for the cell type you want to focus on or perhaps the mediator. I would advise
waiting to do this until after you have completed some background reading.
For example; I
hypothesis the cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs) within the TME are the
primary cell driving drug resistance,
To test this
hypothesis I aim to 1)investigate the role of the CAFs in the TME in regards to
drug resistance and 2) To examine any immunotherapy approaches which have/are
being developed to combat this.
The 2-3 papers
will be the focus for the main analysis/results part of the report and I would
use data/figures from the papers to highlight key concepts (tables and
figures/legends don’t count towards the word limit). You could if you wanted
focus one paper per aim (if you go for two aims).
The other papers
are used to compare/contrast around these and will be tied in through-out, so
should all be closely linked.
Overall you are
wanting around 10 -15 papers for your essay, some of these will be more
generalised and reviews which help construct the introduction.
´
Topic – Discuss
the role of the tumour microenvironment in promoting drug resistance in breast
cancer.
´
Approx.
2,000 word critical analysis of the literature based on the topic title
´
Review
articles can be used to form the introduction
´
Papers: Reviews to start will help with background reading/introduction.
´
Primary
papers – Ideally want around 2-3 key papers which
will form the basis of your dissertation and critical interpretation.
´
Start by evolving the
hypothesis (statement to be tested)
´
Hypothesis
– I hypothesis that, the immune cells of the
tumour microenvironment protect the tumour from targeted cancer therapies and
are key in promoting drug resistance.
´
Search
Pubmed/goggle scholar to find more/related review articles,
´
Use the
search terms in the title of your essay and narrow the search to free open
access journals and within the last 10 years,
´
Screen for
suitability
´
Evolve the
hypothesis given – is there a particular cell type or pathway that you want to
investigate further (i.e. CAFs, macrophages or mediators such as CXCL12 or TGF,
or a combination),
´
In terms
of drug resistance easier to link to one class of drugs.
´
Focus on a
single cell type or mediator, however you can discuss bring in others if they
interact with your chosen cell/mediator to expand the discussion.
´
After a
week or two of reading – Generate a 3-5 bullet point list of how you are
going to tackle your essay.