GI Cancers Flashcards
What is a cancer?
“A term for diseases in which abnormal cells divide without control and can invade nearby tissues. Cancer cells can also spread to other parts of the body through the blood and lymph systems”
What is a primary cancer?
Arising directly from the cells in an organ
What is a secondary cancer?
Spread from another organ, directly or by other means (blood or lymph)
What are the 6 hallmarks of cancer?
- Evading growth suppressors
- Activating invasion and metastasis
- enabling replicative immortality
- Inducing angiogenesis
- Resisting cell death
- Sustaining proliferative signalling
What type of disease is cancer?
Genetic disease
What is the most common GI tract cancer?
Adenocarcinoma
What is a cancer of squamous epithelial cells called?
Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC)
What is a cancer of the glandular epithelium called?
Adenocarcinoma
What are cancers of enteroendocrine cells called?
Neuroendocrine Tumours (NETs)
What are cancers of the interstitial cells of Cajal called?
Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumours (GISTs)
What are cancers of smooth muscle called?
Leimyoma / leimyosarcomas
What are cancers of adipose tissue called?
Liposarcoma
How to judge whether diseases are suitable for screening?
Wilson and Jungner Criteria
What is meant by cancer screening?
Testing of asymptomatic individuals to identify cancer at an early stage.
What is a FIT?
Faecal immunochemical test - detects haemoglobin in faeces - screens for colorectal cancer
What does a sigmoidoscopy do?
Removes polyps to reduce the risk of future cancers
What are patients with FAP offered yearly to help screen for colorectal cancer?
OesophagoGastroDuodenoscopy - OGD and colonoscopies
Patients with which conditions are offered regular endoscopies to screen for oesophageal cancer?
Barrett’s Oesophagus
Low to High grade dysplasia
Is pancreatic and gastric cancer screened for?
No as no test meets the W and J criteria
What screening is offered to patients with viral hepatitis or alcoholic hepatitis?
Regular ultrasound and AFP to check for hepatocellular cancer
What are the three stages of a patients cancer journey?
Diagnosis
Staging
Treatment
What is the 2-week-wait cancer pathway?
devised to streamline referral for those with symptoms suggestive of cancer in order to allow diagnosis at an earlier stage, reduce cancer survival inequality around the country and ultimately reduce cancer-related mortality
List those individuals in the cancer MDT?
Pathologist Radiologist Palliative care Oncologist Gastroenterologist Cancer Nurse Specialist Surgeon
What is the role of the pathologist in cancer?
Confirms the diagnosis of cancer using biopsy samples.
What are cancers of secretory cells called?
Adenocarcinoma
What does the pathologist provide?
Histological typing - provides information on what type of cell the cancer comes from