BoC-02-The Nature of Cancer

Question 1

morphogenesis

Answer 1

Process whereby shape is created, usually referring to the creation of shape of various structures during embryonic development.

Question 2

benign

Answer 2

(1) Describing a growth that is confined to a specific site within a tissue and gives no evidence of invading adjacent tissue. (2) Referring to an epithelial growth that has not penetrated through the basement membrane

Question 3

malignant

Answer 3

Describing a growth that shows evidence of being locally invasive and possibly even metastatic.

Question 4

adenomas

Answer 4

Any of a series of premalignant, noninvasive growths in various epithelial tissues, many of which have the potential to progress further to carcinomas. See also polyp.

Question 5

acromegaly

Answer 5

Pathological condition of excessive growth of certain tissues, usually due to the elaboration of excessive growth hormone by a pituitary tumor.

Question 6

epithelia

Answer 6

A layer of cells that forms the lining of a cavity or duct; included here is the specialized epithelium that forms the skin.

Question 7

basement membrane (basal lamina)

Answer 7

A specialized extracellular matrix that forms a sheet separating epithelial from stromal cells or endothelial cells from pericytes; sometimes called basal lamina.

Question 8

stroma

Answer 8

The mesenchymal components of epithelial and hematopoietic tissues and tumors, which may include fibroblasts, adipocytes, endothelial cells, and various immunocytes as well as associated extracellular matrix.

Question 9

endothelial

Answer 9

(1) Mesenchymal cells that form the walls of capillaries or lymph ducts by assuming tubelike shapes. (2) Mesenchymal cells lining the luminal walls of larger blood vessels or lymph ducts.

Question 10

carcinomas

Answer 10

(adj., -omatous) A cancer arising from epithelial cells.

Question 11

endoderm

Answer 11

Innermost layer of cells in an early embryo, which serves as precursor of the gastrointestinal tract and associated tissues, including the lungs, liver, and pancreas.

Question 12

ectoderm

Answer 12

ectoderm Outermost layer of cells in an early embryo that gives rise to the skin and nervous system.

Question 13

mesoderm

Answer 13

Middle layer of cells in an early embryo lying between the ectoderm and endoderm, which is the precursor of mesenchymal tissues including connective tissues and the hematopoietic system.

Question 14

apical surface

Answer 14

Referring to the surface of an epithelial cell that is facing an exposed surface of the epithelium such as its luminal surface. See also basal.

Question 15

basal surface

Answer 15

(1) Referring to a lower physical location. (2) Referring to cells in an epithelium that are located away from an exposed surface of the epithelium such as its luminal surface. (3) Referring to the surface of an epithelial cell that is located away from an exposed surface of the epithelium such as its luminal surface. See also apical. (4) Referring to a (low) rate of activity or function observed in the absence of any activating stimulus.

Question 16

squamous

Answer 16

Referring to epithelial cells that line a duct or the skin and lack secretory function.

Question 17

keratinocytes

Answer 17

Epidermis-The epithelial layer of the skin, composed largely of keratinocytes at various stages of differentiation.

Question 18

adenoacarcinomas

Answer 18

Tumor derived from secretory epithelial cells.

Question 19

lumina

Answer 19

(1) The bore of a hollow, tubelike structure, such as the gut, a bronchiole in the lung, a blood vessel, or a duct in a secretory organ. (2) The enclosed cavity within a spherical structure, such as a membranous vesicle.

Question 20

sarcomas

Answer 20

Tumor derived from mesenchymal cells, usually those constituting various connective tissue cell types, including fibroblasts, osteoblasts, endothelial cell precursors, and chondrocytes.

Question 21

mesenchymal

Answer 21

(1) Referring to tissue composed of cells of mesodermal origin, including fibroblasts, smooth muscle cells, endothelial cells, and immunocytes. (2) Referring to an individual cell type belonging to this class of cells.

Question 22

fibroblasts

Answer 22

Mesenchymal cell type that is common in connective tissue and in the stromal compartment of epithelial tissues and is characterized by its secretion of collagen.

Question 23

adipocytes

Answer 23

Specialized cells of the mesenchymal lineage, closely related to fibroblasts, that create fat and store it in large globules in the cytoplasm; the dominant cell type in fatty tissues.

Question 24

osteoblasts

Answer 24

Mesenchymal cell type related to fibroblasts that constructs mineralized bone through the deposition of a collagenous matrix and apatite crystals.

Question 25

myocytes

Answer 25

The cells constituting functional muscles.

Question 26

hematopoietic

Answer 26

(adj., -poietic) Process that results in the formation of all of the cells in the blood, including its red and white cells, the latter including various cells of the immune system.

Question 27

erythrocytes

Answer 27

Red Blood Cell

Question 28

plasma cells

Answer 28

Cells of the B-cell lineage that secrete antibodies into the blood plasma.

Question 29

Lymphocytes

Answer 29

A nonpigmented white blood cell such as a lymphocyte, monocyte, macrophage, neutrophil, or mast cell.

Question 30

leukemia

Answer 30

Malignancy of any of a variety of hematopoietic cell types, including the lineages leading to lymphocytes and granulocytes, in which the tumor cells are nonpigmented and dispersed throughout the circulation. Compare lymphoma.

Question 31

lymphomas

Answer 31

Solid tumor of lymphoid cells. Compare leukemia.

Question 32

lymphoid

Answer 32

(1) Referring to the lymphatic system. (2) Referring to the lineage of hematopoietic cells that yields B and T lymphocytes as well as natural killer cells. See also myeloid.

Question 33

neuroectodermal

Answer 33

Referring to the components of the nervous system, which derive from the embryonic ectoderm

Question 34

gliomas

Answer 34

A group of central nervous system tumors that arise from glial cells and include ependymomas, astrocytomas, and oligodendrogliomas. See also glioblastoma.

Question 35

glioblastomas

Answer 35

A malignant tumor that often originates from a low-grade astrocytoma; also termed glioblastoma multiforme. See also glioma.

Question 36

neuroblastomas

Answer 36

Tumor of primitive neuronal precursor cells of the peripheral nervous system and adrenal medulla.

Question 37

schwannomas

Answer 37

Tumor of the nonneuronal Schwann cells forming sheaths around the axons of neurons.

Question 38

medulloblastomas

Answer 38

Tumor of the primitive precursors of neurons in the cerebellum.

Question 39

melanomas

Answer 39

Tumor arising from melanocytes, the pigmented cells of the skin, iris and retinal pigmented epithelium.

Question 40

neural crest

Answer 40

Region of the early embryo that serves as precursor of various specialized tissues and cell types, including certain cells of the peripheral nervous system, bones of the face, melanocytes, and several types of neurosecretory cells.

Question 41

Small-cell lung carcinomas (SCLCs

Answer 41

A lung cancer of specialized cells having neurosecretory properties.

Question 42

adrenal

Answer 42

Referring to the secretory glands that sit above the kidneys.

Question 43

neurosecretory

Answer 43

Referring to a cell type that will secrete a substance, such as a hormone, in response to neuronal signals.

Question 44

transdifferentiation

Answer 44

Acquisition by a cell from one differentiation lineage of a phenotype characteristic of cells from another, distinct differentiation lineage.

Question 45

epithelial-mesenchymal transition

Answer 45

Acquisition by epithelial cells of the phenotypes of mesenchymal cells such as fibroblasts.

Question 46

teratomas

Answer 46

Benign tumor formed by embryonic stem cells in which a wide variety of differentiated cell types are formed.

Question 47

germ cell

Answer 47

An egg (ovum) or sperm (spermatocyte) or its immediate precursor within the ovary or testis, respectively.

Question 48

pluripotency

Answer 48

Referring to the ability of a stem cell to seed progeny that can participate in the formation of all of the tissues of an embryo except the extraembryonic membranes. See also multipotent, totipotent.

Question 49

ectopic

Answer 49

(1) Referring to the expression of a gene in a place or physiologic situation where it normally would not be expressed. (2) Referring to the presence of cells or tissues in an anatomical site where they would not naturally be found in the body.

Question 50

dedifferentiated

Answer 50

Reversion of a differentiated cell to the phenotype of a less differentiated cell, such as its precursor.

Question 51

anaplastic

Answer 51

(Referring to a tumor) having a tissue and cellular architecture lacking the differentiated characteristics of an identifiable tissue-of-origin.

Question 52

cancer of unknown primary (CUP)

Answer 52

Tumor whose histopathological appearance does not permit a determination of its site of origin within a patient.

Question 53

metaplasia

Answer 53

Replacement in a tissue belonging to cells of one differentiation lineage by cells belonging to another lineage.

Question 54

Barret's esophagus

Answer 54

Metaplasia in which squamous epithelium of the esophagus is replaced by secretory epithelial cells of a type normally found in the stomach.

Question 55

dyplastic

Answer 55

A premalignant tissue composed of abnormally appearing cells forming a tissue architecture that deviates from normal.

Question 56

cytologially

Answer 56

(1) Analysis of subcellular structure under the microscope. (2) The microscopic appearance of a cell.

Question 57

polyps

Answer 57

The growth of a tumor, usually presumed to be premalignant, into the lumen of an organ, such as gut or bladder, often equated with an adenoma. See also adenoma

Question 58

papillomas

Answer 58

A benign, adenomatous proliferation of epithelial cells; term often used to describe benign lesions of the skin.

Question 59

cancer

Answer 59

(1) A clinical condition that is manifested by the presence of one or another type of neoplastic growth. (2) A malignant tumor

Question 60

neoplasms

Answer 60

A tumor. See also neoplasia. Neoplasia (adj., -plastic) (1) The state of cancerous growth. (2) Benign or malignant tumor composed of cells having an abnormal appearance and abnormal proliferation pattern.

Question 61

tumor progression

Answer 61

(1) Process of multi-step evolution of a normal cell into a tumor cell. (2) Evolution of a benign into a malignant cancer cell. (3) Evolution of a premalignant cell from a promoter-dependent to a promoter-independent state.

Question 62

monoclonal

Answer 62

Describing a population of cells, all of which derive by direct descent from a common ancestral cell. See also polyclonal.

Question 63

polyclonal

Answer 63

Describing a population of cells that trace their origins to two or more founding ancestral cells. See also monoclonal.

Question 64

epigenetic

Answer 64

(1) Referring to a process that affects phenotype without the involvement of genetic changes in the nucleotide sequence of the genome. (2) Referring to a mechanism enabling the transmission of a heritable trait from a cell to its progeny that does not depend directly on changes of specific nucleotide sequences in its genome. (3) Referring to a mechanism that creates a heritable trait, as in (2), and maintains expression of this trait in the absence of ongoing exposure to the stimulus that initially induced the expression of this trait. See also genetic.

Question 65

leiomyomas

Answer 65

Benign tumor of the mesenchymal cells forming the wall of the uterus.

Question 66

immunoglobulin

Answer 66

An antibody molecule assembled from two heavy and two light chains.

Question 67

cells-of-origin

Answer 67

The normal cell that serves as the ancestor of all the neoplastic cells within a tumor, i.e., their last common normal ancestor.

Question 68

hypoxic

Answer 68

State of lower-than-normal oxygen tension

Question 69

Warburg effect

Answer 69

The use by cancer cells of glycolysis as a major source of energy production under aerobic conditions that would normally favor use of the far more efficient Krebs/ citric acid cycle. Also termed aerobic glycolysis.

Question 70

turnover number

Answer 70

The rate with which an enzyme processes its substrate, usually presented as the number of enzymatic reactions catalyzed per second by a single enzyme molecule.

Question 71

incidence

Answer 71

Frequency with which a condition or a disease occurs or is diagnosed in a population.

Question 72

etiologic

Answer 72

(1) Mechanism or agent that is responsible for causing a specific pathological state. (2) The study of causative mechanisms of pathology.

Question 73

procarcinogens

Answer 73

A chemical compound that, while being relatively nonreactive chemically, can be converted into a highly reactive carcinogen, usually through metabolic processes.

Question 74

ultimate carcinogens

Answer 74

A chemical compound that is able to directly contribute to the induction of cancer without prior (or further) chemical modification, usually by direct chemical interaction with DNA, thereby altering the structure of the latter.

Question 75

detoxification

Answer 75

To render a previously toxic substance harmless.

Question 76

promoters

Answer 76

(1) An agent that furthers the progression of multi-step tumorigenesis by nongenetic mechanisms, notably those involving inflammation and/or mitogenesis. (2) The sequence within a gene that controls its transcription.

Question 77

hepatocytes

Answer 77

Epithelial cell type that forms the bulk of the liver and is responsible for virtually all of its metabolic activities.

Question 78

pathogenesis

Answer 78

Process that leads to the creation of a disease state.

Question 79

Tissue Sites of more common Adenocarcinomas?

Answer 79

(9) Lung, Colon, Breast, Stomach, Pancreas, Esophagus, Prostate, Endometrium, Ovary

Question 80

Tissue Sites of more common Squamous cell Carcinomas?

Answer 80

(7) Skin, Nasal Cavity, Oropharynx, Larynx, Lung, Esophagus, Cervix

Question 81

Apatite

Answer 81

Apatite is a group of phosphate minerals, usually referring to hydroxylapatite, fluorapatite and chlorapatite, with high concentrations of OH−, F−and Cl− ions, respectively, in the crystal.

Question 82

Difference between Lymphoma and Leukemia

Answer 82

The main difference between leukemias and lymphomas is that in leukemia, the cancer cells are mainly in the bone marrow and blood, while lymphoma they tend to be in lymph nodes and other tissues.