Cancer Flashcards
Define cancer?
- Group of more than 200 diseases
- Characterized by uncontrolled and unregulated growth of cells
- Occurs in people of all ages and ethnicities
What is the incidence and mortality rate in canada?
- incidence: 177,800
- mortality: 75,000
Three stages in cancer development?
- Initiation: Mutation of cell’s genetic structure due to inherited mutation or exposure to a chemical, radiation, or viral agent
- Promotion: Characterized by reversible proliferation of altered cells
- Progression: Increased growth rate of tumour, invasiveness, metastasis
Activities of promotion are reversible?
- Obesity
- Smoking
- Alcohol
- Dietary fat
Most frequent sites of metastasis?
lungs, brain, bone, liver, and adrenal glands.
to metastasize, cancer cells must enter circulation system
Modifiable risk factors?
excessive body weight
lack of physical activity
unhealthy eating habits
excessive exposure to the sun.
Non-midifiable risk factors?
genetics, gender
Two cellular dysfunctions of cancer cells?
- divide quickly and in a random matter
- Can survive after mutation and pass on damage to two or more daughter cells
- Surviving mutated cells have potential to become malignant.
Two types of genes that can be affected by mutation?
- Proto-oncogenes: Regulate normal cellular processes such as promoting growth
- Tumour suppressor genes: Suppress growth
Benign neoplasm characteristics?
non-cancerous
- Well differentiated
- Usually encapsulated
- Expansive mode of growth
- Characteristics similar to parent cell
- Metastasis is absent
- Rarely recur
Malignant neoplasm characteristics?
- May range from well differentiated to undifferentiated
- Able to metastasize
- Infiltrative and expansive growth
- Frequent recurrence
- Moderate to marked vascularity
- Rarely encapsulated
- Becomes less like parent cell
Factors that affect development of cancer?
- Genetic
- Chemical
- Environmental
- Radiation
- Carcinogens
- Viral or immunological
- From causes not yet identified
What happens when cancer metastasizes
- Metastasis process begins with rapid growth of primary tumour
- Cells can invade lymph nodes and vascular vessels to travel to distant sites
- Develops its own blood supply
- Critical for survival and growth of tumour
- Tumour angiogenesis is formation of blood vessels within tumour
- Certain segments of primary tumour can detach and invade surrounding tissues.
Immune response to cancer?
reject or destroy cancer cells.
What is the CA 125 test?
- used to test for amount of protein in cancer cell
- can be used to screen for ovarian cancer
Classification of cancer?
Tumours can be classified by:
- Anatomical site
- Histological analysis
- Grading severity
- Extent of disease
- Staging
Classification of cancer provides a standardized way to?
- Communicate with health care team
- Prepare and evaluate treatment plan
- Determine prognosis
- Compare groups statistically
Anatomical site classification?
Identified by tissue of origin