Haematological Malignanacies Flashcards
In which age groups do haematological malignancies occur?
All age groups including children
Which gender is more commonly affected by haematological malignancies?
Adult males
What is the most common cancer in females?
Breast cancer
What is the most common cancer in males?
Prostate cancer
What are the key aspects of the pathogenesis of haematological malignancies?
Acquired genetic alterations in a long lived cell, proliferative/survival advantage to that mutated cell, produces a malignant clone, this clone grows to dominate the tissue
Which cells are involved in myeloid malignancies?
Red cells, platelets, granulocytes, monocytes
Which cells are involved in lymphoid malignancies?
B and T cells
What is AML and ALL?
Myeloid/lymphoid progenitors proliferate but do not fully mature; these cells take over the bone marrow
What is the hallmark of acute leukaemia?
Bone marrow failure
What are some symptoms of bone marrow failure?
Anaemia, thrombocytopenic bleeding
What are some clinical features of acute leukaemia?
Bone marrow failure (anaemia, thrombocytopenic bleeding), infection due to neutropenia, tissue infiltration, hyperviscosity
What are myeloproliferative disorders?
Neoplastic proliferation of cells of myeloid lineage, increased number of cells in the bone marrow, cells are differentiated
What is the difference between acute and chronic myeloid leukaemia?
Acute leukaemia - cells are not differentiated; chronic leukaemia - cells are differentiated; bone marrow - fails in acute, does not fail in chronic; prognosis - acute is fatal quickly if untreated, chronic can survive for years; cure - acute is potentially curable, chronic is possibly
What is the difference between leukaemia and lymphoma?
Descriptive (not biological) terms - describes the distribution of the disease
Where is leukaemia found?
Bone marrow
Where is lymphoma found?
Lymphatic tissue
What does localised lymphadenopathy and painful lymph node indicate?
Bacterial infection in draining site
What does painless localised lymphadenopathy indicate?
Rare infections eg cat scratch fever, TB
What does localised painless and hard lymphadenopathy indicate?
Metastatic carcinoma from draining site
What does localised, painless and rubbery lymphadenopathy indicate?
Lymphoma
What does generalised, painful/tender lymphadenopathy indicate?
Viral infections, EBV, CMV, hepatitis, HIV
What does generalised, painless lymphadenopathy indicate?
Lymphoma, leukaemia, connective tissue disease, sarcoidosis, drugs
