Cancer Flashcards
1
Q
Cac/o
A
bad
2
Q
Carcin/o
A
cancer, cancerous
3
Q
Follicul/o
A
small glandular sacs
4
Q
Mut/a
A
genetic change
5
Q
Necr/o
A
death
6
Q
Plas/o
A
formation
7
Q
Ple/o
A
many, more
8
Q
Cachexia
A
general ill health and malnutrition associated w/ chronic severe disease
9
Q
-blastoma
A
Immature tumor
10
Q
-genesis
A
formation
11
Q
-oma
A
tumor, mass
12
Q
- plasia
- plasm
A
formation, growth
13
Q
-suppression
A
to stop
14
Q
-therapy
A
treatment
15
Q
Ana-
A
backward
16
Q
Apo-
A
off, away
17
Q
Brachy-
A
short
18
Q
Meta-
A
beyond, change
19
Q
Tele-
A
far
20
Q
Anaplasia
A
loss of differentiation of cells, reverting to more primitive cell type. dedifferentiation.
21
Q
Adjuvant therapy
A
treatment given after the primary treatment to increase the chances of a cure. may include chemo, radiation, hormone therapy, or biologic therapy.
22
Q
Apoptosis
A
programmed cell death
23
Q
Infiltrative
A
extending beyond normal tissue boundaries into adjacent tissues
24
Q
Neoplasm
A
new growth; benign or malignant tumor
25
Oncogene
region of DNA in tumor cells that cause cancer
26
Palliative
relieving but not curing symptoms
27
Radiocurable tumor
tumor destroyed by radiation therapy
28
Radioresistant tumor
tumor requires large doses of radiation to be destroyed
29
Radiosensitive tumor
tumor in which radiation causes tumor death w/ minimal damage to surrounding tissue
30
Radiosensitizers
drugs that increase sensitivity of tumors to radiation therapy. Ex) cervical cancer pt will receive 5-fluorouracil & cisplatin to improve radiation treatment
31
Relapse
recurrence of tumor after treatment
32
Remission
partial or complete disappearance of symptoms of disease
33
Stereotactic radiosurgery
delivery of high dose radiation under stereotactic (highly precise) guidance
34
Characteristics of benign tumors
- Slow growing
- Encapsulated and noninvasive
- Well differentiated
- Non-metastatic
35
Characteristics of malignant tumors
- Rapidly multiplying
- Invasive and infiltrative
- Anaplastic and undifferentiated
- Metastatic
36
Tumor grading
microscopic appearance of tumor cells
37
Grade I tumor cell
very well differentiated
38
Grade II tumor cell
intermediate in appearance, moderately differentiated
39
Grade III tumor cell
poorly differentiated
40
Grade IV tumor cell
so undifferentiated may be difficult to determine tissue origin
41
TNM International staging system
Tumor - size and local degree of extension of the tumor
Nodes - number of lymph nodes invaded by the tumor
Metastasis - presence or absence of metastases
42
Process of burning tissue to destroy it. Can be performed using electricity, lasers, dry ice, and chemicals.
Cauterization (electric = electrocautery)
43
Placement of large bore needle that extracts a thin core of tissue
Core needle biopsy
44
The use of extreme cold to destroy cells. For external tumors liquid nitrogen is applied directly to the abnormal cells w/ a cotton swab or spraying device. For internal tumors liquid nitrogen is circulated through an instrument which makes contact w/ the tumor (guided by ultrasound). Less invasive than surgery, only involving a small incision.
Cryosurgery (instrument is called a cryoprobe)
45
Surgical procedure in which a lesion and surrounding tissue are removed in one piece. Ex) modified radical mastectomy, colectomy, gastrectomy.
En bloc resection
46
Removal of a tumor (lesion) and part of the normal surrounding tissue. Produces a specimen for diagnosis. Can be curative for small tumors.
Excisional biopsy
47
Surgical removal of the organs of a body cavity as well as the tumor. Pelvic ______ used for large recurrent cervical cancers (removal of uterus, ovaries, bladder and large segments of large bowel; 23% surgical mortality rate).
Exenteration
48
The removal or destruction of diseased tissue using controlled electrical current. Also called electrocoagulation or electrocauterization.
Fulguration
49
Surgical procedure that is focused on sampling or removing abnormal tissue from a site of the body to make a definitive diagnosis.
Incisional biopsy
50
Type of advanced cancer treatment in which radioactive "seeds" are placed in or near the tumor itself, giving a high radiation dose while reducing the radiation exposure in the surrounding healthy tissue.
Brachytherapy
51
Treatment by electrons accelerated to high energies by a machine such as the betatron. Used mainly for lesion situated at or near the surface. Unlike x-rays, electrons deliver the maximum dose to the first few cm of tissue with rapidly decreasing dose as depth increases. The depth of the high dose region can be varied by varying the electron energy.
Electron beams
52
A method of irradiation in which the source of radiation is outside the body. The beam must always traverse the skin and some normal tissue except w/ a superficial lesion.
External beam radiation (teletherapy)
53
A defined area that will be bombarded by radiation
Fields
54
A method of dividing the total dose of radiation into small repeated doses to prevent damage to normal surrounding tissue
Fractionation
55
International unit of measure of absorbed radiation dose. Equal to 100 rad.
Gray (Gy)
56
Electronic device that produces high-energy x-ray beams for the treatment of deep tumors
Linear accelerator
57
Treatment which is able to focus on very small areas, possibly rather deep in the body, without damaging the surrounding tissues. Favored for treating certain kinds of tumors where conventional x-ray radiotherapy would damage surrounding radio-sensitive tissues (optical nerves, spinal cord) or where it is important not to leave any residual radioactivity which previously would have been surgically removed from the surrounding tissues.
Proton therapy
58
Unit of radiation quantity. Equal to an energy absorption of 0.01 joule/kG of any material.
Rad (radiation absorbed dose)
59
The use of anti-cancer (cytotoxic) drugs to destroy cancer cells. There are over 50 different drugs; some may be given on their own but often several are combined. These drugs interfere w/ the ability of the cancer cell to divide & reproduce itself (different drugs do this differently).
Chemotherapy (if several drugs used, combination chemotherapy)
60
Family of anti-cancer drugs that interfere w/ the cell's DNA and inhibits cancer cell growth. Side effects include N/V, diarrhea, myelosuppression & alopecia.
Alkylating agents
61
Drugs which bind to the DNA in the cell preventing replication; produced by bacteria or fungi.
Antibiotics
62
Drugs that inhibit the synthesis of substances that are necessary components of DNA or possibly block the replication of DNA.
Antimetabolites
63
Chemicals from plants & animals which are used in combination w/ other chemo drugs.
Antimitotics
64
Alternative to chemotherapy which is a more effective form of breast cancer adjuvant therapy than chemo. If combined w/ chemo it would give even better results.
Hormonal agents
65
Test that measures the level of proteins in the blood or on the surface of tumor cells.
Protein marker tests
66
Sample of bone marrow usually taken from the hip
Bone marrow biopsy
67
Stem cells or bone marrow from a donor are transplanted into the patient to treat cancer which is in the bone marrow such as leukemia. Stem cell or bone marrow transplants allow much higher doses of chemo, improving the chances of curing the disease
Allogenic bone marrow transplant
68
Stem cells or bone marrow from the patient themselves are removed & stored before the high dose treatments, and then given back via infusion.
Autologous bone marrow transplant
69
Minimally invasive endoscopic examination of the large colon & the distal part of the small bowel w/ a camera on a flexible tube passed through the anus. May provide visual diagnosis & grants the opportunity for biopsy of suspected
Fiberoptic colonoscopy
70
Totally non-invasive method of examination of the colon. Uses 3D imagery reconstructed from computed tomography (CAT) scans. Non-standard and still under investigation.
Virtual colonoscopy
71
Alternative to histological biopsy which relies on cells being shed naturally from a surface. These can be collected w/o damage to the body & can be used for screening. Ex) pap smear of the cervix
Exfoliative cytology
72
Test which uses x-ray technology along w/ an injection of contrast to view lymphatic circulation and lymph nodes for diagnostic evaluation.
Lymphangiography (aka lymph node angiogram)
73
Specific type of imaging that uses a low-dose x-ray system for the examination of breasts.
Mammography
74
A screening tool to detect early breast cancer in women experiencing no symptoms (can detect cancer up to 2 years before a patient/physician can feel them) and to detect & diagnose breast disease in women experiencing symptoms such as a lump, pain, or nipple discharge.
Mammography exam (mammogram)
75
Evaluation of contents of the abdomen for the purpose of determining extent of disease
Staging laparotomy
76
Test used to identify areas of increased metabolic activity in the assessment of tumor activity & metastasis. Positron emission tomography combined w/ computed tomography scan.
PET/CT scan
77
Imaging technique that uses a small dose of radioactive chemical called a tracer (either venously injected or swallowed) to identify areas of cancer growth, trauma, infection, or degenerative disorders. Tracer emits gamma rays which can be detected by a gamma camera.
Radionuclide scans
78
Acid phosphatase
Prostate cancer marker
79
AFP
Liver & testicular cancer marker
80
Beta-HCG
Choriocarcinoma & testicular cancer marker
81
CA-125
Ovarian cancer marker
82
CEA
Colorectal & GI cancer marker
83
Estrogen receptor
Breast cancer marker
84
PSA
Prostate cancer marker
85
CA 15.3 & 29.7
Breast cancer markers
86
CA 19.9
Pancreatic cancer marker
