036 GI tumours Flashcards
What is hyperplasia?
Stable cell population that increases in cell number. This doesn’t include cardiac muscle and nerve cells – they undergo hypertrophy instead.
What is metaplasia?
Where you get a change from one cell type to another (by a stimulus).
What is a neoplasia?
Where you get excessive and unregulated proliferation and it continues after the stimulus is removed.
What components are in neoplasms?
Clonal neoplastic cells
Reactive stroma
What are carcinomas?
A cancer arising in the epithelial tissue of the skin or of the lining of the internal organs.
What are
adenocarcinomas?
A malignant tumour formed from glandular structures in epithelial tissue
What are squamous cell carcinomas?
A maglignant tumour formed in the squamous cells (epidermis) of epithelium.
What are mesenchymal tumors?
A cancer arising in the soft tissues of our skin.
What is the difference between sarcomas and ‘oma’ mesenchymal tumors?
Sarcomas are malignant whereas benign forms end in ‘oma’.
In the GI tract, where would squamous cell carcinomas occur?
Oesophagus and anal canal
Where will you find adenocarcinomas in the GI tract?
Throughout the whole GI tract
What do the different grades of tumor suggest?
Grade 1 - well differentiated (tumor looks like cell of origin)
Grade 4 - poorly differentiated (histochemistry needed to find where the tumour comes from)
What are some metastatic disease effects of GI tumors?
Weight loss, anaemia, local lymph nodes, liver, lung, bone marrow
What is the TNM classification of tumors?
Tumor
Node
Metastasis
What is dukes staging of colon cancer?
Dukes’ A – Tumour confined to bowel wall
Dukes’ B – Tumour extending through the bowel wall (and into underlying tissue)
Dukes’ C – Regional lymph nodes involved
Modified Dukes’: C1 – high tie node not involved, C2 – high tie node involved.
Dukes’ D – Metastatic disease.
What is barretts oesophagus?
Caused by gastric acid reflux into the oseophagus that may induce adenocarcinoma
Why can tobacco smoking cause carcinomas?
Methylating nitroso compounds are carcinogenic.
What is lymphoma?
Malignant cancer of the immune system.
Why would small bowel cancers present with jaundice?
if tumour in the duodenum obstructs the ampulla of vater.
Where does the most common GI tumors occur, and which type of cancer is it?
Large bowels, alot of glandular epithelium therefore it is adenocarcinoma.
What are microscopic features of malignant tumors?
Pleomorphism (variation in size & shape within neoplasm)
Mitotic activity
Necrosis (especially in rapidly growing tumors)
