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Cancers > B1.1 What makes a cancer > Flashcards

B1.1 What makes a cancer Flashcards

1
Q

What is cancer ?

A

The uncontrollable growth of abnormal cells in the body

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2
Q

What does malignant cells mean/ refer to ?

A

Cancerous cells

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3
Q

What is meant by the uncontrollable growth of cells ?

A

Where regulation of cell proliferation is compromised, allowing cells to grow free from their usual constraints.

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4
Q

What is meant by abnormal cells ?

A

Differ in behaviour to normal cells

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5
Q

True or false?

Cancers are simply too many cells.

A

False.

Cancer aren’t simply too many cells, but too many badly behaved cells.

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6
Q

What are the defining features of cancer cells ?

A

Accumulation of abnormal cells due to:

  1. Increase in division
  2. Decrease in cell death

This can be one or the other but most like to be both of these factors at the same time

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7
Q

What are the three states that cells can be in within a tissue ?

A
  1. Dividing
  2. Dying
  3. Quiescent
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8
Q

What is the meaning of quiescent ?

A

Cells which just do their job without dying or dividing but can change their behaviour to divide or die in response to a stimuli

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9
Q

What is a gene ?

A

A bit of DNA that does the job. A functional sequence of DNA

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10
Q

What is meant by gene expression? What does this control in relation to cancer?

A

How genes are switched on and off, or up and down. This controls whether cells proliferate or apoptoses (or do neither)

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11
Q

What is the language of protein coding genes ?

A

Triplet genetic code

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12
Q

What organelle carries out protein synthesis ?

A

Ribosomes

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13
Q

True or false?

The sequence of nucleotides in the double helix spells out the code to direct protein synthesis by ribosome

A

True

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14
Q

What are errors in the genetic code caused by ?

A

Mutations-

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15
Q

What is a mutation ?

A

Changes in genetic information

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16
Q

Give examples of how changes in genetic information occurs

A

Addition, removal or swapping of nucleotides either individually or as longer sections of DNA

17
Q

Explain why mutations are not strictly random?

A

Although we cannot predict when or where mutations can occur within a gene, some genes are more susceptible to mutation than others.

18
Q

How do cells control mutations ?

A

Cells can not control whether a mutation will take place or not therefore we cannot predict where or when specific mutations will occur

19
Q

How many genes do we have ?

A

Around 20 thousand

20
Q

Are all genes within cells ?

A

Yes, all genetic information is in cells however not all genes are expressed within that particular cell

21
Q

What kinds of MUTATIONS do we need to worry about in terms of cells in cancers?

A
  • Accumulation of small detrimental mutations that change the cells behaviour without killing or disabling the cell
  • Mutations that increase the likelihood hood of proliferation and decrease the likelihood of apoptosis
22
Q

What causes cells to divide ?

A

Cells sensing and responding to stresses and signals. Nature of the response depends on the gene product

23
Q

How can mutations promote proliferation ?

A

Increasing the activity or abundance of gene products that promote proliferation but can also decrease the activity an abundance of gene products that protect against runway proliferation

24
Q

How can mutations have an effect on the active site of an enzyme ?

A
  • changing shape of active site - substrate binding domaine and change substrate specificity
  • disable the catalytic activity and enter the protein inert
  • receptors may be constitutively active, meaning they’re permanently detecting their logins and signal constantly to other proteins
  • amount of protein
25
Q

What is transcription (RNA synthesis) ?

A

The process in which genetic information is converted from DNA into RNA

26
Q

What is transcription performed by ?

A

RNA polymerase II or pol II

27
Q

What is transcription regulated by?

A

Transcription factors that recognise DNA a sequences near the start of the gene

28
Q

How is the amount of RNA produced regulated ?

A

Promotors (or DNA sequence) acts as switches or volume controls to regulate the amount of RNA that is transcribed from each gene.

29
Q

What is the effect of mutations in promotors ?

A

Increase or decrease activity. Some mutations can increase promotors activity others will decrease it

30
Q

What are the two groups that cancer genes are divided into ?

A

Proto-oncogenes

Tumour suppressor genes

31
Q

What is a proto-oncogene ?

A

A gene that has gene products that promote cell proliferation and decrease cell death

32
Q

What is tumour suppressant genes ?

A

Genes that reduce cell proliferation and induce cell death

33
Q

True or false?

The balance of Porto-oncogenes and tumour suppressant genes determine whether or not cells develop into cancer

A

True

34
Q

Why are proto-oncogenes not intrinsically harmful ?

A

We need them as part of out health cell cycle to allow tissue growth and replenishment if old or redundant cells

35
Q

What is the name if when Porto-oncogenes mutate, becoming over expressed or give rise to over active gene product ?

A

Oncogene - meaning cancer

36
Q

True or false?

Tumour supperesor genes are important safeguards against oncogenesis or cancer formation?

A

True

37
Q

What happens when tumour suppressor genes mutate ?

A

They lose their protective abilities and cancers can form

38
Q

How does mutation phenotype occur?

A

Genes that encode proteins needed for DNA repair and the removal of mutations. This causes further mutations to accumulate more rapidly and can lead to the vicious cycle of mutation phenotype

39
Q

What is mutation phenotype ?

A

Mutated DNA repair genes that allows the accumulation of further mutations which further damages the DNA repair systems

Cancers (14 decks)

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