Cancer

Question 1

what us a tumour

Answer 1

any kind of mass forming lesion . May be neoplastic, hamartoatous or inflammatory(e.g. from allergy )

Question 2

what is hamartomatous

Answer 2

normal tissue in an organ which is organised in and abnormal way

Question 3

what is a neoplasm

Answer 3

autonomous growth of tissue which has escaped normal constraints of cell proliferation. May be benign or malignant

Question 4

what is a cancer

Answer 4

malignant neoplasm

Question 5

how to pathologically differentiate between benign and malignant neoplasm

Answer 5

Benign: clear demarcation, can move around and not attached to skin
Malignant: invades local tissue and is fixed

Question 6

what are hamartomas

Answer 6

localised benign overgrowths of one or more mature cell types. But do not have cytological abnormalities(eg. increased mitosis or increase nucleus:cytoplasmic ratio)

Question 7

heterotopias

Answer 7

normal tissue found in wrong place

Question 8

Look at the table on the classification of neoplasms

Answer 8

look at the table on the classification of neoplasms

Question 9

teratomas

Answer 9

A type of germ cell tumor that may contain several different types of tissue, such as hair, muscle, and bone.

Question 10

differences in invasion between benign and malignant

Answer 10

if it has directly extended into adjacent connective tissue/blood vessels

Question 11

metastasis between benign and malignant

Answer 11

all malignant tumours spread via blood vessels / lymph noded

Question 12

differentiation

Answer 12

malignant cancerous tumours have larger nuclei, and higher nucleus:cytoplasmic ratio and more mitoses, nuclear pleomorphism) variability in nuclear size andshape

Question 13

growth pattern

Answer 13

malignant tumours have less well defined architecture than the tissue they are derived from

Question 14

by which routes do tumours spread

Answer 14

perineural
direct
lymphatic
haematogenous
transcoelomic

Question 15

direct extension

Answer 15

stromal response to the tumour. includes fibroblastic proliferation (desmoplastic response), vascular prolif (angiogenesis) and immune response

Question 16

haematogenous

Answer 16

blood vessels (normally veules and capillaries with thin walls)

Question 17

lymphatic

Answer 17

pattern of spread is dictated by the normal lymphatic drainage of organ in qu

Question 18

transcoelomic

Answer 18

via seeding of body cavities like pleural (intrathoracic cancer) and peritoneal cavity (for intra-abdominal cancer)

Question 19

perineural

Answer 19

via nerves (low resistance pathway) liver cancers

Question 20

how do you assess tumour spread

Answer 20

clinically, radiologically and pathologically

Question 21

TNM

Answer 21

tumour (size/extent of local invasion nodes), metasteses

Question 22

grade vs stage of cancer

Answer 22

grade= how differentiated the tumour is 
stage= how far is the tumour spread(TNM)

in terms of prognosis, stage is more imp than grade

Question 23

Example of a mutation in the growth promoting gene - Ras

Answer 23

If there is a mutation in the group meeting chains such as the gene for the signalling protein Ras it becomes super active and produces cells that are too strongly stimulated by growth receptors

Question 24

Her Elton

Answer 24

Breast cancer drug which blocks overactive receptor tyrosine Kinases ( RTKs)

Question 25

Gleevec

Answer 25

Drug which blocks a mutant signalling kinase associated with chronic myelogenous leukaemia