Introduction to Cancer Flashcards
What represents the smallest functional unit of our existence?
A cell
What 3 daily functions does the cell preform?
Metabolism, Reproduction, and Repair.
What regulates the process of cell performance?
DNA & RNA
What is Cancer?
Cancer is compromised of patient’s own cells that have gone abnormal.
What are the basic characteristics of cancer?
Uncontrolled division and growth even though they are not needed.
What mechanism does Cancer cells not contain?
They do not contain a turn over mechanism
Why do Cancer cells keep dividing?
They experience no Contact Inhibition (A signal for stopping production of cells)
When normal cells proliferate, they exhibit contact inhibition which creates what type of layer?
Monolayer.
When transformed or abnormal cells proliferate what causes contact inhibition?
Nectin and nectin-like molecules
What type of proteins do nectin or nectin-like molecules exhibit?
Glycoproteins
What is the primary job of Glycoproteins?
Cell to cell communication?
What biological structure/layer do abnormal cells exhibit do to contact inhibition?
Focus
What is confluence in petri-dish?
Refers to the number of cells covered in the culture dish.
What is the second leading cause of death in the US?
Cancer
How forms of cancers are there?
100 different forms
What is the most common group of skin cancer?
Skin Cancer (Ectodermal, Melanoma)
How many deaths are due to cancer ? (Ratio)
1:4
What is the number one Causes of Cancer in the US for Male and Female? (2019)
Male: Prostate
Female: Breast
What is the number one estimated cancer deaths in the US? (2019)
Lung & Bronchus
Does Tumor mean cancer?
NO
Where do tumors arise in the human body?
In the normal tissues/cells
Where can a tumor arise?
Anywhere in the trillion of cells in a human body (30-35 trillion)
True or False: Tumors bear many histological features that resemble normal tissue where they arise?
True
How are tumor masses cells distinguished by normal cells.
By organization, tumor masses are less organized than nearby tissue cells
Where do tumor masses congregate on a cell
The Storma of the cell
How does the storma of the cell crate a sanctuary for tumor cells?
The storma creates a micro-environment through macrophages.
What happens to the Nucleus of the an effected Tumor Cell?
The Nucleus becomes large
What are 5 Characteristics of Benign Tumor?
1) They are not cancerous
2) Cells in benign tumors do no spread to other parts of the body
3) They are often removed surgically
4) In most cases, they do not come back.
5) Not all tumors are lethal
What are 5 Characteristics of Malignant Tumors?
1) They are cancerous
2) They grow out of control
3) Malignant cells invaded nearby tissues and spread to other parts of the body
4) After spread. they can continue to grow and form another tumor at that site (Metastasis or Secondary Cancer)
5) Metastases keeps the name of the original cancer location,
Does every malignant cell have secondary cancer?
No
How does Secondary Cancer occur/
The tumor nodules occur after a few years.
What makes most malignant Tumors lethal?
The cells travel through the blood stream and other lymphatic channels causes metastases
While most cancer cells that enter the blood vessels or lymphatic tissues, only a few cells from what type of tumor?
Secondary Tumor
What stage of life does change in proteins in malignant cells happen?
Embryonic Stages
How do you form a secondary tumor?
The cell must attach itself to a vessel wall through basement membrane (Intravasation)
Then works its way through the vessel and enter the tissue (Extravasation)
When tumor cells survive long enough to establish a new tumor, the survivors can initiate ___ ________ of the cancer at different sites.
New Colonies
What does Metastasis depends on?
The number of tumor cells that survive.
What 2 physiological systems control metastasis?
Capillaries and Immune System.
What two ways are cancers classified?
- Type of Tissue in which it originates (histological type)
- Primary site, the location in the body where the cancer first develops
The histological classification can determine what site of the cancer?
The primary site, by staining molecules to identify where the cancer first originated.
What are the five most common carcinomas?
- Lung
- Breast (women)
- Colon
- Bladder
- Prostate (men)
What type of cancer originates from the bloodstream?
Leukemias
What type of cancer originates from epithelial cells?
Carcinoma
What type of cancer originates from fat, bone, and muscle?
Sarcomas
What are the 6 major categories of cancer in the medical professions (histological standpoint)?
Carcinoma, Sarcomas, Myelomas, Leukemias, Lymphoma, and Mixed Types (Tumor with characteristics of skin, teeth, etc.)
What two ways are epithelial tumors derived?
- Squamous Cell Carcinomas (originate from protective cell layer- skin)
- Adenocarcinoma (Originate from the secretory epithelia: the origin of exocrine endocrine)
Tumors arising in epithelia of Lung, Uterus, & Cervix may contain both ________ & ____-carcinoma cells?
Squamous and Adeno
Which tumors may contain both squamous and adeno- carcinoma cells?
Epithelia of lung, Uterus, & Cervix
What are the three Non-epithelia derived tumors?
- Mesenchymal Cell Derived
- Hematopoietic Cell Derived
- Neuroactodermal Cell Derived
Mesenchymal cell derived tumors originate from what two locations?
1) Sarcomas derived from connective tissues originating from mesoderm: the middle layer of an embryo between the ectoderm and endoderm.
2) Mesenchymal Cells (STEM CELLS) that form fibroblasts (SKIN, TENDON & LIGAMENT), adipocytes (FAT), osteoclast (BONE), myocytes (MUSCLE), chondrocyte (CARTILLAGE), astrocytes (CNS)
What are hemangiomas? Cancer classification & how do they arise?
Mesenchymal derived tumor cell (Non-epithelia)
They arise from precursors of endothelial cells
What are the two cell derived tumors for Hematopoietic?
Lymphomas & Leukemias
What are the 5 derived Cell tumors of Neuroectodermal?
Gliomas, Glioblastomas, Neuroblastomas, Swannomas, Meduloblastomas
What are the two deadliest Malignancy and its classification?
- Glioblastoma, Neuroectodermal
2. Melanoma, Neuroectodermal
What Neuroectodermal malignancy is most likely to found in children?
Ependymoma: Ependymal cells that line the brain and spinal chord for support/flow of the cerebral spinal fluid.
What are the four unclassified Tumors ?
- Melanomas
- Small Cell Lung Carcinoma (SCLCs)
- Teratomas
- Cancer of unknown primary (CUP)
True or False: Melanocytes are close to neuroectodermal origin and have a direct connection with the nervous system ?
False: They have no connection with the nervous system
Small Cell Lung Carcinoma exhibit attributes of what type of cell, which causes a phenotypic shift known as?
Neurosecretory Cell
Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition (EMT)
Testicular Cancer is known as what? What type of precursors does it arise from?
Teratomas
Germ cell precursors
What developed tumor contains the ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm and is capable of differentiating into recognizable structure such as bone, hair, and teeth?
Teratomas
What tumors have shed virtually all tissue specific differentiation traits and are totally dedifferentiated?
Cancer of Unknown Primary (CUP)
What tumor contains no histopathologic criteria that could be applied to the tissue of their origin?
Anaplastic Tumors (CUP)
True or False: Cancer = Malignant Tumor
True
True or False: Cancer is a single condition.
False (Cancer consist of more than 100 different disease that are uncontrolled in growth and spread of abnormal cells)
True or False: Cancer originating in one body organ takes its characteristics with it even if it spreads to another part of the body?
True
What is the term of the mechanism that cancer cells to not self destruct?
Apoptosis
How does cancer arise?
From a mutation of normal gene(s) in a cell.
What is the name of mutated genes that cause cancer?
Oncogenes
What causes proliferation or mutation of telomeres?
Oncogenes
How many mutations does a cell have to experience to become malignant?
5-6 mutations.
How do Oncogenes arise?
By a mutation that increase the expression or activity of Proto-oncogenes
What increases the expression or activity of a Proto-Oncogene?
Proto-oncogene site being exposed to:
- Cancer Causing Agents
- Chemicals
- Radiation
- Genome or Virus
How much percentage of DNA is viable in a cell? How much is junk DNA?
4%
96%
What is a factor that brings about a mutation called?
Mutagen
A mutagen changes what part of the DNA?
Change in the nucleotide
What is the name of an agent that causes cancer?
Carcinogen
True or False: All carcinogen are mutagens?
True
True or False all mutagen are carcinogen?
False
