Cancer II

Question 1

Tumor development needs what to happen?

Answer 1

breach of anti cancer defense mechanisms

Question 2

list the 6 Hallmarks of cancer

Answer 2

self-sufficiency in growth signals, insensitivity to anti-growth signals, evade apoptosis, limitless replicative potential, sustained angiogenesis, tissue invasion and metastasis

Question 3

What are the 2 ways that cells evade apoptosis?

Answer 3

Blocking pro-death signals (by inactivating mutations present in TP53 gene), Hyper activation of pro-survival signals (by a chromosome translocation causing overexpression of BCL-2)

Question 4

how do cells acquire limitless replicative potential?

Answer 4

by hyper-activating telomerase

Question 5

cancer cells tend to?

Answer 5

accumulate mutations, both point and chromosomal rearrangement

Question 6

what are proto-oncogenes?

Answer 6

genes whose hyper-activation promotes carcinogenesis.
BCL2, RAS, HER2, EGFR, MYC.
these mutations are dominant

Question 7

what are tumor suppressor genes?

Answer 7

genes whose inactivation promotes carcinogenesis.
P53, RBI, BRACA1. BRACA2.
these mutations are recessive and a loss of function

Question 8

what is the process by which cancer cells metastases

Answer 8

~detachment from other cells - loss of E cadherin/EMT
~migration -EMT/ modification of cytoskeletal proteins
~breach of basal membrane/matric - activation of proteases
~intravasation and transport in blood/lymph vessels - EMT/immune cell escape
~colonization of novel environment - MET

Question 9

cancer cells always /preferentially undergo

Answer 9

anaerobic glycolysis

Question 10

how do cancer cells hide

Answer 10

repressing tumors specific antigens and MHC I proteins