breast cancer Flashcards
What are the diffferent types of cancer?
- Carcinoma: lungs, breasts, colon, prostate
- Leukaemia: bloodstream
- Lymphoma: lymphnodes
- Sarcoma: fat, bone, muscle
What cells stimulate cell suicide?
tumour suppressor genes
What is apoptosis?
cell suicide
What is metastasis
cancer cells spread via blood or lymphatic vessels to other sites.
What are the causes of breast cancer?
General: viruses and bacteria, chemicals, radiation, diet, hormones INTERACTION WITH heredity
> usually lots of factors combined, with most people we don’t even know the cause; it really depends on your ability to destroy bad cells
What are the risk factors for cancer in general?
» Meat consumption - colon cancer
» Cigarette consumption - lung cancer
» Combination of cigarettes and alcohol - cancer of the oesophagus
» Ultraviolet radiation - skin cancer
» Atomic radiation (X-rays) - leukemia
» Viruses and bacteria
WHat are the hereditary risk factors of breast cancer?
BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutated – Only 1/20 cases due to heredity
The BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene = genes that produce proteins that help repair damaged DNA.
* Chromosome 17, BRCA1 gene (also play a slight role in ovarian cancer)
* Chromosome 13, BRCA2 gene (also play a slight role in pancreas, prostate, melanoma cancer).
* Autosomal dominant
What are the controllable risk factors of breast cancer?
not having children or having them late, some types of birth control, not breastfeeding, night work, overweight, etc
What are the uncontrollable risk factors of breast cancer?
Gender (more in women), genes, menstruation, ethnicity, age, denser breast tissue, etc.
What happens in the case of DNA damage when developing breast cancer?
- One tiny change in a DNA sequence (a single base change) can cause cancer.
- In case of the DNA damage - clearing systems in place (e.g., P53 gene) and ensure apoptosis.
- HOWEVER due to a defect (the risk factors mentioned above) the clearing systems don’t activate.
Benign vs. malignant
Benign
* In situ (original position)
* Abnormal growth but doesn’t spread.
* Not life-threatening
* Not cancerous
Malignant
1. Non-invasive – precancerous
* Still in situ
* Close to nearby tissue
2. Invasive – cancerous
* Spreads to other organs
What are the different types of breast cancer?
- DCIS
- IDC
- LCIS
- ILS
What are the signs of breast cancer?
» Lump/swelling in chest or armpit.
» Pain in armpits (many lymphnodes swollen)
» Redness of breast
» Rash around nipples
» Area of thickened tissue in skin
» Discharge from nipple, may contain blood.
How do we diagnose breast cancer?
» Self–examination
» Imaging tests: ultrasound, MRI, mammography
» Biopsy to confirm whether its benign or malignant.
What’s the treatment of breast cancer?
» Surgical removal of cancer in situ or full breast.
» Radiation (only if it’s very invasive)
» Chemotherapy
» Targeted drug therapy= specifically against breast cancer cells
» Hormone therapy against hormone - sensitive cells
* ER – estrogen sensitive.
* PR – progesterone sensitive.
Explain the TNM staging system
Based on:
* T = tumor size and spread
* N = spread to lymph nodes
* M = metastasis happened?
What are the different stages of (breast) cancer
- STAGE 0: non-invasive
- STAGE1:growth(<2cm), not yet invasive
- STAGE 2A and B: growth + whether or not it’s spread to lymph nodes – from now on cancer.
- STAGE 3A, B and C: growth, spreading further to lymph nodes, skin, and chest.
- STAGE 4: metastasis has happened.
…(ratio) vrouwen heeft in de loop van haar leven kanker op de borst
1/8
Give some extra details on sarcoma as a type of cancer
metastises quickly
bad prognosis
gets noticed very late
explain the role of viruses in breast cancer
They’ll integrate into our cells and DNA, allowing themselves to replicate. They can change DNA, resulting in the production of bad cells
> different viruses for different types of cancer
DCIS
non-invasive, stays in the milk ducts, can become invasive
IDC
most common breast cancer, wall of lactiferous ducts – causing growth/invasion of surrounding breast tissue – spreads to lymph nodes and then metastases to other organs.
> accounts for 80% of invasive breast cancers!!
LCIS
in situ, non-invasive, stays in lobules, can become invasive
ILS
10% of breast cancer cases, formed in lobules, invades
nearby tissues via lymphatic vessels and metastases to other organs.
