(4) Intro to Neoplasia II (Putthoff) Flashcards
Describe the changes in grading you would observe in various stages of cervical cancer
CIN I (Cervical intraepithelial grade 1) = Start to see a proliferation of cells above the basement membrane,however there is still a maturation process that can be seen
CIN I (Cervical intraepithelial grade 2) = Even more disordered proliferation than grade 1
CIN (Cervical intraepithelial grade 3) = NO MATURATION process is observable
What are these examples of?
Basal cell carcinomas
The coarse chromatin feature seen in cancerous cells is due to…
HETEROCHROMATIN
*Remeber: It is dense and inactive
Describe the concept of differentiation
The degree to which a neoplasm resembles the tissue from which it arises or is derived
What is the major general rule to follow for differentiation of tissue?
The less differentiated a malignant neoplasm, the more aggressive it’s biological behavior
What are some examples of well differentiated benign tumors?
Leiomyoma
Thyroid adenoma
What is the grading system for malignant neoplasms?
Well differentiated
Moderatley differentiated
Poorly differentiated
Undifferentiated
What are general characteristics of benign neoplasms?
- Resemble the tissue of origin
- Well differentiated
- Likely to retain functions of their cells of origin
- Slow growing
- Circumscribed, may have a capsule
- Remain localized at the site of origin
What are general characteristics of malignant neoplasms?
-Undifferentiated
-Sometimes aquire unexpected functions
-Faster growing
- Poorly circumscribed, tend to invade surrounding normal tissues
- Have capability to metastasize to distant sites
What is the ABSOLUTE only criteria for malignancy?
METASTASIS
INCLUDE KEY CONCEPTS on page 274 here
What are examples of cavitary lung lesions?
Bronchogenic carcinoma
Staphylococcal pneumonia
Fibro-caseous cavitary TB
What is a good GENERAL rule to follow when it comes to naming a neoplasia that is either benign or malignant?
Benign = -oma
Malignant = -sarcoma
*Remember. This is not a hard rule. Just GENERALLY a lot of malignant cancers have -sarcoma, however they can have -oma at the end. Haven’t seen a benign tumor with -sarcoma at the end though!
There is no such thing as a benign ______ tumor
Wilms
Describe the comparison b/w cancer indidence and cancer deaths between men and women
Incidence: Men (Prostate most common) Women (Breast most common)
Deaths: Men (Lung most common) Women (Lung most common)
The vast majority of cervical cancers arise from?
HPV
(considered a sexually transmitted cancer)
Cervical cancer
What type of cancer?
Squamous cell cancer
INSERT KEY CONCEPTS on pg 280 for epidemiology of cancer here
Describe development of a tumor
Clinically, how big and how many cells does a tumor contain to allow us to identify it?
Mass of 1 gram
1 billion cells (10^9)
_____________ can explain not only the natural history of cancer, but also changes in tumor behavior following therapy
Selection of the fittest cells
What is one of the most profound selective pressures that cancer cells face?
Effective chemo/radiotherapy given by the treating physicians
What are the 4 classes of regulatory genes?
Growth-promoting proto-oncogenes
Growth-inhibiting tumor-suppressor genes
Genes that regulate apoptosis
DNA-_repair genes_
How many alleles need to be converted to induce neoplasia for:
Proto-oncogene
Tumor suppressor gene
Proto-oncogene = will become an oncogene if ONE of the two alleles is converted
Tumor suppressor gene = will promote neoplasia ONLY IF BOTH alleles are converted. Having one of the two gene products is sufficient to inhibit neoplasia
What type of modifications include:
DNA methylation
Histone modifications
Epigenetic modifications
What is the effect of DNA methylation on gene expression?
Silence gene expression