Cancer 1

Question 1

Appreciate the complexity of cancer as a disease

Answer 1

A

Question 2

What is cancer

Answer 2

• collection of diseases with common feature of uncontrolled growth
• cancer can occur in all cell types in the body but epithelial cells are most prone to change
• Can be restricted to the tissue of origin (local disease) or they invade other tissues
• once a cancer has metastasised it is much more difficult to treat

Question 3

Metastasis

Answer 3

• when cancer cells invade and colonise territories reserved for other cells

Question 4

Hallmarks of cancer

What do all successful tumours have in common

Answer 4

1. Self sufficiency in growth signals
2. Insensitivity to anti-growth signals
3. Limitless replicative potential
4. Evading apoptosis (tells the cell to commit suicide)
5. Sustained angiogenesis
6. Tissue invasion and metastasis

Question 5

Know the basic statistics about cancer in the UK

Answer 5

• in 2012, 331000 people were diagnosed with cancer in the uk
• in 2012, 161823 people died from cancer in the uk
• (thats as a town the size of Oxford)

Question 6

Understand some causes of cancer

Answer 6

Causes of cancer (preventable)

• tobacco
• body weight
• physical in(activity)
• diet
• alcohol
• hormones
• sunlight (UV)
• (Occupation)
• (socio-economic status)