Cancer Behaviour Flashcards
What are the three groups of cancers
Epithelial, mesenchymal and haematological (also neuroectoderm which is a far smaller group)
What do you call epithelial malignancy
Carcinoma
What is the relationship between carcinomas and age
Risk increases associated with long term accumulation of environmental risk (children are rare)
What characterises epithelial malignancy
Local growth. Spreads by haematogenous and lymphatic routes.
Where does testicular carcinoma spread to
Para-aortic lymph nodes due to embryological development
Where do GI carcinomas generally spread to
The liver - other sites are rare
What are mesenchymal tumours
Soft tissue tumours (all kinds and connective tissue) called sarcomas
What do you call smooth muscle tumours
leiomyoma/sarcoma
What do you call skeletal muscle tumours
Rhabdomyoma/sarcoma
What do you call fat tumours
lipoma/liposarcoma
What do you call bone tumours
osteoma/osteosarcoma
What do you call cartilage tumours
Chondroma/ chondrosarcoma
What do you call blood vessel tumours
Haemangioma / angiosarcoma
What do you call nerve tumours
Neuroma/MPNST
What is the age distribution of sarcomas
more common in children
How do sarcomas spread
Local growth is the defining feature (they can get massive) lymphatic spread is very rare. can spread through the haematogenous route and disseminate wildly if left alone enough
What is the histology of sarcomas
Tend to be spindle cell lesions - elongated tapered cell shapes and a solid tumour
What genetic changes are sarcomas generally associated with
Specific large translocations
What are lymphomas
Mass like lesions in lymph nodes
What are leukemias
Circulating malignant cells in the blood and bone marrow
Why do haematological cancers not metastasise
Because they are already throughout the body
Other than FBCs what are signs of a haemotological malignancy
Large lymph nodes not fitting drainage of an epithelial malignancy (diffuse spleen and liver involvement) and symptoms from marrow involvement (anaemic, bleeding and infections)
What are B symptoms in a haematological malignancy
unpredictable - such as sweating (esp at night) and weight loss.
A main differential is infection
What is the histology of haematological malignancy
Look like the cell of origin at low grade and quite monoclonal.
Solid white masses in lymph nodes.
