Disorders of Growth Flashcards
What is the difference between differentiation and de-differentaiation?
Differentiation involves the inactivation of proliferation genes and the activation of specific function genes
De-differentiation is the reversion to primitive, embryonic, proliferative phenotype as occurs in neoplasia
What are the three types of reduction in tissue mass?
Agenesis-total absence
Hypoplasia- congenital reduction in size
Atrophy- Acquired reduction in size
What are the causes and consequences of hyperplasia?
Functional/endocrine stimulation/chronic irritation
Can cause increased function and increase risk of malignancy
What is metaplasia and what causes it?
The change from one tissue type to another, most common in epithelial tissues, usually to adjacent cell type
May be normal or pathological
Due to change in environment or irritation
What is dysplasia?
Histological abnormality in various grades
Pre malignant by definition
Cells are clonal/neoplastic
What are the key differences between benign and malignant neoplasms?
Benign-do not metestasize/cells are differentiated/expansile growth/rarely fatal
Malignant-Most types metastasize/cells less differentiated/infiltrative,rapid growth/fatal if untreated
What is tumour stroma?
Healthy normal cells that are part of a tumour and make up the majority of its mass (fibroblasts/collagen/inflammatory cells)
How is a malignancy diagnosed architecturally?
Disorganised with invasion of normal tissues
How is a malignancy diagnosed by cell features?
Increased nuclear staining Increase in nuclear size Variation in nuclear shape Mitoses Decreased cell cohesion
What does a monoclonal population of cells indicate?
Neoplasm which can sometimes mean malignancy
What is a multiple myeloma?
A neoplasm of plasma cells which produces a single antibody molecule
