202 Intro To Oncology Flashcards
Oncology refers to the study of?
Many abnormal cells are needed for cancers to occur. True or false
Cancer refers to diseases caused by cells that do what?
What is molecular oncology?
What two heritable properties define cancer cells?
Study of tumors is oncology. Only once abnormal cell is needed to start dividing uncontrollably and they saana don’t serve any function in the body. They’re called neoplasticism or cancer cells.
So it needs only one cell to divide uncontrollably and that one cell must have a competitive or selective advantage over other cells and the body’s defenses.
Oncology is the study of tumours. A tumour arises when a single abnormal cell divides uncontrollably to eventually form a mass of new abnormal cells.
2.These abnormal cells which serve no useful function in the body are described as neoplastic cells or cancer cells.
3.Cancer is the term applied to a group of diseases in which the abnormal cells of the body no longer responds to the normal restraints on growth. Cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells anywhere in a body.
4.Molecular oncology is the study of cancer at the DNA level, using techniques that allow detection of genetic alterations down to single base pair changes.
Cancer cells thus break the basic rules of cell behaviour and are defined by two heritable properties:
●Continuous reproduction of the abnormal cells in defiance on the normal restraints on cell division,
●These abnormal cells invading and colonizing other areas of the body and interfering and preventing the function of normal cells in these areas.
So in my own words, the cancer isn’t listening to the body’s signals or restraints for it to stop dividing anyhow. On top of everything else, it saana invades other parts of the body and prevents those parts from functioning the way they should normally.
3.The combination of these two properties makes cancer very dangerous.
An abnormal cell with disagreeable properties will cause significant damage even if its proliferation is under control. It can easily be handled by the body.
True or false
A tumor is only considered a cancer if it is malignant. What does the term malignant mean?
How is it different from metastases
What is anaplasia and dysplasia
False.
An abnormal cell with disagreeable properties will cause no significant
damage if its proliferation is under control. It can easily be handled by the body.
The out-of-control proliferation is what gives rise to a tumour or neoplasm, which is the relentless growing mass of abnormal cells. So keyword is it must not only be abnormal but must also be dividing abnormally or have out of control proliferation.
A tumour is considered a cancer only if it is malignant - acquired the ability to invade surrounding tissue. (So if it’s cancer of the liver, it invades the liver and stays within that confines. Once it moves out of the liver through the bloodstream and to another part of the body, it has metastasized)
These have one purpose - to eventually kill you.
Invasiveness implies the ability to break lose, enter the bloodstream of lymphatic vessels and form secondary tumours called metastases at other sites in the body. This increases the difficulty of treatment.
Malignant tumours therefore have rapid growth rate, loss of differentiation and absence of normal tissue organization. This results in irregularity of size and shape of the nucleus and other structures.
So with malignancy, it’s staying in one tissue and invading structures close to the tissue so in the case of the liver, maybe the bile ducts and blood vessels near the liver
But once it moves from the liver and surrounding tissues via the blood vessels or lymphatic vessels to another part of the body that is distant, it has
Metastasized
Anaplasia is absence of differentiation recognized by loss of organization and increase in nuclear size
Here’s a simple and clear explanation:
Dysplasia means abnormal development or growth of cells, but the cells are still somewhat organized.
• It often looks like cells are starting to behave badly — changing size, shape, or arrangement.
• It can be mild, moderate, or severe.
• Dysplasia can sometimes go back to normal if the cause (like irritation) is removed — but if it gets worse, it can lead to cancer.
Anaplasia means complete loss of cell structure and function — cells become very primitive, ugly, and chaotic.
• It is a hallmark of malignant cancer.
• The cells look nothing like the normal cells they came from.
• They grow uncontrollably and are very aggressive.
In short:
• Dysplasia = early, disorganized changes that might still be reversible.
• Anaplasia = full loss of normal features, not reversible, and always linked to malignancy.
Would you also like a few very short bullet points to memorize them even faster?
Uncontrolled growth of normal cells is cancer. True or false.
Cancer can be solid or liquid (or hematological) tumors. Give examples of solid tumors and examples of liquid tumors
Solid tumors
What does it mean to say a carcinoma is in situ and how is it different from an invasive carcinoma
False. Uncontrolled growth of normal cells is benign. We don’t say benign cancer. We say benign cells. Cancer is uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells.
Solid tumours are designated according to the issue of origin
a)Carcinoma – epithelial cells for interior and exterior parts of the body e.g. breast –ductal carcinoma, lung, colon
b)Sarcoma – bone, cartilage, muscle, connective tissues e.g. skeletal muscle malignant cancers are rhabdomyosarcomas
c)Leukemia – begin in bone marrow and accumulate in blood stream
d)Lymphoma – in lymphocytes and immune system
e)Malignant melanoma – melanocytes
f)Blastoma – neuroblastoma or retinoblastoma
3.Carcinoma in situ (CIS) is pre-invasive epithelial malignant tumours. These cancers have not broken through or invaded the surrounding tissue.
4.CIS is found in a number of sites including cervix, breast, stomach, endometrium and are readily treatable with sparing surgery.
5.Alternatively is the invasive or infiltrating carcinoma (IC). Which means the cancer has gone out of the organ while in situ means restricted to the organ and haven’t broken into surrounding tissue but for malignancy, it moves into surrounding tissue.
Metastases, it moves to distant parts of the body far away from the tissue
