Cancer Flashcards
What is Cancer?
A complex group of 100 diseases affecting a wide range of tissues
What is cancer caused by?
Mutations in gene’s, controlling cell growth after exposure to carcinogens
What type of cells are cancer cells
Somatic
What percentage of mutations are inherited?
1% - but extra somatic cells are required
What is cancer characterised by?
- loss of cell growth
- metastatis and invasion of other tissues
Cancer differs in:
Origin of tissue
Casual factors
Molecular mechanisms
Incidence
Cancer effects 1 in 3 people
How many people die from cancer
Roughly half diagnosed
5 common cancers in NZ
Lung, Breast, Colon, melanoma, Prostate & Cervical
What is loss of growth
Proliferate
What is a new growth
Neoplasia
(Neo) means new
When is a tumour benign?
Tumour is benign if the neoplastic cells are clustered in a single mass
What is apoptosis
Programmed cell death
What do benign tumours look like under a microscope?
Well differentiated, and look like normal
Function of Benign Tumour
May cause normal function of the tissue
- however could over secrete hormones
Benign Tumour growth
Relatively slow
Size of Benign Tumour
A few mm, due to lack of blood supply and loss of nutrients it doesn’t grow much bigger
Can benign tumours damage other tissue?
Can damage nearby organs, nerve or blood vessels by compressing
What do malignant tumours look like under a microscope
Less differentiated, and do not look like normal cells
Function of Malignant Tumours
Do not perform normal function of tissue
- May secrete new molecules
Malignant cell growth
Rapidly, since they have lost the ability of proliferation and apoptosis
