Cancer Staging Flashcards
How cancer develops
cells grow and divide abnormally
tumor
extra cells that form an aggregate or mass
benign tumor
non-cancerous tumor that does not spread or threaten the life of the patient, tend to be easily removed
malignant
cancerous tumor
characteristics of a malignant tumor
abnormal cells that divide without control or order
invade and destroy surrounding tissue
large irregular nuclei, disorganized tissue, and a poorly defined boundary
process of metastasis
when malignant cells break off from the original tumor and travel through the blood stream or lymphatics to form new tumors in other areas of the body
some causes of cancer
changes in the genes that control growth and death of cells
tobacco, diet, UV radiation, carcinogens
HPV, Hep B, Hep C, HIV
how to reduce risk of cancer
don’t use tobacco
eat fruits, vegetables, and whole grains
avoid sun exposure
cancer screening procedures
sigmoidoscopy, pap test, mammograph
possible symptoms of cancer
thickenings or lumps change in a mole or wart change in bowel or bladder difficulty swallowing weight changes unusual bleeding
purpose and advantage of a tissue biopsy
to determine whether cancerous cells are present
ways to deal with diagnosed cancer
surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, biological/immuno therapy
process of radiation
external or internal, the tumor is exposed to either high energy rays or radioactive substances
chemotherapy
use of drugs to kill cancer cells
purpose of hormone therapy
prevents hormonally dependent cancers from obtaining the hormones they need to grow
biological therapy
uses the body’s immune system to fight cancer directly or indirectly
examples of biological therapy
monoclonal antibodies
interferon
interlukin-2
colony-stimulating factors
how is tumor grade determined?
suspected malignancy is biopsied, pathologist determines the grade based on morphology
size and shape of the nucleus
volume of nucleus to cytoplasm ratio
relative number of dividing cells (mitotic index)
organization of the tissue
boundary of the tumor
how well differentiated the cells appear compared to normal cells
what is the purpose of tumor grading?
to classify cancer based on how abnormal the cells look and determine how quickly the tumor is likely to grow and spread
what are the 4 tumor grades?
Grade I, II, II, IV
why tumor grade is important to a patent’s prognosis (future)
lower grades usually have a better prognosis because they are less aggressive
prognosis
the likely outcome or course of a disease, whether the cancer is liekly to recur
staging
the extent or severity of a cancer
elements of staging
location of the primary tumor size and number of tumors lymph node involvement cell type and tumor grade (how closely the cells resemble normal tissue) presence or absence of metastasis
common system used to stage cancer
the TNM system
what do T, N, and M stand for?
T is extent of the tumor
N is the extent of spread to the lymph nodes
M is the presence of metastasis
number following the letter indicates size and extent of each characteristic
categories of cancer
In situ
Regional
Distant
Unknown
tests and procedures to stage a cancer
depends on the type of cancer physical exam imaging studies: X-rays, CT, MRI, PET Lab tests: blood, urine, tissue Pathology reports Surgical reports
what is included on a pathology report?
size of the tumor
growth of the tumor into other tissues and organs
the type of cancer cells
grade of the tumor
Distant
has spread from the primary site to distant organs or distant lymph nodes
Unknown
cases in which there is not enough information to indicate a stage
