Lecture 21: Neoplasia Flashcards
what is neoplasia
autonomous new growth of abnormal cells
features of benign neoplasms
- remain localised
- well encapsulated with no invasion
- look similar to the parent tissue they come from
- no metastasis
what are problems benign neoplasms can cause
- pressure effects
- obstruction of hollow organs
- hormone production
- anxiety of the patient
- rarely can become malignant
what is dysplasia and what are the signs of it
abnormal epithelial cell morphology showing
- pleomorphism, hyperchromasia and chromatin abnormality
- architectural disarray and lack of maturation
- mitoses away from usual site near basement membrane
what is it called when there is extreme dysplasia of the entire epithelium that has not yet crossed the basemnt membrane
- carcinoma in-situ
- intraepithelial neoplasia
when is a neoplasm called a carcinoma
when it has invaded, so crossed the basement membrane
what are features of a borderline neoplasm with examples
- limited invasion and local destructive growth
- very unlikely to metastasize
- eg serious borderline tumour of the ovary
- eg basal cell carcinoma
features of malignant neoplasm
- invasion of surrounding tissues
- infiltrative, poorly designed borders
- grow rapidly
- variable differentiation
- metastasis, normally via veins
routes of metastasising
- haematogenous: normally through veins and sometimes arteries
- lymphatic: common in breast cancer which ends up in axilla
- direct spread: eg carcinomas of the ovary fall into the abdominal cavity
most common types of cancer
- lung
- breast
- colon
- prostate
what is a papilloma
benign squamous epithelial carcinoma
what is an adenoma
benign columnar epithelial carcinoma
what is a carcinoma
malignant epithelial neoplasm
what is a sarcoma
malignant soft / connective tissue neoplasm
what does grading signify
- how well the malignant neoplasm resembles normal tissue
- determined by MIB-I and proliferative index
