Cancer As A Genetic Disease At The Cellular Level

Question 1

Tumour cell growth can be regarded as a micro-evolutionary process whereby growth advantage is given by:

Answer 1

Increased...
Cell division rate
Genetic instability
Cell survival 
Clonal cell numbers

Question 2

Tumour promotors act _______ with _________ to promote DNA damage and __________.

Eg. ________ mimic _____ and activate _____ but are not mutagenic.

Answer 2

Synergistically
Carcinogens
Loss of growth control

Phorbol esters
DAG
PKC

Question 3

Women with which BRCA variants are more at risk of which cancers?

Answer 3

1 or 2

Breast, ovarian, colon, pancreatic

Question 4

Hayflick limit

Answer 4

Limit on the number of times a cell can divide before they undergo replicative senescence

Many cancer cells overcome this

Question 5

Primary tumour

Answer 5

Arises from a cell that has undergone a heritable change that allowed it to outgrow its neighbour

Question 6

Describe genetic instability required for tumour formation.

Answer 6

Normal cells don’t pass the selection barrier e.g. Low 02

Cells with increased genetic instability may squire mutations which allow them to survive

• production of angiogenesis factors which provide a new blood supply for the tumour cells
• resistance to apoptosis

Too much instability leads to apoptosis

Question 7

Tumour cells are able to move due to ________________/______________ expression to reduce cell-cell contacts

Due to expression of __________ and ___________. These are __________ genes

Answer 7

Decreased fibronectin and E cadherin

Laminin receptors
Collagenase IV
Neonatal

Question 8

Warburg effect

Answer 8

Tumour cells take up glucose rapidly and use 85% of this for anaerobic respiration
Gives tumour cells growth advantage through reduced O2 consumption
Produces lactate