Barsky-Cancer cases Flashcards
What is EGFR sometimes referred to as?
HER1
What is the difference between a screening mammogram and a regular mammogram?
Screening mammogram-> Radiation dose is minimal
Regular mammogram-> for diagnostic purposes so higher radiation.
Does smoking cause breast cancer?
no
Most breast cancer causes are (blank).
unknown
(blank) is the presence of abnormal cells inside a milk duct in the breast. It is considered the earliest form of breast cancer. It is noninvasive, meaning it hasn’t spread out of the milk duct to invade other parts of the breast.
Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS)
Does ductal carcinoma in situ precede invasive cancer?
yes!!!!
Can the presence of microcalcifications be helpful in mammographic screening?
yes
What is the main difference between DCIS and invasive breast cancer?
DCIS is non invasive. DCIS threatens the breast, invasive breast cancer threatens life.
What is the differece between genetic and epigenetic changes?
Genetic- change in structure of DNA (mutation/loss/amplification/rearangmetn)
Epigenetic- change gene expression while mainting structure of DNA>
Is the cause of invasion genetic or epigenetic?
it is not known
What cells make up the basement membrane?
myoepithelial cells
If you have a tumor in the breast, and it is spreading, where will it spread first? What needs to be done if you find cancer cells in the sentinal node?
sential node
axillary resection
If you have a tumor in your breast and there is no tumor cells in the sentinal node what does this means?
it means that it hasnt spread to any part of the axilla
T or F
node negative breast cancer does better than node positive breast cancer
T
Does the presence of breast cancer in the lymph node change the stage and worsen the prognosis?
Yes :( cuz then we become node positive
T or F
you can get lymph node metastasis without seeing lymphovascular invasion
T
The greater the degree of metastasis (advanced stage) worse?
consist of more tumor cells and theres more heterogenity with more cell growth therefore more difficult to eradicate
What is adjuvant chemotherapy?
given shortly after definitive surgical or radiotherapy without knowing if there are mets or micromets, its given at the time of the main therapy for the primary cancer
What is neoadjuvant chemotherapy?
chemotherapy/radiotherapy that is given before the definitive surgical therapy.
How can you predict metastases?
with blood draw-> look for circulating tumor cells
Why do you ALWAYS give adjuvant therapy after primary surgical intervnetion?
because there are microscopic tumor cells that need to be killed and you cannot be for certain that you surgically removed them all!
What does surgery remove?
radiotherapy?
Chemotherapy?
main mass
microscopic extensions
distant metastases
What kind of marker is the estrogen receptor marker?
predictive marker, prognostic marker, tumor marker
What kind of marker is Her2 neu?
predictive marker, prognostic marker, tumor marker
T or F
patients with Her2 + do worse than HEr2-
T :(
What is the worst type of breast cancer to have?
triple negative (basal)
What is the best type of breast cancer to have?
luminal A
can you predict how a cancer patient wil do?
no
the biomarker is as important as the (blank)
therapy!
