Cancer Flashcards
Cancer
- cancer has that hereditary trait
- 39.5% of individuals will be diagnosed with cancer of any body structure at some point in their lifetime
- 2019 = 16 million people living with cancer in the U.S.
- cancer can sometimes be fatal but more often leads to survival (immunotherapy = can target genes and target your immune system individually)
- “new normal” due to side effects and late effects
- even when someone is cleared of cancer, they still could have some occupational implications because of the treatment
Cancer definition
Healthy tissue of the body:
- cells grow, divide, and replace each other
- as new cells are formed, old cells die off
Cancer:
- old or damaged cells to continue to survive
- overabundance of new cells are formed unnecessarily
- lead to abnormal growth and disease (leads to a tumor or a mass)
- cells divide without control or develop abnormally
- too many new cells grow in a cluster = tumor or neoplasm
- the National Cancer Institute defines a tumor as “an abnormal mass of tissue that results when cells divide more than they should or do not die when they should”
Etiology (Causes) of cancer
- use of tobacco products = leading cause of lung, head, and neck cancer
- excessive exposure to the sun = 5 or more sunburns in a lifetime increases exposure
- radiation exposure = exposure during treatment increase risk for secondary cancer
- diet = obesity increases risk for liver cancer
- viruses
- infections = liver cancer linked to hepatitis B and C
- genetic = BRCA1 and BRCA2 (genes that cause cancer) & PTEN and TP53 (if those genes are mutated then they can do their role as a tumor suppressor so you are at a higher risk for tumor growth. Does not mean automatic cancer)
Classifications based on…
- site of origin = the specific or primary location
- histological (tissue) type
- stage and grade (or severity) of the cancer
- most common site of origin = skin, lungs, breasts, prostate, colon, rectum, cervix, and uterus
- when hearing that they have breast cancer or colon cancer, it means that the cancer started in that organ
-metastasize = moved to other organs - breast cancer most common in women
- prostate cancer most common in men
Tissue types of cancers
- carcinoma
- sarcoma
- myeloma
- leukemia
- lymphoma
- mixed types
Carcinoma
- tumors that occur in the epithelial tissue such as the skin, blood vessels, and the linings of organs and body cavities
- 80-90% of the cancers
Sarcoma
- tumors that occur in supportive and connective tissues such as bones, tendons, cartilage, muscle and fat
Myeloma
- cancers that originate in the plasma cells of bone marrow
Leukemia
- cancers of the blood-forming tissues, including the bone marrow and the lymphatic system
- overproduction of immature white blood cells and poor blood clotting and anemia from red blood cells
Lymphoma
- cancer of the lymphatic system, which is a network of vessels and nodes throughout the body that helps to fight infection
Mixed types
- histological components are from more than one type of cancer
Hematological cancers
- leukemia
- lymphoma
- myeloma
- blood cancers
Stem cells in the bone marrow
- bone marrow has blood stem cells that breaks off into red or white blood cells
- myeloid stem cell breaks off into red blood cells, platelets, or myeloblast (which then breaks off to granulocytes which are white blood cells)
- lymphoid stem cell breaks off into lymphoblastic which then turns into B lymphocyte, T lymphocyte, and natural killer cells (white blood cells)
Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL)
- acute = happens really fast (very dangerous)
- originates in the bone marrow
- too many lymphocytes are made and they overcrowd white blood cells
- most common type of childhood cancer
- more common in children ages 3-5 years old
- adults over age 75
- risk factors include having a sibling, previous exposure to chemotherapy or radiation for another cancer, exposure to excess radiation, and having a genetic disorder such as Down syndrome
- bone marrow with leukemia has lots and lots of white blood cells
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML)
- starts in myeloid cells
- typically would grow into white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets
- lowers the number of health blood cells in all three types of blood cells
- fast progressing disease
- primarily found in people over the age of 65 and is more common in men
- risk factors for AML include previous treatment with chemotherapy or radiation for cancer, exposure to toxic chemicals like benzene, a history of smoking, and a diagnosis of another blood disorder
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)
- chronic = abnormal cells are there but they’re growing very slowly and takes a long time
- most common type of leukemia in adults
- starts from lymphocytes in bone marrow
- grows slowly
- many people do not show any symptoms for years after the cancer starts
- affects people age 70 or older
- risk factors include having a family history of blood cancer and overexposure to chemicals such as weed killers or insecticides
Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML)
- originates in myeloid cells
- abnormal cells grow slowly
- more common in adults, yet children are sometimes affected as well
- more common in men
- a major risk factor is high exposure to radiation
Hodgkin lymphoma
- lymph system = immune system (have B and T cells)
- originates in B lymphocytes (B cells) which are the immune cells
- B cells make antibodies, which fight off germs
- have lymphocytes that are larger than normal, known as Reed-Sternberg cells
- these enlarged lymphocytes are noticeable as lumps in the lymph nodes
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
- start in B cells or in another immune cell known as T cells
- Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is more common than Hodgkin lymphoma (doesn’t create the Reed cells from Hodgkin lymphoma, creates lymphocytes that turn into cancer within the lymph system and gets spread throughout)
- in the U.S., non-Hodgkin lymphoma is the 6th most common cancer
Breast cancer
- most common cancer in women
- BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes identified as higher risk
- signs = palpable lump, change in size/shape of breast, skin changes, dimples with orange skin texture
Incidence and prevalence of breast cancer
- mammograms = early detection reduce the risk of breast cancer by 40%
- 40 = important number
- 1 in 6 breast cancers occur in women ages 40-49
- ten year risk for breast cancer in 40 years old is 1 in 69
Pediatric cancer facts
- cancer = #1 cause of disease-related death in children
- 1 in 285 U.S. children will be diagnosed with cancer by the time they are 20 years old
- more than 12 types of pediatric cancer and over 100 subtypes
- as of 2020, only 6 new drugs have been developed for pediatric cancer
- most standard childhood cancer treatments are decades old
- 1 in 6 kids with cancer do not survive
- 95% of survivors have significant health issues by age 45 because of cancer or toxicity of treatments
- only 4% of federal government’s cancer research budget goes to pediatric cancer research
- about 50% of all pediatric cancer research is funded by philanthropies supported by private donors, corporations, and foundations
Stats of childhood cancer (diagram slide 22)
- leukemia
- CNS tumor
- lymphomas
- soft-tissue sarcomas
- neuroblastoma and other peripheral nervous cell tumors
- renal tumors
- other
Childhood cancer late effects
- health problems that occur months or years after cancer treatments have ended
- caused by the cancer treatments (weaker immune system, infertility issues as their reproductive organs have been disrupted, and at risk for cancer again)
- factors that affect the risk of late effects = tumor-related factors, treatment-related factors, and patient-related factors
- solutions = regular follow up care, health habits, support through schools, and therapy