8: Neoplasia II

Question 1

What is a gene family which is associated with breast and ovarian cancer?

Answer 1

BRCA

Question 2

Retinoblastoma and familial adenomatous polyposis are both autosomal (dominant / recessive) cancers.

Answer 2

autosomal dominant

Question 3

Gene mutations are associated with the development of ___.

Answer 3

cancer

Question 4

Which cancer is strongly associated with smoking?

Answer 4

Lung cancer

Question 5

Squamous cell carcinoma is classified under which type of lung cancer?

Answer 5

Small cell lung cancer (the worst one)

Question 6

Which virus is associated with cervical cancer?

Answer 6

Human papilloma virus

Question 7

Which bacteria is associated with gastric cancer?

Answer 7

H. pylori

Question 8

Which imaging modality emits radiation which can cause cancer?

Answer 8

XR

CT scans (the most!)

Question 9

Which cancers can be caused by radiation exposure?

Answer 9

Leukaemia

Thyroid cancer

Question 10

Viruses like HPV produce substances which interfere with stages of the ___ ___.

Answer 10

cell cycle

Question 11

Which virus, other than HPV, is implicated in several types of cancer (mainly lymphomas)?

Answer 11

Epstein-Barr virus

Question 12

Which process is characterised by the presence of lymphocytes and macrophages?

Answer 12

Chronic inflammation

Question 13

Why is chronic inflammation associated with lymphoma?

Answer 13

Constant reproduction of lymphocytes leading to errors

Question 14

Don’t go swimming in Lake Malawi or you’ll get…

Answer 14

schistosomiasis

which can lead to bladder cancer

Question 15

Why is obesity a risk factor for cancer?

Answer 15

Cholesterol has a very similar structure to hormones like oestrogen

Question 16

Risk factors contribute to the __ Weinberg Hallmarks of cancer development.

Answer 16

6

Question 17

What are the six Weinberg Hallmarks of cancer development?

Answer 17

1. Increase growth signals

2. Stop growth suppresion

3. Avoid apoptosis

4. Become immortal

5. Become metastatic

6. Angiogenesis (make your own blood supply)

Question 18

Dysplastic cells have acquired enough ___ to look abnormal down the microscope.

Answer 18

mutations

Question 19

To invade tissues, tumours must be able to produce substances that can ___ connective tissue.

Answer 19

digest

Question 20

Give an example of a substance, produced by malignant tumours, which digest connective tissue.

Answer 20

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMP)

Question 21

What does metastasis mean?

Answer 21

Literally displacement

Invasion of a malignant tumour to new sites of the body

Question 22

Why are hepatic metastases common?

Answer 22

The liver filters a lot of the blood

Question 23

By which circulations do metastatic tumours spread?

Answer 23

Systemic circulation

Portal venous circulation

Lymphatic circulation

Question 24

Which lymph structures do malignant tumours spread to early in their invasion?

Answer 24

Lymph nodes

Question 25

Cancer cells are very metabolically active.

Why?

Answer 25

They are constantly dividing

Question 26

As cancer cells are highly metabolically active, they require a lot of ___.

Answer 26

oxygen

(which they use to generate ATP)

Question 27

Cancer cells have a large oxygen demand. How is this oxygen delivered to them?

What process do cancer cells undergo to get a greater blood supply?

Answer 27

Via blood vessels

Angiogenesis

Question 28

What is angiogenesis?

Answer 28

The ability of a tumour to create its own blood supply

Question 29

What class of drugs can be used to inhibit the angiogenesis of cancers?

Answer 29

Monoclonal antibodies (-mabs)