Hall 18 - Cancer Biology Flashcards
What are proto-oncogenes?
Positive growth regulators
What are four mechanisms of oncogene activation?
- Retroviral integration near proto-oncogene causes increased expression via viral promoter (LTR)
- Gain of function mutations in only one copy > dominant oncogene (ex, RAS)
- Gene amplification leading to increased DNA copy number and expression (ex, MYC)
- Chromosome translocation can place a proto-oncogene under control of a strong promoter or aberrant fused proteins (ex, BCR-ABL)
What are tumor suppressor genes?
Negative growth regulators (in the same signaling networks as proto-oncogenes)
Tumor suppressor phenotype is _______ at the cellular level but inherited between generations in an autosomal ______ fashion.
Recessive, dominant
*Two-hit hypothesis: lose one = increase cancer risk; lose second one = transformation
How do sporadic cases of cancer from tumor suppressor loss happen?
Loss of heterozygosity
One copy lost, other chromosome suffers a deletion and replicates
What is the defective gene and inheritance pattern for retinoblastoma? What cancers do these people get?
RB1
Dominant
Retinoblastoma, sarcoma
What is the defective gene and inheritance pattern for Li-Fraumeni? What cancers do these people get?
p53 (or CHK2)
Dominant
Breast, lung, brain, sarcoma
What is the defective gene and inheritance pattern for familial Wilms tumor? What cancers do these people get?
WT1 or WT2
Dominant
Wilms tumor
What is the defective gene and inheritance pattern for neurofibromatosis 1? What cancers do these people get?
NF1
Dominant
Neurofibroma, MPNST, cafe au lait spots, Lisch iris nodules
What is the defective gene and inheritance pattern for neurofibromatosis 2? What cancers do these people get?
NF2
Dominant
Schwannoma, meningioma, ependymoma
What is the defective gene and inheritance pattern for familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP)? What cancers do these people get?
APC
Dominant
Colon, stomach, small bowel
What is the defective gene and inheritance pattern for von Hippel Lindau? What cancers do these people get?
VHL
Dominant
Kidney, adrenal, hemangioblastomas
What is the defective gene and inheritance pattern for familial gastric cancer? What cancers do these people get?
E-CAD
Dominant
Stomach, breast (lobular)
What is the defective gene and inheritance pattern for Gorlin syndrome? What cancers do these people get?
PTCH
Dominant
Basal cell carcinoma
What is the defective gene and inheritance pattern for Cowden syndrome? What cancers do these people get?
PTEN
Dominant
Hamartomas, increased cancer risk
What is the defective gene and inheritance pattern for multiple endocrine neoplasia? What cancers do these people get?
MEN1 and MEN2
Dominant
Pituitary, pancreatic, parathyroid
What is the most critical cell cycle checkpoint?
G1 to S
Commits cell to mitosis
Controlled by Rb