11. Neoplasms Flashcards
(34 cards)
How many new cases of cancer were there worldwide in 2012?
14 million.
How many people died, worldwide, from cancer?
8.2 million.
What are the top three, most prevalent cancers?
Breast, lung and prostate.
How can looking at the most common cancers be helpful to a doctor?
It can provide a starting place for diagnosis.
Which cancer is responsible for most deaths in the UK?
Lung.
What factors are considered when considering outcome of cancers?
Age and general health of the patient. Tumour site, type, grade and stage. Also the availability of treatments.
What does TNM stand for in cancer staging?
T = size of primary tumour: T1-T4. N = extent of regional node metastasis: N0-N3. M = extent of distant metastatic spread: M0 or M1.
What are the four stages generally referring to?
Stage I - early local disease.
Stage II - advanced local disease.
Stage III - regional metastasis.
Stage IV - advanced disease with distant metastasis.
What is the Ann Arbor staging used for?
Lymphomas.
What are the four stages in Ann Arbor staging?
I - single node region.
II - two separate regions on one side of the diaphragm.
III - spread to both sides of the diaphragm.
IV - diffuse or disseminated involvement of one or more extra lymphatic organs such as bone marrow or lungs.
What is Duke’s staging used for?
Colorectal carcinoma.
What are the stages A-D of Duke’s staging?
A - invasion into but not through the bowel.
B - invasion through the bowel wall.
C - involvement of lymph nodes.
D - distant metastasis.
What are the four grades of neoplasia?
G1 - well-differentiated.
G2 - moderately differentiated.
G3 - poorly differentiated.
G4 - undifferentiated or anaplastic.
Which neoplasms is the grading system generally used for?
Squamous cell carcinoma and colorectal carcinoma.
Which neoplasm is the Bloom-Richardson system used for?
Breast cancer.
What does the Bloom-Richardson assess?
Grading, by looking at: tubule formation, nuclear variation and number of mitoses.
Why is tumour grading important?
It helps plan treatment and estimates prognosis in certain types of malignancy, the link between grade and prognosis is displayed especially well with breast carcinoma.
How can cancer be treated?
By surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and treatment targeted to specific molecular alterations.
What is the typical curative treatment of cancer?
Surgery.
What is adjuvant treatment?
Treatment given after surgical removal of a primary tumour to eliminate subclinical disease.
What is neoadjuvant treatment?
Treatment given to reduce the size of a primary tumour prior to surgical excision.
Why is radiatiotherapy given in fracitonated does?
It minimises normal tissue damage whilst still damaging malignant cells.
How does radiotherapy work?
X rays or other ionising radiation is used to kill rapidly dividing cells, especially in G2 of the cell cycle. The high dose causes either direct or free-radical induced DNA damage that is detected by the cell cycle check-points, triggering apoptosis. Double-stranded DNA breakages cause damaged chromosomes that prevent M phase from completing correctly.
How do antimetabolites work?
They mimic normal substrates involved in DNA replication.