Barsky 1 Flashcards
What is the progress of a normal cell to a malignant & metastatic cell?
Normal Cell Transformation Event Selection Pressure Tumorigenic Invasive Metastatic/Malignant
What are some of the genetic events that are related to tumor progression?
mutations
rearrangements
amplifications w/ proto-oncogenes
reduction to homozygosity of tumor suppressor gene deletions or mutations
What is the progression of a normal duct to an invasive ductal cancer?
Normal Duct Intraductal Hyperplasia Intraductal hyperplasia with atypic Intraductal Carcinoma in Situ Invasive Ductal Cancer
T/F Most cancers are multi hit events, which helps with early detection & screening.
True.
This also explains why cancer is a disease of aging.
Why is it difficult for the body to fight cancer, evolutionarily speaking?
b/c most cancers occur after the age of procreation
no evolutionary selection pressure that has equipped us to deal with this disease
What are 4 important properties of cancer?
- uncontrolled growth
- invasion & metastasis
- clonal dominance-meaning that they all come from one ancestral cell
- loss of differentiation
T/F All sub clones are the same.
False. There is some heterogeneity amongst the mutant sub clones.
What are the important heterogeneous factors of mutant sub clones?
heterogenous in these ways: invasiveness metastatic ability antigenicity responsiveness to chemotherapy
What are 5 types of cancer therapy?
- surgery
- radiotherapy
- chemotherapy
- immunotherapy
- gene therapy
What are 3 important limitations in treating cancer?
- lack of tumor specific antigen
- tumor cell heterogeneity
- micrometastasis
What are the causes of human cancer?
ENVIRONMENTAL CARCINOGENS UV RADIATION OTHER IONIZING RADIATION VIRUSES LIFESTYLE, DIET, IMMUNE STATUS HEREDITARY FACTORS OR GENES
Describe some of the actions of uv radiation in contributing to cancer?
ACTION IS SIMILAR TO CHEMICAL CARCINOGENS - FORMATION OF DNA ADDUCTS
ACTION IS CAN BE DIFFERENT FROM CHEMICAL CARCINOGENS: SINGLE AND DOUBLE STRAND DNA BREAKS
Give 3 examples of oncogenic viruses.
- HPV
- EBV
- Hep B virus
How many types of HPV are there? Which are responsible for papillomas or warts?
80+ types
Papillomas & Warts: 1, 2, 4, 7
Which types of HPV are responsible for invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix?
Types 16 & 18
What’s the deal with HPV types 6 & 11?
low malignant potential
What are the early products of HPV (bad types) that inactivate tumor suppressor genes?
Gene products E6 & 7
What are the tumor suppressor genes that are inactivated by E6 & E7?
TP53 & RB
What are the 4 types of tumors that are associated with Epstein Barr Virus?
Burkitt’s Lymphoma
B cell lymphoma (if immunosuppressed)
Hodgkin’s Disease
Nasopharyngeal Cancer
What percentage of people have EBV in non endemic areas?
20%
What happens with Burkitt’s Lymphoma? Which gene is associated with this?
cell proliferation with decreased immunoregulation
MYC gene t(8:14)
Where is nasopharyngeal cancer endemic?
south china
What are some examples of lifestyle factors that contribute to the formation of cancers?
People who are sun worshippers, go to
tanning salons,etc have a high incidence of
skin cancer
Women who have multiple sexual partners have a higher risk of cervical cancer.
Women who are nulliparous have a high rate of breast cancer
Men who are obese have a higher rate of cancer of the esophagus
What are some diet factors that contribute to cancer?
Women who eat fatty foods have a higher rate of breast cancer
Men who drink alcohol and smoke have a higher rate of head and neck cancer
People who eat red meat may have a higher incidence of colon cancer.
Is there ever a hereditary component to cancer?
sometimes
Some cancers are inherited (germline) with gene identified
Some cancers are familial with genes not identified
Many cancer have a familial component; fewer cancers have a inherited component
In Li Frameuni Syndrome, what is the contributing inherited gene?
p53
In Breast Cancer, what are the contributing inherited genes?
BRCA1 & BRCA2
In Lynch syndrome, what are the contributing genes?
microsatellite instability genes
T/F Inherited retinoblastoma gene can play a factor in cancer.
True.
What is the cause of most cancers?
Most cancers are spontaneous, sporadic. Their cause is unknown.
What are the 2 key properties of cancers?
Uncontrolled Growth
Invasion & Metastasis
What do oncogenes code for?
oncoproteins that are associated with neoplastic transformation
not regulated by normal growth factors & signals
What are protooncogenes?
normal genes that affect growth & differentiation
retroviruses can mess with these: create v-onc
can also change in situ to c-oncs.
Cancer comes from what greek word?
karkinos
this means crab
**based on how cancers look like the crab on the sign of the zodiac, as it infiltrates neighboring tissues
What is the cancer with the highest incidence in men, as of 2012?
prostate cancer
What is the cancer with the highest incidence in females, as of 2012?
breast cancer
What are the cancers with the 2nd & 3rd highest incidences for both men & women?
2nd: lung & bronchus
3rd: colon & rectum
What is the cancer that causes the most death for both men & women?
lung cancer
99% of all cancers are sarcomas/carcinomas.
carcinomas! develop from epithelial cells
1% are sarcomas–cancers of the stroma, mesenchyme
T/F The reason that carcinomas are so common is that epithelial cells have the highest rate of turnover.
False. If this were the case, then a neonate would get a bunch of cancer. But cancer is a disease of aging.
Another theory is that epithelium is exposed to the external environment-but this is only a part of the picture.
What has happened to lung cancer incidence since the 1930s? What can this be attributed to?
it increased rapidly after 1930 & peaked around the 1990s. then it began to decline
this is explained by the rise in smoking + a period of latency. Mainly following a certain degree of smoking cessation–the incidence decreased
What has happened to the rates of gastric cancer since 1930s?
it has steadily decreased
one theory is refrigeration, no longer used a carcinogenic substance to keep food fresh
**but people don’t really know
What has happened to the incidence of colorectal cancer & prostate cancer? What could explain this?
they have both steadily decreased
prostate peaked around the 1990s and has def decreased since then.
Thought is: PSA & colonoscopies have been successful screening tools.
What has happened to the rates of pancreas cancer, liver cancer, and leukemia since 1930?
they have stayed roughly the same!
Breast cancer deaths have steadily decreased since 1930…name 2 factors that may account for this.
- mammogram screening in post-menopausal women.
2. less hormone replacement therapy
When did lung cancer deaths start to increase for men? For women?
For men, after WWI
For women, after WWII. Esp in the 1990s, b/c of latency & peak in women smoking in the 1970s.
Why have cervical cancer deaths decreased since 1930?
b/c of the increase in pap smear screenings. but also an unknown factor!
T/F There were serious epidemics of prostate cancer in men & breast cancer in women in the 1990s.
False. There was the initiation of PSA & mammogram screenings. Thus, a bunch were detected. Artificial trend.
When should women receive the HPV test?
not until their 30s. Has a different significance than for women in their 20s.
Should women who are at a child-bearing age have a mammogram done?
probably not b/c their breasts are so dense that it won’t necessarily detect things well
also–it will just expose them to radiation–could cause cancer!
A while back we talked about the possible genetic factors involved in cancer. List some of the epigenetic factors.
methylation status for promoter
histone deacetylase status for promoter
**regulate expression of certain cancer genes
Cancer is characterized by a methylation v. histone deacetylation imbalance.
A while back we talked about the stages to go from a normal duct to an invasive ductal cancer. At the stage of intraductal carcinoma in situ…what’s the deal with the positions of the cancer cells?
they are confined within the duct
**at the stage of invasive ductal cancer…they have burst thru the basement membrane & invaded.
How long could the process take to get from a normal duct to an invasive ductal cancer?
could take up to 12 years b/c it is a multi hit phenomenon.
Does a pap smear detect dysplasia or invasion?
detects dysplasia, hopefully before invasion
allows for early detection & treatment
can surgically remove
What are some of the steps involved in an invasive carcinoma?
stromal dissolution
basement membrane dissolution
lymphatic invasion
blood vascular invasion
T/F Due to the concept of monoclonal dominance, all cancer cells are the same.
False. Like identical twins, cells that come from the same ancestral cell still develop to have different characteristics. Develops thru genetic instability
What are some of the ways that we can see that cancer cells with different characteristics all came from the same ancestral cell?
x inactivation
male repeat sequence
microsatellites
**eventually get a picture that we have clones with different features, not cancerous cells from different parents.
Why do we not have a tumor specific antigen that we can use to treat cancer?
b/c it is a cancer of our own cells! they look like self
Why does tumor cell heterogeneity make it difficult to treat cancer?
b/c the different cancer cells will respond to different treatments.