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Cancer Biology > Lecture 1- Basics and Definitions > Flashcards

Lecture 1- Basics and Definitions Flashcards

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1
Q

Define cancer (according to WHO)

A

a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body

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2
Q

Two main characteristics of cancer.

A
  • uncontrolled growth
  • can spread to other organs
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3
Q

Define hyperplasia

A

an increase in the number of cells in an organ or tissue; these cells appear normal under a microscope

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4
Q

Define metaplasia

A

a change of cells to a form that does not normally occur in the tissue in which it is found

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5
Q

Define dysplasia

A

a term used to describe the presence of abnormal cells within a tissue or organ; not cancer, but sometimes may become cancer

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6
Q

Define neoplasia

A

tumor; an abnormal mass of tissue that forms when cells grow and divide more than they should or do not die when they should; may be benign or malignant;

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7
Q

Define benign neoplasms

A

may grow large but do not spread into (invade) nearby tissues or other parts of the body

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8
Q

Define malignant neoplasms

A

can spread into, invade, nearby tissues; can also spread to other parts of the body through blood and lymph systems

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9
Q

All ______ are _______, but not all _________ are _________.

A

cancers; neoplasm/tumor; neoplasm/tumor; cancer

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10
Q

Match the word to the image: cancer, hyperplasia, normal, dysplasia

A

normal, hyperplasia, dysplasia, cancer

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11
Q

Benign vs. Malignant Tumors

A

Benign: no, slow, differentiated, no, yes, +
Malignant: yes, fast, undifferentiated, yes, no, +++

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12
Q

Define carcinoma

A

cancers derived from epithelial cells
Ex: breast, prostate, lung, pancreas, colon, etc

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13
Q

Define sarcoma

A

cancers arising from connective tissue
Ex: bone, cartilage, fat, nerve

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14
Q

Define lymphoma/leukemia

A

these two classes arise from immature cells that originate in the bone marrow, and are intended to fully differentiate and mature into normal components of the immune system (lymphoma) and blood (leukemia)

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15
Q

Define germ cell tumor

A

Cancer derived from pluripotent cells, most often presenting in testicle/ovary

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16
Q

Define blastoma

A

cancers derived from immature (precursor) cells/embryonic tissue; generally, but not always, more common in children than older adults

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17
Q

Define oncogene

A

gene that is a mutated form of a gene involved in normal cell growth; may cause the growth of cancer cells; mutations in genes that become oncogenes can be inherited or caused by being exposed to substances in the environment that cause cancer

18
Q

What are the categories of oncogenes?

A

growth factors (mitogens), receptor tyrosine kinases, cytoplasmic tyrosine kinases, cytoplasmic serine/threonine kinases (and regulatory subunits), regulatory GTPases

19
Q

What are the gene function of growth factors?

A

aka mitogens; induces cell proliferation

Ex: melanoma

20
Q

What are the gene functions of receptor tyrosine kinases?

A

transduce signals for cell growth and differentiation

Ex: breast cancer

21
Q

What are the gene functions of cytoplasmic tyrosine kinases?

A

mediate the responses to, and the activation receptors of cell proliferation, migration, differentiation, and survival

Ex: colorectal cancer

22
Q

What are the gene functions of cytoplasmic serine/threonine kinases and their regulatory subunits?

A

involved in organism development, cell cycle regulation, cell proliferation, differentiation, cells survival, and apoptosis

Ex: malignant melanoma

23
Q

What are the gene functions of regulatory GTPases?

A

involved in signaling a major pathway leading to cell proliferation

Ex: thyroid tumors

24
Q

Define tumor suppressors

A

a type of gene that makes a protein called a tumor suppressor protein that helps control cell growth; mutations in these tumor suppressor genes can lead to cancer; aka anti oncogene

25
Q

What happens when a copy of a tumor suppressor gene (TSG) is inactivated? How can it be inactivated?

A

can be followed by other mechanisms that facilitate loss of the other gene copy; usually depend on loss of heterozygosity (LOH); inactivation can include mutation or methylation

26
Q

What is the function of the gene Rb

A

DNA replication, cell division, death

27
Q

What is the function of the gene p53?

A

apoptosis

28
Q

What is the function of the gene VHL?

A

cell division, death, and differentiation

29
Q

What is the function of the gene APC?

A

DNA damage, cell division, migration, adhesion, death

30
Q

What is the function of the gene BRCA2?

A

cell division and death, repair of double-stranded DNA breaks

31
Q

What is the function of the gene NF1?

A

cell differentiation, division, development, RAS signal transduction

32
Q

What is the function of the gene PTCH?

A

hedgehog signaling

33
Q

Define apoptosis

A

programmed cell death; a type of cell death in which a series of molecular steps in a cell lead to its death; this is one method the body uses to get rid of unneeded or abnormal cells; may be blocked in cancer cells

34
Q

Define necrosis and list the steps

A

a form of traumatic cell death as a result of acute cellular injury

  1. always pathological
  2. cell enlargement
  3. loss of membrane integrity
  4. leakage of content
  5. inflammation
  6. nuclear degeneration
35
Q

Apoptosis vs. necrosis

A

Apoptosis: both internal and external; condensed; remain intact; no/physiological; ladder-like; active; required; individual cells only; engulfed by surrounding cells

Necrosis: external; increase or swollen; disrupted; yes/pathological; random/smeared; passive; depleted; surrounding cells; no

36
Q

What are the steps of the metastasis cascade?

A
  1. local invasion
  2. intravasation
  3. transportation
  4. arrest in microvessels
  5. extravasation
  6. micrometastasis formation
  7. colonization and macrometastasis
37
Q

Criteria:

T- tumor size

N- node involvement (lymph)

M- metastasis

What criteria is involved in each stage of cancer?

A

Stage 1: T< 2cm

Stage 2: T< 5cm; N

Stage 3: T> 5cm; N

Stage 4: T> 5cm; N; M

38
Q

What is the TNM system of cancer description

A

When a cancer is described by the TNM system, it includes number after each letter indicating the severity of each event

Ex: T1N0MX

(x means cannot be measured)

39
Q

What are some cancer treatment options?

A
  • hormone therapy
  • surgery
  • bone marrow transplant
  • chemotherapy
  • targeted therapy
  • radiation therapy
  • immunotherapy
40
Q

Describe each stage of a clinical trial

A

Phase I: tests if a new treatment is safe and looks for the best way to give the treatment

Phase II: tests if one type of cancer responds to the new treatment

Phase III: tests if a new treatment is better than a standard treatment

Phase IV: trials find more information about long-term benefits and side effects

Cancer Biology (2 decks)

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