Cancer and Chemotherapy Flashcards
Define Cancer
Genetic Disease
Mutations and genetic alterations in specific regulatory genes which cause normal cell to become cancerous
- Accumulation of multiple genetic aberrations, not a single lesion
Cancer arises from what which can result from
Loss of normal growth control
- Caused by uncotrolled cell growth or loss of a cell’s ability to undergo apoptosis
Cancer Cell Characteristics
Excessive autonomous uncontrolled cell growth (doesn’t need commands on when to proliferate)
Local invasion of surrounding tissues
Genetic instability (some damage leads to lots)
Defective differentiation
Distant metastasis
Cell grows when they shouldn’t →
forming a tumor
Cell grow where they shouldn’t →
Causing invasion and metastasis
ABL mutated in
Leukemias
APC mutated in
Colon cancer
Cancer cell genes coding for:
o Cell cycle control and differentiation, are repressed, inactivated or work imperfectly (tumor-suppressor genes)
o Proliferation are left on and their activity increase (proto-oncogenes)
Define Benign Cancers
End in –OMA Genomic stability is intact Non cancerous growth Do not metastasize Do not recur after surgery
Define Malignant Cancers
End in CARCINOMA Genome highly unstable Highly invasive Metastasis Recurrence is frequent
Caricinomas prevalence and cancer of:
90% of all human cancers
Skin, lining of internal organs
Sarcomas Cancer of
Connective tissues
Leukemia & lymphomas prevalence and cancer of:
8% of all human cancers and cancer of blood-forming cells and cells of immune systems
Define Tumor Heterogeneity
Cancer cells in a given tumor are genetically heterogenous
Tumor Growth Fraction High vs Low
o A tissue with a large percentage of proliferating cells and a few cells in G0 has a HIGH GROWTH FRACTION (high proliferating = bad cancer)
o A tissue composed of mostly cells in G0 has a low growth fraction
Chemo works better in what growth fraction?
o Chemotherapy is more toxic to tissues with HIGH growth fraction, whether they are normal or tumor
Define Metastasis
Spread of cells from a site of origin to distant sites (organs)
Naming of metastasis cancers
o Metastatic cancers have the same name as the ORIGINAL CANCER
Breast cancer that has spread to the lung is metastatic breast cancer NOT lung cancer
Stage 0 Tumor
Carcinoma in situ
Stage 1,2,3 Tumor
Greater tumor sze
Stage 4 Tumor
T4
Spread to another organ
HPV leads to
cervical and genital cancer
EBV leads to
Burkitt lymphoma and nasopharyngeal carcinoma
Hep B/C leads to
hepatoma
HIV leads to
Kaposi sarcoma
Which cancers can be cured?
o Acute leukemia o NHL o HL (Hodgkin’s lymphoma( o Wilm’s tumor Eqing’s sarcoma o Retinoblastoma o Rhabdomyosarcoma o Testicular carcinoma o Choriocarcinoma
Phases of Cell Cycle
G1: cells are getting ready to replicate
S: DNA is replicated
G2: cells are getting ready to split
M: cells split