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Basic Pathology > Cancer > Flashcards

Cancer Flashcards

1
Q

cancer

A
  • uncontrolled growth and spread of abnormal cells in the body
  • derived from Greek word for crab: karkinos
  • group of diseases
  • associated with altered genetic expression
  • can be fatal
  • invasive or metastasizing in nature
  • grows rapidly
  • angiogenic
  • anaplastic - undifferentiated
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2
Q

neoplasm

A
  • “new growth” or “tumor”
  • an uncontrolled growth of new cells
  • may be benign or malignant
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3
Q

benign

A
  • a neoplasm not capable of metastasizing
  • usually not capable of causing death
  • can cause illness (due to bulk effect)
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4
Q

malignant

A
  • “cancer”
  • neoplasm capable of metastasizing
  • capable of causing death
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5
Q

leading cause of cancer death in men and women

A

lung

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6
Q

incidence of cancer increases with ____

A

age (77% of cancer diagnosed in people over 55)

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7
Q

lifetime risk of developing cancer in the US

A

men- 1:2

women- 1:3

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8
Q

5-year survival rate for all cancers

A

67%

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9
Q

many types of cancer are ____

  • 30% of cancer deaths will be caused by ____
  • 30% are related to ____
A

preventable;
tobacco use;
obesity, physical inactivity, and poor nutrition

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10
Q

other preventable causes of cancer

A
  • HPV: vaccine
  • HBV: vaccine
  • HIV: safe-sex practices, IV drug-use treatment, prophylactic meds
  • Helicobacter pylori: antibiotics
  • skin cancer: UV protection
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11
Q

cancer can effect ____ parts of the eye

A

all

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12
Q

~300,000 cases of ocular _____ each year; only 5-10% of ocular tumors are ____

A

malignancies;

primary to the eye (originate there)

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13
Q

90-95% are metastatic to the eye; frequently spread to the _____

A

uvea (highly vascularized)

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14
Q

most common cancers that spread to the eye

A

breast and lung

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15
Q

transformation from normal cells to cancer cell is a ____

A

years-long process

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16
Q

cancer cells gain ____ through mutation

A

autonomy

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17
Q

autonomy

A

independence from normal cellular controls:

  • anchorage independent
  • immortal
  • evade apoptosis
  • angiogenic
  • self-stimulating
  • invasive
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18
Q

telomeres

A
  • protective caps on each chromosome
  • become smaller and smaller with each cell division
  • loss of telomeres= apoptosis
  • telomerase maintains telomeres in stem cells= immortality
  • telomerase is reactivated in cancer cells= immortality
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19
Q

non-cancerous cells are anchorage dependent, meaning they only proliferate when ____; cancer cells are ____

A

attached to a surface; anchorage independent

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20
Q

normal cells exhibit contact inhibition, meaning they ____; cancer cells ___

A

stop dividing when they form a single layer; do not exhibit contact inhibition, and continue dividing and piling up on top of each other

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21
Q

chronic inflammation creates a ______ environment due to ____

A

hyperproliferative;

cytokines (cell proliferation, angiogenesis), free radicals (DNA damage leads to DNA mutation)

22
Q

tumor= wound that ____

A

fails to heal

23
Q

cancer causes: 3 main mechanisms

A

1) chronic inflammation w/o infection (ex: autoimmune disease)
2) chronic infection w/ inflammation (ex: viral, bacterial, parasitic, fungal, etc.)
3) genetic mutations (inherited or environmental)

24
Q

external causes of cancer

A
  • toxins (workplace, cigarette smoke): DNA damage and/or inflammation
  • infections (bacteria, virus, parasite, fungus): DNA damage and/or chronic inflammation
  • radiation: DNA damage
25
Q

internal causes of cancer

A
  • hormonal imbalance (ex: breast, ovarian, colon): hyperproliferation
  • autoimmune disease: chronic inflammation
  • metabolic disorders: metabolic byproducts can have toxic effects
26
Q

mutagens

A

chemical or physical agent that causes a change in the DNA of a cell

27
Q

carcinogen/carcinogenesis

A
  • any substance that contributes to the development of cancer
  • changes DNA or metabolic processes
  • causes nonlethal genetic damage**
28
Q

two types of carcinogens

A
  • initiator (causes genetic damage)

- promoter (promotes tumor growth)

29
Q

things that are probably carcinogenic

A
  • insecticides
  • cisplatin (chemotherapeutic agent)
  • nitrates or nitrites
  • hairdresser or barber (inhalants)
  • very hot beverages
30
Q

things that are definitely carcinogenic

A
  • plutonium (radioactive)
  • benzene (oxidation)
  • HPV
  • alcoholic beverages
  • tobacco smoke
  • tanning beds
31
Q

infection by viruses:

-cause cancer by ____

A
  • inserting genetic material into infected cells

- initiating a chronic inflammatory response

32
Q

viruses associated with cancers

A
  • hepatitis B and C viruses: hepatic cancer *cause 80% of all liver cancers
  • Epstein-Barr virus: Burkitt’s lymphoma
  • herpes virus: Kaposi sarcoma
  • HPV: cervical cancer*
  • lymphoma virus: human T-cell leukemia
33
Q

infection by bacteria

A
  • helicobacter pylori
  • chronic infections = chronic inflammatory response
  • more likely with higher concentration of bacteria
  • associated with: peptic ulcer disease, stomach carcinoma, mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphomas
34
Q

proto-oncogene

A
  • code for proteins that regulate cell growth and proliferation
  • normal and necessary
  • capable of becoming an oncogene with one mutation
35
Q

oncogene

A
  • can cause a cell to become a cancer cell
  • come from mutated proto-oncogene
  • growth/proliferation no longer regulated
  • over-active growth signals (ex: more receptors = more activity)
36
Q

tumor suppressor genes

A
  • slow down cell proliferation or induce apoptosis when cell damage is present (“anti-oncogenes”)
  • mutation allows for unregulated growth by disabling TSG
  • both copies must be inactivated for progression of cancer
37
Q

p53 tumor suppressor gene

A
  • gene products inhibit the cell cycle
  • gene activated in presence of damaged DNA
  • proteins bind to damaged DNA and stall division
  • proteins can initiate apoptosis in the cell at high concentrations
38
Q

most common type of tumor suppressor gene defect

A

p53; more than half of all types of human tumors lack functional p53

39
Q

chemotherapy/radiation triggers ____; ineffective in ____

A

p53-mediated cell death (cause DNA damage on purpose which should trigger p53 to induce apoptosis);
cancer cells lacking functional p53

40
Q

point mutations

A
  • changes in one base pair

- can be inherited or acquired

41
Q

gene amplification

A
  • duplication of a small piece of chromosome over and over

- can result in an increased expression of an oncogene

42
Q

chromosome translocation (in somatic cells)

A
  • piece of one chromosome is transferred to another

- leads to excess production of an abnormal protein or a novel protein

43
Q

example of chromosome translocation

A
  • chronic myeloid leukemia and Philadelphia chromosome

- chromosomes 9 and 22= new protein that promotes growth of myeloid progenitor cells

44
Q

caretaker genes

A
  • maintain genetic integrity (aka. gene repair- review and correct any damage that occurs in DNA)
  • loss of these genes leads to increased mutations
45
Q

chromosome instability

A
  • increased in malignant cells

- occurs during mitosis

46
Q

chromosome instability can lead to:

A
  • chromsome loss
  • loss of heterozygosity
  • chromsome amplification
47
Q

epigenetic mutation

A
  • usually a normal process
  • causes: diet, stress, toxins
  • effects: inappropriate “gene silencing”
  • loss of silencing for oncogenes that leads to cancer
48
Q

inappropriate gene silencing

A
  • DNA methylation or histone modification

- abnormal silencing of tumor suppressor genes

49
Q

hereditary cancer characteristics

A
  • germ-line mutations (egg/sperm)
  • largely associated with tumor suppressor genes
  • rarely associated with oncogenes
  • usually heterozygous initially
  • at greater risk for cancer resulting from “loss of heterozygosity”, or gene silencing
50
Q

example of hereditary cancer

A

Retinoblastoma; approximately half are inherited

51
Q

Retinoblastoma

A
  • Rb1 gene codes for protein that suppresses cell growth
  • Rb1 gene mutated/deleted
  • most common primary intraocular malignant neoplasm of childhood
  • 5 year survival rate of 93%
  • Rb1 gene located on chromosome 13
  • can be unilateral or bilateral
  • 75% of cases are unilateral
  • all bilateral cases are inherited
  • usually confined to eye (although it can spread)
52
Q

clinical signs of retinoblastoma

A
  • leukocoria (white pupil)
  • strabismus
  • loss of vision

Basic Pathology (21 decks)

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