Block 11 - L14-L16 Flashcards

1
Q

At least ___% of patients with cancer receive radiation therapy at some point during their management.

A

50

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Tumors grow ___ for a portion of their natural history.

A

Exponentially

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What is the lower limit of detection of a tumor? What is the lethal volume of cancer?

A

Lower limit - 1E9 cells
Lethal volume - 1E12 cells

Most cancers have therefore completed about 2/3 of their natural life span before they are detected.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Who is on the cancer team?

A
  1. Surgical oncologist
  2. Medical oncologist
  3. Radiation oncologist

Support services - radiology, nuclear medicine, pathology, social work, nursing

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What is the role of the radiation oncologist?

A
  1. Determine if radiation therapy is needed
  2. Recommend the type, dose, and fractionation schedule
  3. Inform patients regarding rationale, side effects, and potential late toxicities
  4. Follow the patient during and after treatment
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What is ionizing radiation?

A

Energy strong enough to ionize an atom

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What are gamma rays?

A

Photons emitted from radioactive materials as they decay

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What are x-rays?

A

Photos produced by a machine

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What is external beam radiation therapy?

A

Aims ionizing radiation at a tumor using beams from the outside

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

How are high energy photos produced?

A

By a linear accelerator when a tungsten target is bombarded by high energy electrons

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What voltage is used in diagnostic radiology? In radiation therapy?

A

Diagnostic radiology - kV (25 kV-150 kV) (photoelectric effect creates sharp distinctions between tissue types)

Radiation therapy - MV (4 MV-20 MV) (intentionally ionizing, compton effect, pair production)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

This type of EBRT uses simple fields, plans based on bony landmarks

A

Conventional EBRT

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

This type of EBRT develops a radiation plan based on a CT scan of the patient in the radiation position

A

3D conformal

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What is a boost?

A

Additional radiation given to the region of the tumor bed that is at highest risk of recurrence

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What is the unit of dosing in radiation therapy?

A

Gray (Gy)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

1 Gy = ?

A

1 joule/kg (measure of energy deposited in the tissue treated)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

What is the typical dose of radiation therapy per day?

A

2 Gy

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Why is radiation therapy given in patients who receive breast conserving therapy?

A

To reduce the risk of cancer recurrence

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

What are the treatment options for operable head and neck cancers?

A
  1. Surgery followed by radiation
  2. Radiation followed by surgery
  3. Chemo-radiation with surgery reserved for incomplete response to therapy
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

What is IMRT?

A

A type of EBRT; intensity of the radiation beam varies across the radiation field, based on CT anatomy, inverse treatment planning

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

How is an IMRT plan designed?

A

Radiation oncologist defines regions to treat and doses to give, as well as regions to avoid

Radiation physicist creates the plan

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

The combination of chemotherapy and RT has been proven to improve cancer control rates for many tumors. What is the downside to this therapy?

A

Increased toxicity

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

What is brachytherapy?

A

Placement of radioactive materials into or immediately adjacent to the cancer; requires an invasive procedure; may be done alone or in combination with EBRT

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

What is the difference between low dose rate and high dose rate brachytherapy?

A

LDR - temporary or permanent, delivered over days to weeks

HDR - temporary, then removed; source is very “hot,” so high doses given in minutes

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

___ cancer is commonly treated with brachytherapy alone.

A

Prostate

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

What is radiosurgery?

A

Short course, high dose, very focused EBRT

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

List the ways to perform radiosurgery.

A
  1. Gamma knife
  2. Linear accelerator based
  3. Cyberknife
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

In this type of radiosurgery, the patient is immobilized and cross-firing tiny radiation beams give extremely high doses to small points in the brain.

A

Gamma knife radiosurgery

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

In this type of radiosurgery, a miniature linear accelerator is mounted on a robot arm and can treat tumors located anywhere in the body

A

Cyberknife radiosurgery

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

The ___ technique accurately delivers radiotherapy from within the breast in about 25 minutes.

A

TARGIT

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
31
Q

Discuss the components of radiation safety.

A

ALARA - as low as reasonably achievable

Time - minimize amount of time you are exposed

Distance - 1/R^2 (2 times the distance is 4 times less the dose)

Shielding

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
32
Q

What are the goals of radiation?

A
  1. Cure cancer

2. Palliation in incurable patients

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
33
Q

When can radiation be used?

A
  1. Before surgery
  2. After surgery
  3. Alone
  4. In combination with chemo
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
34
Q

List the common radiation treatments.

A
  1. EBRT (conventional, 3D conformal, IMRT)
  2. Brachytherapy (HDR, LDR)
  3. Radiosurgery
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
35
Q

True or false - Radiation toxicity only occurs if radiotherapy has been delivered.

A

True

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
36
Q

True or false - Radiation toxicity only occurs if radiotherapy has been delivered to the area in question.

A

True

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
37
Q

The most important factors to determine if a patient is having a radiation toxicity is determining the ___ and the ___.

A

Area radiated; dose

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
38
Q

What three methods can be used to decrease exposure to radiation?

A
  1. Time (linear relationship)
  2. Distance (geometric relationship)
  3. Shielding (half value layers)
39
Q

Which radiation injuries are dose-related (non-stochastic)?

A
  1. Decrease in sperm count
  2. Hematologic effects
  3. GI effects
  4. CNS effects
40
Q

Which radiation injuries are non-dose-related (stochastic)?

A
  1. Increase in cancer risk

2. Genetic abnormalities

41
Q

How should total body exposure to radiation be treated?

A

The damage is already done - provide supportive care, reconstruct the accident to estimate the exposure level, reverse isolation may be needed (protect them from you because they are immunocompromised), fluid/electrolyte maintenance, follow blood levels of platelets and WBCs, consider BMT if exposure is high

42
Q

Name the mutation:

TCT (Ser) > TCA (Ser)

A

Silent (no change in product)

43
Q

Name the mutation:

CAT (His) > CCT (Pro)

A

Missense (change in product)

44
Q

Name the mutation:

AGNNN-NNNGT>ACNNNN-NNNGT

A

Splice site (insertion, deletion or change in a number of nucleotides in the specific site at which splicing takes place)

45
Q

Name the mutation:

-20T>A

A

Promoter

46
Q

Name the mutation:

TCAGCC>TAGCC

A

Deletion

47
Q

Name the mutation:

TCAGCC>TCAACCGCC

A

Insertion

48
Q

Name the mutation:

CAGCAG>CAGCAGCAGCAG

A

Repeat

49
Q

What are three types of chromosome mutations and an example of each?

A
  1. Amplification (Her2Neu amplification in breast cancer)
  2. Deletion (Cri-du-Chat Chromosome 5 deletion in Cat’s Cry Syndrome)
  3. Translocation (Philadelphia chromosome - t(9;22)(q34;q11) in CML)
50
Q

This trisomy presents with flattened nose and face, upward slanting eyes, widely separated first and second toes, increased skin creases, single palmar crease, short fifth finger that curves forward

A

Trisomy 21 (Down Syndrome)

51
Q

This trisomy presents with a prominent occiput, dysplastic ears, clenched hands with overlapping fingers, flexed big toe, prominent heels, small mouth, small jaw, short neck, shiled chest or short and prominent sternum, wide-set nipples

A

Trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome)

52
Q

This trisomy presents with small head, absent eyebrows, cleft lip/palate, dysplastic ears, clenched hands and polydactyly, and undescended or abnormal testes

A

Trisomy 13 (Patau syndrome)

53
Q

This trisomy presents with absent frontal baldness, poor beard growth, breast development, osteoporosis, small testes, female-type pubic hair pattern, tall stature, slightly feminized physique, mildly impaired IQ, tendency to lose chest hair

A

Triple X (Klinefelter syndrome)

54
Q

Which monosomy is compatible with life?

A

Turner syndrome (X)

55
Q

How can cytogenetic disorders be detected?

A
  1. Karyotyping
  2. FISH
  3. CGH (comparative genomic hybridiziation) analysis
  4. Next generation sequencing
56
Q

Identify the pedigree symbols.

A

Look up image.

57
Q

This type of inheritance is encoded on the X or Y chromosome and is conferred with gender

A

Sex-linked

58
Q

This type of inheritance is encoded on numeric chromosomes

A

Autosomal

59
Q

Both alleles must be affected for the trait to be displayed

A

Recessive

60
Q

A single mutant allele confers a phenotype

A

Dominant

61
Q

What are the key features of autosomal dominant inheritance?

A
  1. Parents pass the disease on to half of their offspring regardless of gender
  2. Family members that do not exhibit the disease do not carry an affected allele
62
Q

Among mutations in genes encoding enzymes, regulatory gene products such as transcription factors, and structural gene products, which are more likely to be recessively inherited and which are more likely to be dominantly inherited?

A

Recessive - enzymes

Dominant - gene products

63
Q

Define haploinsufficiency.

A

1 functional allele is not enough

64
Q

What is a dominant negative mutation?

A

Encodes an altered gene product that acts antagonistically to the wild-type allele

65
Q

List several common diseases inherited in an AD fashion.

A
  1. Osteogenesis Imperfecta
  2. Marfan Syndrome
  3. Ehlers Danlos Syndrome
  4. Familial hypercholesterolemia
66
Q

What mutation causes Marfan syndrome?

A

FBN1 (encodes for fibrillin)

67
Q

What protein is affected in Ehlers-Danlos syndrome?

A

Collagen

68
Q

What is mutated in familial hypercholesterolemia?

A

LDL receptor (lack of receptor causes buildup of cholesterol, xanthomas of the skin)

69
Q

What are features of X-linked dominant inheritence?

A
  1. Affected males always pass it to their daughters, never to their sons
  2. Females pass it to half of their children regardless of gender
70
Q

What are features of AR inheritance?

A
  1. Appears in more than one sibling of the proband, but not in the parents, offspring, or other relatives
  2. Males and females are equally affected
  3. Parents are asymptomatic carriers
  4. Parents may be consanguineous

Risk to each sibling of the proband is 25%

71
Q

What is the Hardy-Weinberg equation?

A

(p+q)^2 = p^2 + 2pq + q^2 = 1

p = frequency of allele A
q = frequency of allele a
p^2 = frequency of individual AA
q^2 = frequency of individual aa
2pq = frequency of individual Aa
72
Q

What are two examples of AR inheritance?

A

CF

Phenylkeotnuria

73
Q

What is mutated in CF?

A

CFTR gene on chromosome 7

74
Q

What happens in phenylketonuria?

A

Phenylalanine accumulates due to mutations of the PAH enzyme that normally converts it to tyrosine

75
Q

What are the features of X-linked recessive inheritance?

A
  1. Affected fathers transmit the disease to their grandsons through their daughters but not through their sons
  2. All daughters of affected fathers are carriers and have a 50% chance of transmitting the mutation to their children. With 1 affected allele, females are carriers and males express the disease.
76
Q

What are 2 examples of X-linked recessive inheritance?

A
  1. Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy

2. Incontinentia pigmenti

77
Q

What is mutated in incontinentia pigmenti?

A

Patients lack a functional IKBKG gene (inhibitor of kappa light polypeptide gene enhancer in B-cells, kinase gamma) which regulates NFkappaB activation (cell death); presents with a blistering rash at birth

78
Q

What is an example of X-linked dominant inheritance?

A

Rett syndrome

79
Q

What is the mutation in Rett syndrome?

A

MECP2 (methyl CpG binding protein 2)

80
Q

What are two examples of mutations that can affect non-coding RNA?

A
  1. HOTAIR expression leads to silencing of HOX genes, increasing cancer invasiveness
  2. BACE1-AS stabilizes BACE-1 expression, increasing amyloid formation in Alzheimers
81
Q

What is genomic imprinting?

A

Different phenotypes occur depending on the parental source o the mutation

82
Q

What are modifier genes and what is an example?

A

Phenotype of a mutation depends on the level of expression of a different (set of) genes; CF (severity depends on other genes)

83
Q

What is reduced penetrance?

A

Not all patients with the disease genotype express symptoms

84
Q

What is variable expressivity?

A

The severity, signs, and symptoms of the disease differ in patients due to different mutations in the same gene (allelic heterogeneity)

85
Q

What is mosaicism?

A

Some cells have the mutations whereas others do not; can be gonadal or somatic (part of body affected, but not all of it)

86
Q

What happens with expanding trinucleotide repeats?

A

Disease gets worse with increasing generations

87
Q

What happens in mitochondrial disease?

A

Maternally inherited, as the egg contributes the mitochondria

88
Q

What is consanguinity?

A

When related people have offspring, 2 otherwise rare recessive alleles can come together

89
Q

Explain imprinting with respect for Angelman and Prader-Willi Syndrome.

A

If you inherit the gene deletion from Mom, you develop Angelman syndrome. If you inherit the gene deletion from dad, you develop Prader-Willi syndrome (regardless of your sex).

90
Q

What is a classic repeat disorder?

A

Huntington’s disease (uncontrolled limb movements, mood alterations, decline in reasoning skills, obsessive-compulsive behavior, AD inheritance, chromosome 4)

91
Q

What is anticipation?

A

Severity increases in subsequent generations (example - myotonic dystrophy)

92
Q

What are the features of mitochondrial DNA disorders?

A
  1. Disease is passed on from mother to children of either gender
  2. Father does not transmit the diseased allele
  3. Phenotype can vary due to different copy numbers of diseased mito per cell
93
Q

What is an example of mitochondrial inheritance?

A

Leber hereditary optic neuropathy