FINALS LEC 1: CANCER GENETICS AND GENOMICS Flashcards
- type of disease in which certain cells become able to DIVIDE MORE OFTEN, leading to an abnormal growth (a tumor) or disruption of a proportion of blood cell types (a “liquid” tumor).
- may be inherited or due to environmental factors such as UV radiation or toxic
CANCER
One researcher calls the accumulating DNA changes that lie behind cancer is what we called?
GENOMIC SCARS
WHOLE-BODY LEVEL
DIAGNOSIS:
SYMPTOM TESTS
TEST TO UNDERGO:
BIOMARKERS
IMAGING
MUTATION DETECTION
CELLULAR LEVEL
-skin cancer cells divide faster than surrounding cells
DISRUPTED PATHWAYS:
CELL FATE
CELL SURVIVAL
GENOME MAINTENANCE
study of how our behaviors or environmental factors make cause changes that can affect our genes
- REVERSIBLE
- does not change our DNA sequences, but it can change/affect our DNA sequences by changing how the body reads or interprets it
EPIGENETICS
GENOME LEVEL
- If there are altertions:
POINT MUTATION
COPY NUMBER VARIANTS
CHROMOSOME REARRANGEMENT
ANEUPLOIDY
CHANGES IN GENE EXPRESSION
CANCER AFFECTS 3 BASIC CELLULAR
PATHWAYS:
Differentiation (specialization)
A. CELL FATE
B. GENOME SURVIVAL
C. GENOME MAINTENANCE
CELL FATE
CANCER AFFECTS 3 BASIC CELLULAR
PATHWAYS:
Ability of cells to WITHSTAND VARIOUS STRESSES and maintain their viability
A. CELL FATE
B. GENOME SURVIVAL
C. GENOME MAINTENANCE
GENOME SURVIVAL
CANCER AFFECTS 3 BASIC CELLULAR
PATHWAYS:
Abilities to survive in the presence
of reactive oxygen species (ROS) & toxins, to repair DNA, to maintain chromosome integrity & structure, & to correctly splice mRNA molecules.
A. CELL FATE
B. GENOME SURVIVAL
C. GENOME MAINTENANCE
GENOME MAINTENANCE
- Growth of tissue that exceeds and is not coordinated with normal tissue
- They are formed as a result of abnormal cell growth and division
TUMORS (NEOPLASMS)
TYPES OF TUMORS
- Grows in place but DOES NOT SPREAD into, or “INVADE” surrounding tissue
BENIGN TUMOR
TYPES OF TUMORS
- Infiltrates nearby tissue, invasive & tending to RECUR AT MULTIPLE SITES
(cancer)
MALIGNANT (CANCEROUS) TUMOR)
A tumor is cancerous, or malignant, if it infiltrates nearby tissue. Pieces of a malignant tumor can enter the bloodstream or lymphatic vessels and travel to other areas of the body, where the cancer cells “_______” the formation of new tumors.
SEED
TYPES OF TUMORS
- Means “NOT STANDING STILL” process of spreading
- can make a cancer DEADLY, because the new growth may be in an inaccessible part of the body, or genetically distinct enough from the original, or primary, tumor that drugs that were effective early in the illness no longer work.
METASTASIS
Abnormal growth of melanocytes (pigment-producing cells) in the skin
CUTANEOUS MELANOMA
CUTANEOUS MELANOMA
- ___________ is often used as a guideline to recognize potential signs
ABCDE rule
Asymmetry
Border irregularity
Color variations
Diameter (>5mm)
Elevation (raised/elevated area)
GENES (when mutated) CAN CAUSE CANCER:
>100, cause cancer when they are expressed when it wouldn’t being healthy cells/is over expressed (dominant)
ONCOGENES
Genes that normally trigger cell division are called
PROTO-ONCOGENES
GENES (when mutated) CAN CAUSE CANCER:
>30, cause cancer when they are deleted/inactivated (dominant)
TUMOR- SUPPRESSOR GENES
GENES (when mutated) CAN CAUSE CANCER:
MISMATCH MUTATIONS, allowing other mutations to persist activating oncogenes/ inactivating tumor suppressor genes
DNA REPAIR GENES
Most fundamental characteristic of cancer
Cancer begins when a cell divides more frequently, or more times
Example: A mutation in a gene that
normally halts/slows the cell cycle can lead to
LOSS OF CELL CYCLE CONTROL
May also contribute to cancer by affecting the cell cycle
LOSS OF CONTROL OVER TELOMERE LENGTH
Protect chromosomes from breaking
In humans, they consist TTAGGG repeats & normally lost from the telomere ends as a cell matures
TELOMERES (chromosome tips)
Enzyme responsible for maintenance of the length of telomeres
TELOMERASE
TELOMERASE IN NORMAL CELLS:
IS TURNED OFF
TELOMERASE IN CANCER CELLS:
IS TURNED BACK ON
TYPES OF PREDISPOSITION OF CANCER
Rare, every cell has 1 GENE VARIANT that increases cancer susceptibility & a somatic mutation occurs in the cells of the affected tissue
GERMLINE CANCER or SPORADIC CANCER?
GERMLINE CANCER
TYPES OF PREDISPOSITION OF CANCER
Common, caused by SOMATIC MUTATIONS, affecting only NON-SEX CELLS. May result from a single dominant/2 recessive mutations in copies of the same gene
GERMLINE CANCER or SPORADIC CANCER?
SPORADIC CANCER
CANCER AT THE CELLULAR LEVEL
CHARACTERISTICS OF CANCER CELLS
Oilier, less adherent
Loss of cell cycle control
Heritable
Transplantable
Dedifferentiated
Lack contact inhibition
Induce local blood vessel
formation (angiogenesis)
Invasive
Increased mutation rate
Can spread (metastasize)
ORIGIN OF CANCER CELLS
Small population of cells within a tumor that possess stem cell-like properties
Have the ability to self-renewand differentiate into various cell types within the tumor, similar to normal stem cells in healthy tissues
Found in cancers of the brain, blood, and epithelium (breast, colon, and prostate)
ACTIVATION OF STEM CELLS THAT PRODUCE CANCER CELLS (cancer
stem cells)
ORIGIN OF CANCER CELLS
Cells lose some of their distinguishing characteristics as mutations occur when they divide
May begin to express“stemness” genes that override signals to remain specialized
DEDIFFERENTIATION
ORIGIN OF CANCER CELLS
If a mutation renders a differentiated cell able to divide to yield other cells that frequently divide, then over time these cells may takeover, forming an abnormal growth
INCREASE IN THE PROPORTION OF A TISSUE THAT CONSISTS A STEM/PROGENITOR CELLS
ORIGIN OF CANCER CELLS
Too much repair may trigger tumor formation
If too much cells divide to fill in the space left by injured tissue, & those cells keep dividing, an abnormal growth may result
FAULTY TISSUE REPAIR