Hallmarks of Cancer

Question 1

Sustaining Proliferative Signalling

Answer 1

uncontrolled growth of cell/cell division because:
- over-expressed (EGFR and HER2)
- mutated to no longer need growth factors to be present
- one of the enzymes is mutated to work all the time

Question 2

Evading Growth Suppressors

Answer 2

Mutations in tumour suppression allow cells to continuously divide

Question 3

Non-mutational epigenetic programming

Answer 3

the promoter hypermethylation causes a gene to be unable to transcribe, as RNA can’t attach

Question 4

Avoiding Immune detection

Answer 4

PD-L1 tells immune cells (T lymphocytes) it’s healthy, tumour cells can also do this - immune checkpoint inhibitors can block this from occurring

Question 5

Enabling Replicative Immortality

Answer 5

Can regenerate telomeres so chromosomes don’t get shorter after each cell division, can replicate for longer

Question 6

Tumour Promoting Inflammation

Answer 6

Can corrupt immune cells to help them proliferate and metastasise rather than kill them - tumorigenesis (prolonged inflammation) can also aid tumours

Question 7

Polymorphic Microbiomes

Answer 7

Microbes in microbiomes they wouldn’t normally be

Question 8

Activating Invasion and Metastasis

Answer 8

Mesenchymal transition is the transition from structured entities to losing connections between cells and losing polarity - often happens in preparation for metastasis

Question 9

Activating Invasion and Metastasis

Answer 9

tumour breaks away as well as extracellular vesicles to make a niche for the tumour in other locations

Question 10

Inducing or Accessing Vasculature

Answer 10

Blood vessel growth towards a tumour through expression of vascular endothelial growth factor

Question 11

Senescent Cells

Answer 11

Non-proliferating cells with tumour-suppressing and promoting abilities through secreting different signals. Can arrest the cell growth of other cells around them and encourage immune surveillance with promotes tumour suppression, and can become more resistant to some types of drugs.

Question 12

Genome instability and Mutation

Answer 12

Mismatch repair and Genome Instability

Question 13

Resisting Cell Death

Answer 13

Apoptosis gets turned off in cell death, leading to continuous dividing

Question 14

Deregulating Cellular Metabolism

Answer 14

Can use OXPHOS or glycolysis

Question 15

Unlocking Phenotypic Plasticity

Answer 15

Can move between different cell states depending on the environment. Epithelial state - Intermediate state - Mesenchymal state