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FS YEAR 2 > INTRODUCTION TO CANCER > Flashcards

INTRODUCTION TO CANCER Flashcards

1
Q

What is cancer?

A

cellular disease caused by uncontrolled division of abnormal cells; arises from mutations in normal cell DNA

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2
Q

What are tumours and the types?

A

(lumps of tissue) form when abnormal/damaged cells grow when they shouldn’t
Types of tumours:
Cancerous (malignant)
Not cancerous (benign)

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3
Q

What is malignant tumours

A

cancerous - can spread in nearby tissue (invasion) & travel to distant organs to form new tumours (metastasis)

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4
Q

reasons of cancer? (5)

A

-Errors during cell division
-DNA damage due to carcinogens
-Loss of ability to eliminate damaged cells (decreases with age)
-Accumulation of mutations
-Hereditary

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5
Q

what are the different mutation types (2)

A
  • somatic mutation (most common) - changes to DNA of somatic cells
    -10% of cancer are hereditary (familial cancers) due to germline mutations
    E.g. breast, colon, prostate
  • gremlin mutations: changes to DNA of germ cells; inherited from parent to offspring

(germ cells will become egg and sperm cells hence mutations will be passed on during conception)

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6
Q

What are the drivers of cancer?

A

Proto-oncogenes

tumour supressor genes

DNA repair genes

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7
Q

what are photo-oncogenes

A

involved in normal cell growth & division.
If mutated/overactivated, they cause cancer (oncogenes)

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8
Q

what are tumour suppression genes

A

involved in cell growth and division control
- if mutated cells divide uncontrollably

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9
Q

What do DNA repair genes do?

A
  • fix damaged DNA
  • if mutated, additional mutations and chromosomal changes accumulate and cells become cancerous
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10
Q

What are the features of normal cells (7)

A

Grow in response to growth signals
Respond to stop/death signals
Stop growing when encounter other cells; don’t move around the body
Blood vessels only grow when needed
Repair damaged chromosomes
Immune system eliminates damaged/abnormal cells
Make energy via;
Oxidative phosphorylation (aerobic respiration)
Anaerobic glycolysis

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11
Q

What are the features of cancerous cells (7)

A

Grow in absence of growth signals
Ignore stop/death signals
Spread in nearby tissues & travel to distant organs to form new tumours
Tell blood vessels to grow toward tumours (induce angiogenesis)
Accumulate mutations & chromosomal changes
Hide from the immune system; trick the immune system into helping them stay alive & grow
Rely on different nutrients; make energy in a different way

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12
Q

What are the emerging hallmarks

A
  • avoiding immune destruction
  • deregulating cellular energetics
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13
Q

what are the enabling characteristics

A

-tumour-promoting inflammation
-genome instability and mutation

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14
Q

What are the risk factors of cancer (8)

A

Older age
Family history
Tobacco
Alcohol
Viral infections
Obesity
Chemicals
Radiation

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15
Q

What are carcinogens

A

Harmful substances, radiation or radionuclides in the environment that promote carcinogens
They interact with DNA & induce mutations
Carcinogens are natural (aflatoxin) or manmade (asbestos, tobacco)
*Aflatoxin is produced by a fungus and sometimes found on stored grains.

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15
Q

What are the characteristics of benign tumours?

A

Small
Slow-growing
Non-invasive
Well-differentiated
Stay localised
Stay where they are
Can’t divide or metastasize

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16
Q

what are the characteristics of malignant tumours

A

Large
Fast-growing
Invasive
Poorly-differentiated
Metastasize
Infiltrate, invade, destroy surrounding tissue
Then metastasize to other parts of the body

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17
Q

What is hyperplasia

A

enlargement of organ/tissue; normal looking cells but increased numbers
E.g. prostatic hyperplasia

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18
Q

what is dysplasia

A

abnormal growth of cells/organs and or abnormal histology/structure
e.g. abnormal mole (can become melanoma)

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19
Q

what is carcinoma in situ

A

abnormal cells at original location, abnormal cells haven’t invaded
E.g. breast ductal carcinoma in situ

20
Q

What are the non-cancerous tissue changes

A
  • may develop into cancer if left untreated
  • hyperplasia
  • dysplasia
  • carcinoma in situ
21
Q

What are the cell type of cancers (7)

A

-carcinomas
-sarcomas
-melanomas
-gliomas & meningiomas
-lymphomas
-leukaemia
-myeloma

21
Q

What are the order of events with non cancerous tissue changes

A

normal -> hyperplasia -> dysplasia -> cancer

21
Q

What are types of cancer

A
  • names based off of area/organ or origin & cell type
  • solid tumours: abnormal masses without cysts or liquid area
  • haematology malignancies (blood cancers) - generally don’t form solid tumours
  • common cancers based on area: breast, lung, prostate, bowel
22
Q

What are carcinomas

A

originate in skin, lungs, breast, & other organs and glands -> solid tumours

23
Q

What are sarcomas:

A

(uncommon) arise in bone, muscle, fat, blood vessels, cartilage, or other soft & connective tissues–> solid tumours

24
Q

What are melanomas

A

arise in melanocytes–> solid tumours

25
Q

What are Gliomas & meningiomas

A

tumours of brain & spinal cord
*Melanocytes: cells that produce the skin-darkening pigment melanin

26
Q

What are lymphomas

A

-blood cancers of immune system
-Affect lymphocytes–> can appear as solid tumours in lymph nodes of neck, chest, armpit, groin etc.

27
Q

What is leukaemia?

A

blood cancers
Affect WBCs in bone marrow–> no solid tumours

28
Q

What are myelomas

A

blood cancers
Affect plasma cells in bone marrow–> no solid tumours
*Plasma cells: WBCs specifically antibody-producing B cells

28
Q

How is cancer diagnosed?

A

physical exam -> lab test/imaging/scan/biopsy

29
Q

What occurs in physical exam

A

exam for lumps or abnormalities
E.g. organ enlargement, changes in skin colour

30
Q

What are the lab tests?

A

E.g. on blood, urine, other body fluids
Complete blood count with unusual number of WBCs–> leukaemia
Tumour markers in blood- made by normal/cancer cells but high levels of cancer cells
E.g. high prostate specific antigen (PSA)–> prostate cancer

31
Q

What are the diagnostic imaging?

A

X-rays: low dose radiation–> lung cancer
Mammography: low energy X-rays–> breast cancer
Computerised tomography (CT) scan: combines X-rays & computer processing to create 3D images; contrast material may be used
Ultrasound: high energy sound waves that echo off tissues

32
Q

What is magnetic resonance imaging?

A

strong magnetic fields & radio waves; contrast agents may be used

33
Q

What is a biopsy?

A

collection of samples of tissue or cells for lab testing
Samples can be collected with needle (bone marrow aspiration), endoscopy (colonoscopy) or surgery

33
Q

What is PET scan and full name?

A
  • positron emission tomography
    -injected radioactive substances (tracers) e.g. fluorodeoxyglucose, to measure metabolic changes
34
Q

What is a bone scan?

A

radioisotopes (e.g. 99mTc medronic acid) to detect abnormal areas/damage in bones–> bone or metastatic bone tumours
*For the PET scan, 18F-FDG is used as cancer cell uptake more glucose than normal cells

35
Q

What are the hallmarks of cancer?

A

-Sustaining proliferative signalling-
-Inducing angiogenesis-
-Resisting cell death-
-Deregulating cellular energetics-
-Evading growth suppressors-
-Avoiding immune destruction-
-Genome instability & mutation-
-Activating invasion & metastasis- s

36
Q

What is sustaining proliferative signalling match to description of capabilities of cancer

A

grow in absence of growth signals

37
Q

how does cancer induce angiogenesis

A

tell blood vessels to grow towards the tumour

38
Q

How does cancer cells resits cell death

A

ignore death signals

39
Q

How does cancer deregulate cellular energetics

A

make energy in different ways and rely on different nutrients

40
Q

how does cancer evade growth supressors

A

ignore signals telling them to stop growing and dividing

41
Q

How does cancer avoid immune distruction

A

hide from immune system

42
Q

how does cancer enforce genome instability and mutation

A

accumulate mutations and chromosomal changes

43
Q

how does cancer activate invasion and metastasis

A

spread in nearby tissues and travel to distant organs to form new tumours

44
Q

What is the meaning of hallmarks of cancer

A

how normal cells change into cancer cells

FS YEAR 2 (10 decks)

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