GN 2.2.1

Question 1

What are tumor markers?

Answer 1

Biochemical products produced by tumor cells

Question 2

What does cancer grading refer to?

Answer 2

The histologic determination of degree of differentiation (How well do they ressemble the origin tissue)

Question 3

What are some of the hallmarks of cancer?

Answer 3

Sustaining proliferative signaling (oncogenes)

Evading growth suppressors (tumor suppressor genes)

Resisting cell death (apoptosis)

Enabling replicative immortality (telomerase)

Inducing angiogenesis

Activating invasion and metastasis

Emerging Hallmarks:

Deregulating cellular energetics (reprogramming energy metabolism)

Avoiding immune destruction

Enabling Characteristics:

Genomic instability (mutator phenotype)

Tumor-promoting inflammation

Question 4

Why is staging of the cancer so important?

Answer 4

Staging helps determine treatment, outcomes, ill-advised treatments, and potential secondary conditions

Question 5

How do cancer cells escape mitotic crisis?

Answer 5

(RE)activiation of telomerase

Question 6

What is always required before a transforming cell can reach the invasive cancer stage?

Answer 6

Telomerase activation

Question 7

What are some of the distinguishing characteristics of benign neoplasms? (4)

Answer 7

Localized, Incapapable of invasion/metasasis, Good clinical behavior/prognosis

Question 8

What are some of the categories of cellular events that can lead to dysregulation of cancer-associated genes?

Answer 8

Chromosomal changes, Point mutations, Epigenetic changes, Noncoding RNAs

Question 9

What is a paraneoplastic syndrome?

Answer 9

Pattern of symptoms or symptom complexes associated with cancer that cannot be directly explained by local or distant spread of the cancer or by the elaboration of hormones indigenous to the tissue from which the tumor arose. (Abnormal hormonal production)

(ie. Small cell carinoma of lung - leading to Cushing Syndrome, which is associated w/ adrenocorticotrophic hormones)

Question 10

What are some of the clinical usages of tumor markers?

Answer 10

Follow up and detection of recurrence (primary utility)

Screening, Aid in diagnosis, Staging

Question 11

What are the three most common cancers among women and men?

Answer 11

Women: breast, lung, colon

Men: Prostate, lung, colon

Question 12

Define neoplasia.

Answer 12

Disorder of cell growth triggered by a series of acquired mutations affecting a single cell and its clonal progeny

Question 13

What are some classes of oncogenes?

Answer 13

Growth factors, growth factor receptors, proteins in signal transduction, txn factors, cyc’s and CDK

Question 14

Distinguish b/t proto-oncogenes, oncogenes, and oncoproteins.

Answer 14

Proto-oncogenes: normal cellular genes whose products promote cell proliferation

Oncogenes: mutated or overexpressed versions of proto-oncogenes that function autonomously, having lost dependence on normal growth promoting signals

Oncoprotein: a protein encoded by an oncogene that drives increased cell proliferation through one of several mechanisms

Question 15

What are some of the distinguishing characteristics of malignant neoplasm (CANCER)? (3)

Answer 15

Capable of invasion/metastasis, Bad clinical behavior/prognosis

Question 16

Describe the duration of the two cancer stages: development of clinically evident tumor and clincally evident tumor to death.

Answer 16

development of clinically evident tumor: large amount of time

clincally evident tumor to death: short amount of time (some clinical items cannot wait 12 hours)

Question 17

Follicular lymphoma is charaterized by BCL-2 overexpression. What is this caused by?

Answer 17

Chromosome 14;18 translocation

Question 18

What two processes lead to the increased growth and accumulation of neoplastic cells?

Answer 18

Increased proliferation and Decreased cell death

Question 19

Define transformation.

Answer 19

Nonlethal mutations in critical genes that confer survival advantage

Question 20

What type of mutation typically drives the transformation from a proto-oncogene to oncogene?

Answer 20

GOF mutation

Question 21

What is Cachexia?

Answer 21

Cachexia refers to the constellation of progressive loss of body fat and lean body mass accompanied by weakness, anorexia, and anemia. It is associated with an increased basal metabolic rate, systemic inflammation, and equal loss of both fat and lean muscle.

Question 22

What are some of the systemic effects of cancer?

Answer 22

Local invasion, functional activity, bleeding and secondary infections, rupture/infarction, cachexia

Question 23

What three cancers responsible for the most deaths among men and women?

Answer 23

Men: Lung, Prostate, Colon

Women: Lung, breast, colon

(Note: That lung has less prevalence than both prostate/brest, but it has increased mortality b/c it’s more deadly. Pancreas is also extraordinarily deadly)

Question 24

What system is used to determine the stage of a cancer? What are the aspects of this system?

Answer 24

TNM System (varies for each cancer)

T - Characteristics of primary tumor

N - Involvement of regional lymph nodes

M - Distant metastasis

Question 25

What word is synonymously used for neoplasm?

Answer 25

Tumor

Question 26

What is another term for tumor suppressor genes?

Answer 26

Gatekeeper genes

Question 27

This term is commonly misused to describe swelling.

Answer 27

Tumor

Question 28

Are the differences b/t benign neoplasms and malignant neoplasms a ditochotomy or continuum?

Answer 28

Continuum

Question 29

What does cancer staging analyze?

Answer 29

Multi-modality determination of extent of spread of malignant neoplasm (clinical, radiological, pathological, biochemical components)

Question 30

What type of mutation that causes cancer is common in TSGs?

Answer 30

LOF mutation (requires inactivation of both alleles)