24. Intro to Oncology Flashcards
_______ starts when a cell is somehow altered so that it multiplies out of control
cancer
________ is a mass composed of a cluster of abnormal cells
tumor
these types of tumors stop growing, do not spread to other parts of the body and do not create new tumors (e.g. freckles & moles)
bengin (noncancerous) tumors
these types of tumors crowd out healthy cells, interfere with body function and draw nutrients from body tissues
malignany (cancerous) tumors
what are the 6 hallmarks of cancer
- self-sufficiency in growth signals (cancer cells grow on their own)
- insensitivity to antigrowth signals
3, tissue invasion and metastasis - limitless replicative potential
- sustained angiogenesis
- evading apoptosis
what are some examples of solid tumors
carcinomas
- breast cancer
- colon cancer
- lung cancer
- bladder cancer
- prostate cancer
sarcomas
- fat, bone or muscle cancer
what are some examples of liquid tumors
leukemias (in blood) and lymphomas (in lymph nodes)
true or false: if a patient was diagnosed with colon cancer, and then the cancer eventually spread to the liver, the cancer would now be called liver cancer
false - called colon cancer with liver metastases
the 2 main types of genes that are recognized as playing a role in cancer are
oncogenes and tumor supressor genes
these are normal genes that slow down cell division, repair DNA mistakes, and tell cells when to die; in cancer these genes are “turned off”
tumor suppressor genes
these are mutated forms of genes that cause normal cells to grow out of control and become cancer cells
oncogenes
what is the best way to diagnose cancer
biopsy - pathologist looks at cells or a a piece of tissue that is removed from the body
this is a system used to classify cancer cells in terms of how abnormal they look under a microscope and how quickly the tumor is likely to grow and spread. factors that affect this include structure and the growth pattern of the cells
tumor grade
this refers the how much the tumor cells resemble normal cells of the same tissue type aka differentiation
histological grade
explain what each grade represents from G1 -> G4
G1 - well differentiated (cancer cells look like normal cells)
G2 - moderately differentiated
G3 - poorly differentiated
G4 - undifferentiated (cancer cells do not look like normal cells) worse prognosis
this is a way of classifying cancer based on the extent of cancer spread within the body
staging
what does the pathologist need to know in order to stage a cancer
T - tumor size
N - if the cancer has spread outside the tissue/organ it started in to the lymph nodes
M - where in the body the cancer has spread/metastasized
what are the five TMN stages
stage 0 - carcinoma in situ
stage I - localized and usually curable
stage II/III - local/regional spread and chance of cure
stage IV - metastatic disease and usually not curable
this type of therapy has a goal to cure patients (e.g. surgery)
primary therapy
this type of therapy is systemic therapy given in addition to primary therapy to eradicate any possible micrometastases
adjunct/adjuvant therapy
this type of therapy is used to reduce tumor burden/size prior to surgery and treat micrometastases
neoadjuvant therapy
this type of therapy is used when a cure is not possible. control symptoms, makes patient comfortable
palliative/metastatic therapy
what are the 6 main types of treatment for cancer
- surgery
- chemotherapy
- radiation
- immunotherapy
- targeted therapy
- hormone therapy
this is the oldest form of cancer treatment and is still the main treatment for many types of cancer. it is used to:
- lower the risk of developing certain types of cancer
- restore function or appearance
- relieve symptoms such as bleeding or pain caused by tumors
surgery
this uses a certain type of energy (radiation) from x-rays, gamma rays, electrons and other sources to destroy or damage cancer cells.
radiation
this is the use of drugs to destroy cancer cells. it usually works by keeping the cancer cells form growing, dividing and making more cells. it affects rapidly diving cancer cells and healthy cells
chemotherapy
the problems associated with traditional cytotoxic chemotherapeutic agents is/are:
A. lack of specificity towards cancer
B. result in many serious side effects
C. lack of knowledge on how to identify patients at risk of toxicities
D. all of the above
D
this is a treatment that uses the patients own immune system to fight cancer. it can boost the immune system so it can find and attack cancer cells.
immunotherapy
this is a treatment that blocks certain hormones that are responsible for helping certain cancers grow
hormone therapy
this is a type of cancer treatment that uses drugs or other substances to precisely identify and attack certain types of cancer cells
targeted therapy
what are the two ways that targeted therapy is different from chemo therapy
- targeted therapy affects the cancer cells and usually leaves healthy cells alone whereas chemo damages cancer and healthy cells
- targeted therapy blocks cancer cells from copying themselves which can stop a cancer cell from dividing and making new cancer cells whereas chemo kills cancer cells that have already been madeoh y
chemotherapy drugs work through different cytotoxic mechanisms. the combination of chemotherapy agents is called
chemotherapy regimens/protocols
this is known as the time when cancer is responding to treatment or the cancer is under control (e.g. not growing)
remission
this means there is no detectable evidence of cancer after treatment
complete remission
true or false: if someone is in complete remission, it means that their cancer has been cured
false
this means the size of the cancer has gotten smaller by more than 50% of its original size, but does not completely disappear
partial remission
what are the threshold labs for administering chemotherapy
- WBCs & ANC
- Platelets & Hgb
- Renal and liver function
know the BSA (Mosteller formula)
BSA = sq. root (ht*wt/3600)
true or false: when calculating BSA for chemotherapy, the patients actual body weight should be used instead of ideal body weight
true
