L1 - L3

Question 1

The hallmarks of cancer

Answer 1

A method for organizing the characteristic properties and complexities of cancer

Question 2

Growth signal autonomy

Answer 2

The ability to grow without requiring external growth signals

Question 3

Evasion of growth inhibitory signals

Answer 3

cells become unresponsive to inhibitory growth signals

Question 4

avoiding the immune system

Answer 4

Cells produce methods of avoiding detection of the immune system and continue to proliferate

Question 5

Unlimited replicative potential

Answer 5

ability to replicate and ignore telomere shortening or invoking unregulated telomerase activity

Question 6

Tumor-promoting inflammation

Answer 6

tumor growth as a result of inflammation via an increase in growth signaling that stimulate tumor cells

Question 7

invasion and metastasis

Answer 7

cell acquire an ability to migrate and invade other regions of the body

Question 8

angiogenesis

Answer 8

growth and attraction of blood vessels to tumors

Question 9

genome instability and mutation

Answer 9

DNA damage and mutations cause phenotypic changes in cells

Question 10

Evasion of cell death

Answer 10

cells avoid apoptotic mechanisms

Question 11

reprogramming of energy metabolism

Answer 11

cancer cells exhibit an alternative metabolic profile compared to normal cells

Question 12

Unlocking phenotypic plasticity

Answer 12

Cells change their phenotype depending on the micro-environment that they are in

Question 13

Senescent cells

Answer 13

metabolically active cells that cannot replicate but posses tumor promoting factors

Question 14

polymorphic microbiomes

Answer 14

tumor specific bacteria or bacteria that can promote tumors or cancers via the toxins they produce or mechanisms that exploit

Question 15

Non-mutational epigenetic changes

Answer 15

changes to the cells that do not impact the sequence of the DNA

Question 16

Genome

Answer 16

A complete set of genetic material in an organism

Question 17

most carcinogens

Answer 17

cause alterations to the DNA sequence

Question 18

Accumulation of mutations over time

Answer 18

results in a multi-step process that underlies carcinogenesis or increased risk of cancer with age

Question 19

mutation burst

Answer 19

a single catastrophic event in a cell that leads to many mutations and cause cancer

Question 20

changes in the epigenome

Answer 20

result in altered gene expression

Question 21

Extrachromosomal DNA

Answer 21

DNA not included in the chromosome may play a role in cancer development

Question 22

Alterations in the genome cause

Answer 22

altered cell growth, death, and differentiation, and affects the cell number in a tissue

Question 23

Oncogenes role in cancer

Answer 23

upregulated in a single allele (dominant) resulting in unregulated cell growth and division

Question 24

I. Tumor suppressor genes roles in cancer

Answer 24

Down-regulated (recessive) loss of an inhibitor leading to abnormal growth

Question 25

II. Tumor suppressor genes roles in cancer

Answer 25

Down-regulated (lower gene dose) of a protein or product involved in the maintenance of regulatory mechanisms in the cell

Question 26

cancer as a systemic disease

Answer 26

not a cell-autonomous process; depends on interactions between cells and tumor microenvironment; cell have ability to invade other parts of the body

Question 27

influential factors in human carcinogenesis

Answer 27

Age, Environment, Reproduction, Diet, Exercise, Alcohol, Smoking

Question 28

Principles of conventional cancer therapies

Answer 28

Surgery is not precise; Chem and radio can eradicate and inhibit metastasized cells

Question 29

Disadvantages of conventional cancer therapies

Answer 29

often severe and debilitating and non-specific

Question 30

Aim of all therapies

Answer 30

are to achieve effective result while minimizing side effects

Question 31

therapeutic index

Answer 31

difference between the maximum tolerated dose and the minimum effective dose

Question 32

Centromeres are

Answer 32

required for cell division

Question 33

Aneuploidy

Answer 33

multiple copies of the same chromosome; having an abnormal amount of chromosome pairs in the cell

Question 34

Cancer cells often show

Answer 34

structural chromosome changes (can be visualized using mFISH)

Question 35

Mutations in the regulatory region

Answer 35

may affect gene expression

Question 36

mutations in the coding region

Answer 36

may affect the product

Question 37

Promoter region

Answer 37

Upstream of transcription site; where RNA Pol II and TF bind

Question 38

transition mutation

Answer 38

purine to purine; or pyrimidine to pyrimidine

Question 39

transversion

Answer 39

purine to pyrimidine

Question 40

insertion

Answer 40

addition of a base into the DNA; affects the ORF

Question 41

Deletion

Answer 41

deletion of a base into the DNA; affects the ORF

Question 42

Insertions/deletions in multiples of three

Answer 42

loss or gain of an amino acid; ORF is not changed

Question 43

insertions and deletions in multiples of three

Answer 43

often results in termination of transcription (results in a stop codon); frame shift

Question 44

Deletions to large amounts of base pairs

Answer 44

exon loss; parts of a protein/product are missing leading to degradation
promoter loss; no expression

Question 45

Chromosomal mutations can include

Answer 45

severe aberrations, multilocus deletions, translocations

Question 46

chromosomal translocations

Answer 46

these occur when chromosomes break and the resulting fragments reattach to different chromosomes

Question 47

Balanced translocation

Answer 47

the exchange of genetic material between two nonhomologous chromosomes