Cancer Flashcards by Megan Musa

Cancer is considered cured or in remission
when evidence of the disease cannot be
found in the individual’s body after how long?

5 years

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True or false: cancer is never “cured”

Cancer is considered cured or in remission
when evidence of the disease cannot be
found in the individual’s body. (5 yrs)

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Causes of cancer recurrence can include…

inadequate surgical margin, skip metastases, tumor thrombus, and lymph node metastasis.

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What are the most frequently occurring childhood cancers?

Leukemia (acute lymphocytic)
Brain
Soft tissue sarcomas
Non-Hodgkins lymphoma
Renal (Wilms’) tumor

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What are some (general) risk factors for cancer?

Age over 50
Ethnicity
Family (1st generation)
Environment and lifestyle

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What are the modifiable risk factors for cancer?

Smoking, use of smokeless tobacco
Chemical or other exposure (e.g., paint, cadmium, dye, rubber, arsenic, asbestos, radon, benzene, ionizing radiation, Agent Orange, pesticides, herbicides, organic amines)
Urban dwelling
Alcohol consumption (more than 1-2 drinks per day)
Sedentary lifestyle; lack of exercise
Obesity; diet high in animal fat Radiation/chemotherapy treatment Estrogen replacement therapy Sexually transmitted diseases Ionizing radiation
HTLV-1 (virus, rare in U.S.)
Previous lung scarring
Organ transplantation (immunosuppression)
HIV infection
Chronic exposure to UV rays
Geographic location
Smoked foods, salted fish and meat (nitrates and nitrites) Tamoxifen use
Nulliparity (never having children)
Vitamin B1 2 deficiency
Lack of access to or use of health care and screening tests

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3 major types of cancer

1) carcinoma
2) sarcoma
3) lymphoma and leukemia

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Which cancers arise from epithelial cells?

Carcinomas

Breast
Colon
Pancreas
Skin
Large intestine Lungs
Stomach

Metastasize via lymphatics

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How do carcinomas metastasize?

Via lymphatics

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Where do carcinomas arise from?

Epithelial cells

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Which types of cancer develop from connective tissue?

Sarcomas

Fat
Muscle
Bone
Cartilage
Synovium
Fibrous tissue

Metastasize hematogenously Local invasion

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Where do sarcomas develop?

Connective tissue

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How do sarcomas metastasize?

Hematogenously or local invasion

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Which cancers originate in lymphoid tissues?

Lymphomas

Lymph nodes
Spleen
Intestinal lining

Spread by infiltration

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How do lymphomas spread?

Infiltration

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Where do lymphomas originate?

Lymphoid tissues

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What are the cancers of the hematologic system?

Leukemia

Bone marrow

Spreads by invasion and infiltration

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How do leukemias spread?

Infiltration and invasion

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What do you call a non-cancerous tumor?

Benign

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What do you call a malignant cancer that has

invaded surrounding tissue?

Invasive

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What do you call a cancer that has spread from its primary site to a secondary site?

Metastatic

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What are the early clinical manifestations of malignancy?

C hanges in bowel or bladder habitis
A sore that does not heal in 6 weeks
U nusual bleeding or discharge
T hichening or lump in breast or elsewhere
I ndigestion or difficulty in swallowing
O bvious change in a wart or mole
N agging cough or hoarseness

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Where does breast cancer metastasize to?

Bone (shoulder, hips, ribs, vertebrae); CNS (brain, spinal cord) Lung, pleural cavity, liver

Where does bone cancer metastasize to?

Lungs, liver, bone, then CNS

Where does cervical cancer metastasize to?

Retroperitoneal lymph nodes, bladder, rectum; paracervical, parametrial lymphatics CNS (brain), lungs, bones, liver

Where does colorectal cancer metastasize to?

Bone (vertebrae) Peritoneum Liver, lung

Where does Ewing's sarcoma metastasize to?

Lung, bone, bone marrow

Where does kidney cancer metastasize to?

Pelvis, groin Lungs, pleural cavity, bone, liver

Where does leukemia metastasize to?

Does not really metastasize: causes symptoms throughout body

Where does liver cancer metastasize to?

CNS/ brain

Where does lung cancer metastasize to?

CNS (brain, spinal cord) Bone Mediastinum (tissue and organs between the sternum and vertebrae such as the heart, blood vessels, trachea, esophagus, thymus, lymph nodes) 8th cervical and 1st and 2nd thoracic nerves within the brachial plexus CNS (brain, spinal cord), bone

Where does lymphoma metastasize to?

CNS (spinal cord) Can occur anywhere, including skin, visceral organs

Where do malignant melanomas metastasize to?

Mets can occur anywhere; skin and subcutaneous tissue; lungs; CNS (brain); liver; gastrointestinal tract; bone

Where do nonmelanoma skin cancers metastasize to?

Bones underlying involved skin; brain

Where do osteosarcomas metastasize to?

Lymph nodes, lungs, bone, kidneys, CNS (brain)

Where does ovarian cancer metastasize to?

Nearby organs (bladder, colon, rectum, uterus, fallopian tubes) Liver, lungs; regional and distant

Where does pancreatic cancer metastasize to?

Liver

Where does prostate cancer metastasize to?

Pelvic and vertebral bones Bladder, rectum Distant organs (lung, liver, brain)

Where does cancer of the spinal cord metastasize to?

CNS (brain, spinal cord)

Where do stomach and gastric cancers metastasize?

Liver, vertebrae, abdominal cavity (intraperitoneum)

Where does thyroid cancer metastasize to?

Bone; nearby tissues of neck Regional lymph nodes (neck, upper chest, mediastinum) Distant (lung, bone)

If it's hard, immovable, and non-tender, what is it?

Cancer

True or false: Idiopathic proximal muscle weakness is a late sign of cancer.

False; Idiopathic proximal muscle weakness | referred to as carcinomatous neuromyopathy, is an EARLY warning sign of cancer

True or false; pain is always an early warning sign of cancer

False; Pain is rarely an early warning sign of | cancer, even in the presence of unexplained bleeding

What is the most serious of all skin cancers?

Malignant melanoma

Where do malignant melanomas arise from?

Pigmented cells in the skin

Where do squamous cell carcinomas arise from?

Arises from the top layer of dermis on area | exposed to the sun; ear, face, lip mouth

True or false; squamous cell carcinoma metastasis is uncommon

True

Which is the most common primary cancer to metastasize to the brain?

Lung

What are the first signs of lung cancer?

Pleural pain and dyspnea first signs

Sarcoma's are specific to which body system?

Musculoskeletal tissue

What is the most common type of bone cancer?

Osteosarcoma.

Clinical signs and symptoms of Ewing sarcoma?

- increasing and persistent pain - increasing and persistent swelling over a bone (by tumor) - decrease in movement if a limb bone is involved - fever - fatigue - weightloss

What are the clinical signs and symptoms of musculoskeletal cancers?

* Back or thigh pain * Sciatica * Bladder symptoms * Unilateral edema

Clinical signs and symptoms of a brain tumor

- Increased intracranial pressure - Headache, especially retroorbital; sometimes worse upon awakening, improves during the day - Vomiting (with or without nausea) -Visual changes (blurring, blind spots, diplopia, abnormal eye movements) -Changes in mentation (impaired thinking, difficulty concentrating or reading, memory, or speech) - Personality change, irritability - Unusual drowsiness, increased sleeping - Seizures (without previous history) -Sensory changes -Muscle weakness or hemiparesis - Bladder dysfunction - Increased lower extremity reflexes compared with upper extremity reflexes - Decreased coordination, gait changes, ataxia - Positive Babinski reflex - Clonus (ankle or wrist) - Vertigo, head tilt

Which cancers arise from bone marrow?

* Acute leukemias * Chronic leukemias * Multiple myelomas

What are the clinical signs and symptoms of acute and chronic leukemias?

- Infections, fever - Abnormal bleeding - Easy bruising of the skin - Petechiae - Epistaxis (nosebleeds) and/or bleeding gums Hematuria (blood in the urine) - Rectal bleeding - Weakness - Easy fatigability - Enlarged lymph nodes - Bone and joint pain - Weight loss - Loss of appetite - Pain or enlargement in the left upper abdomen (enlarged spleen)