Disease Processes in Cancer Flashcards
Most tumours arise from a single cell - what is this called?
Monoclonal origin
Describe the action of oncogenes and tumour suppressor genes in both normal and cancerous cells
Normal cells - oncogene expression is rare and there is a presence of tumour suppressor genes
Cancerous cells are the opposite
Disease processes of cancer are broken into three stages; what are they?
Initiation, promotion and progression
Give an example of a chemical carcinogen
Nitrogen mustard gas - leukaemia
How does ionising radiation act as a physical carcinogen?
Chromosome translocation, gene amplification and oncogene activation
Give an example of a viral carcinogen
Herpes Virsu - Burkitt’s lymphoma
Promotion involves what two processes
Amplification of oncogenes and production of growth factors
Growth factors may produce hormonal signals by which two routes?
Paracrine and autocrine
What is the paracrine signalling pathways responsible for growth of some breast cancers?
Malignant PDGF fibroblast produces IGF2 which stimulates breast cancer cells which in turn produce more PDGF - positive feedback loop
What is the most commonly altered tumour suppressor gene in the human genome?
P53
Through which structure does tumour invade through?
The basement membrane
What is the process of primary tumour moving into blood vessels called?
Intravasation
What is the process of primary tumour cells moving out of blood vessels called?
Extravasation
How can we exploit Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor to treat cancer?
Anti-VEGF interacts with receptors and causes vascular regression (opposite of angiogenesis) and renders the tumour dormant
