Cancer Flashcards by Hana Machnouk

what is a tumour?

any kind of MASS FORMING LESION. may be neoplastic, hamartomatous or inflammatory

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what is a neoplasm?

the autonomous growth of tissue which have escaped normal constraints of cell proliferation

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what type of tumour is a nasal polyps?

inflammatory. (allergic type)

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What are the two types of neoplasm?

benign and malignant

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what is the difference between a benign and malignant tumour?

benign remain localised and do not INVADE.

malignant can invade locally and/or SPREAD TO DISTANT SITES

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What are cancers?

malignant neoplasms

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if you feel e.g. the breast and you feel a lump, if the lump moves, is it likely to benign or malignant?

benign. if it remains fixed it is malignant.

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note

many malignant tumours rarely cause death (esp. skin cancers) and some benign tumours do kill because of their location e.g. in the brain

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what is basal cell carincoma? what type of cancer is it?

skin cancer. malignant as it invades locally but it does not metastisise.

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what are hamartomas?

localised BENIGN overgrowths of one or more mature cell types. e.g.in the lung (cartilage, muscle, epithelium, bronchial tissue)

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do hamartomas represent cytological or architechtural abnormalities?

architectural. they are normal tissue in a a normal part of the body but the way they are organised architecturally; there is a problem.

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what are heterotopias?

normal tissues being found in parts of the body where they are not normally present. e.g pancreas in the wall of the large intestine.

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to classify neoplasms, what is the primary description based on and what is the secondary description based on?

primary description- cell origin

secondary description- benign or malignant.

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what does the suffix oma and sarcoma mean?

oma-benign tumour

sarcoma- malignant (soft tissue) tumour.

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what is the difference between a sarcoma and a carcinoma?

sarcoma- malignant tumours of connective/soft tissue. e.g. cartilage, muscle, fat
carcinoma-malignant tumours of epithelial cells

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what is the name of a benign AND malignant tumour of squamous epithelium? give examples.

benign- squamous epithelioma or papilloma
malignant- squamous cell carcinoma.
examples: skin, oesophagus, cervix, skin, vagina, anus

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what is the name of a benign AND malignant tumour of glandular epithelium? give examples.

benign-adenoma
malignant-adenocarcinoma.
examples: breast, colon, pancreas, thyroid, stomach

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what is the name of a benign AND malignant tumour of transitional (ability to be stretched) epithelium? give examples.

benign- transitional papilloma
malignant-transitional cell carcinoma
examples: bladder, pelvis

what is the name of a benign AND malignant tumour of smooth muscle? give examples.

benign-leiomyoma
malignant-leiomyosarcoma
examples: uterus, colon, thyroid

what is the name of a benign AND malignant tumour of bone? give examples.

benign-osteoma
malignant-osteosarcoma (osteogenic sarcoma)
e.g.arms, legs

what is the name of a benign AND malignant tumour of lymphocytes? give examples.

benign-extremely uncommon
malignant- lymphoma
e.g.lymphoma stomach

what is the name of a benign AND malignant tumour of bone marrow? give examples.

benign- extremely uncommon
malignant- leukaemia
e.g. acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, chronic myeloid leukaemia.

what are the three categories neoplasms can be split up into?

epithelial, connective (soft) tissue, haematological

what are teratomas?

tumours derived from germ cells and can contain tissue derive from all three for 3 germ cell layers. they may contain mature and/or immature tissue and even cancers.

list the malignant tumours that are exceptions and have the suffix "oma".

- (malignant) lymphoma - (malignant) melanoma - hepatoma (better called liver cell cancer) - teratoma (not all, some are benign)

what are the 4 categories that can be used to differentiate between a benign and malignant tumour?

1. Invasion 2. Metastasis 3. Differentiation 4. Growth pattern

in terms of invasion, what is the difference between malignant and benign tumours?

benign cannot invade into adjacent connective tissue/or other structures. They cannot get into blood vessels , lymphatics or nerves. malignant can

what is the difference between dysplasia and cancer?

dysplasia- NO invasion, once it invades the basement membrane, it becomes cancer.

in terms of metastasis, what is the difference between malignant and benign tumours?

malignant tumours- CAN spread via blood vessels (usually veins) to other parts of the body or have the CAPACITY to, although they may have been diagnosed before they have done so. benign cannot

whats a hallmark of dysplasia?

high nucleus: cytoplasmic ratio

in terms of differentiation, what are common characteristics of tumour cells?

meaning: how much cells resemble the tissue they are derived from. tumour cells tend to have: -higher nuclear-cytoplasmic ratio (mainly) -more mitoses. (mainly) they may have abnormal mitoses (e.g tripolar) and marked nuclear pleomorphism (variability in nuclear size and shape) -variation in size and shape -loss of normal features -disorganised arrangement, many dividing cells -large, variably shaped nuclei

in terms of growth parttern, what is the difference between malignant and benign tumours?

tumours have less well defined architecture than the tissue they are derived from. -the more malignant it becomes, the more abnormalities in structure there will be.

what is the cancer multistep process.

normal -> a bit proliferative -> dysplastic-> more dysplastic -> invasive (malignant- when it becomes invasive is when it goes from benign to malignant)

what are the 5 routes in which tumours can spread?

1. direct extension 2. haematogenous 3. lymphatic 4. transcoelomic 5. perineural

what is spread by haemotogenous?

this is spread via blood vessels. usually veins and capillaries as they have thinner walls.

as a rule of thumb, how do sarcomas and carcinomas usually spread?

sarcoma(connective tissue cells)- via blood vessels | carcinomas(epithelial cell cancers)- lymphatics

what is spread by lymphatics?

spread via lymphatics/lymphatic drainage to lymph nodes and beyond

what is spread by transcoelomic?

this is via seeding of body cavities. commonest types are pleural cavities(intrathoracic cancers) and peritoneal cavities ( for intra-abdominal cancers)

what is spread by transcoelomic?

this is via seeding of body cavities. commonest types are pleural cavities(intrathoracic cancers) and peritoneal cavities ( for intra-abdominal cancers). no barriers, constantly moving due to normal movement of organs

what is spread by perineural?

via nerves.

what are the 3 ways we asses tumour spread?

1. clinically 2. radiologically 3. pathologically

how do we describe tumour spread (stage)?

TNM. Tumour: 0-3. how far it spead, size. Nodes:0-2. how many are involved Metastasis: 0-1 or X(don't know, primary cancer)

what is grade and stage and which the most important in tumour prognosis?

grade- how differentiated is the tumour? cytology. architecture. nuclear-cytoplasmic ratio, mitoses, nucelomorphism. stage- how far it spread. stage is more important.

when looking at cytological descriptions, what are the three things you will look at?

- nucelar-cytoplasmic ration - mitoses - nucelomorphism