MBC - Cancer Flashcards

1
Q

What are cancer cell?

A

Cells that no longer respond ti growth and death signals

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2
Q

What can mutations cause?

A

Proliferations of cancer cells and make them irresponsive to death

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3
Q

What is a tumour?

A

Any kind of mass forming lesion

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4
Q

How does a secondary tumour form?

A

Once a primary tumour is large enough, it may break away and travel to other tissues to metastasise, forming a secondary tumour

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5
Q

What are the 3 types of tumour?

A

Neoplastic
Haramtomatous
Inflammatory

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6
Q

What does hamartomatous mean?

A

Benign lesion caused by tissues being organised in an abnormal way

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7
Q

What is a neoplasm?

A

Tumour that is either benign or malignant. Cancer is a malignant neoplasm

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8
Q

What is one of the main differences between a benign and a malignant neoplasm?

A

Benign neoplasm is clearly demarcated and sometimes is mobile. Malignant neoplasms however are integrated into the tissue and have invaded underlying tissue

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9
Q

What is a hamartoma?

A

Localised benign overgrowth of one or more mature cell types.

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10
Q

What is an example of a hamartoma?

A

E.g. in the lung, hamartomas are composed of cartilage and bronchial tissue which cytologically is fine, however architecturally abnormal.

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11
Q

What is a heterotopia?

A

Where tissue is found where it shouldn’t be found

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12
Q

What is an example of a heterotopia?

A

We sometimes find pancreatic tissue in the wall of the intestine - the tissue will be completely normal, just in the wrong location

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13
Q

How do we classify neoplasms?

A

Done first by cell origin and then divided into benign and malignant

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14
Q

What does chondro- mean?

A

Derived from the cartilage

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15
Q

What does -oma mean?

A

Benign tumour

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16
Q

What does -sarcoma mean?

A

Malignant tumour

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17
Q

What is a carcinoma?

A

Tumour of the epithelial cells (malignant)

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18
Q

What are myomas?

A

Benign tumour of skeletal muscle

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19
Q

What is a leiomyoma?

A

Benign tumour of smooth muscle

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20
Q

What is an osteosarcoma?

A

Malignant bone tumour

21
Q

What is a lymphoma?

A

Malignant tumour of lymphocytes (benign is very rare)

22
Q

What is leukaemia?

A

Malignant tumour of bone marrow (benign is very rare)

23
Q

What is a papilloma?

A

Benign tumour of epithelial lining

24
Q

What is a squamous cell carcinoma?

A

Malignant tumour of squamous cell epihelia

25
Q

What is an adenoma?

A

Gland lining benign tumour

26
Q

What is an adenocarcinoma?

A

Gland lining malignant tumour

27
Q

What is a teratoma?

A

Tumours derived from the germ cells.

28
Q

What can teratomas give rise to?

A

Any kind of tissue from the germinal tissues: ectoderm, mesoderm, endoderm

29
Q

What do teratomas contain?

A

Mature tissue, immature tissue and even cancers.

30
Q

What is the difference between benign and malignant neoplasms with respect to invasion?

A

Benign: No direct extension into adjacent connective tissue or other structures
Malignant: May be direct extension into adjacent connective tissue or other structures

31
Q

What is the difference between benign and malignant neoplasms with respect to metastasis?

A

Benign: don’t invade locally so cannot metastasise
Malignant: have the capacity to metastasise although they don’t have to - they can be found early and localised therefore excised with curative surgery.

32
Q

What is the difference between benign and malignant neoplasms with respect to differentiation?

A

Benign: well differentiated - resembles the tissue it is found within/on.
Malignant: poorly differentiated - doesn’t resemble surrounding tissue.
Tumour cells often have larger nuclei and more mitoses therefore marked nuclear pleomorphism.

33
Q

What is the difference between benign and malignant neoplasms with respect to growth pattern?

A

Benign: often retain cytological appearances of derived tissue but also the growth pattern - more ordinary architecture.
Malignant: abnormal growth pattern and bizarre architecture.

34
Q

What are the routes by which neoplasms spread?

A
  1. Direct extension
  2. Haematogenous
  3. Lymphatic
  4. Transcoelomic
  5. Perineural
  6. Iatrogenic (e.g. doctor)
35
Q

What is direct extension?

A
  • Associated with stromal response to the tumour

- Includes fibroblastic and vascular proliferation with an immune response

36
Q

What is haematogenous spread?

A

Via the blood stream, venues and capillaries are usually invaded due to their thin walls. This is a common method for most sarcomas.

37
Q

What is lymphatic spread?

A

Lymphatics drain to lymph nodes which drain to thoracic duct and then to vena cava. Most epithelial cancers first metastasise via lymphatics

38
Q

What is transcoelomic spread?

A

Via the seeding of body cavities, e.g. the pleural cavities and peritoneal cavities for intra-thoracic and intra-abdominal cancers respectively.

39
Q

What is perineural spread?

A

Via the nerves - in or around them due to their low resistance. This is common for cancers in the liver.

40
Q

How can we assess tumour spread?

A

Clinically - palpation
Radiologically - Scans
Pathologically - Definitive way of staging

41
Q

What is the TNM system?

A

Tumour
Nodes
Metastasis
Helps us define and describe the spread of tumours

42
Q

What do we ask for T?

A

How big is the tumour?

What tissues has it invaded locally?

43
Q

What do we ask for N?

A

Has it spread to the lymph nodes?
How many lymph nodes?
Which lymph nodes?

44
Q

What do we ask for M?

A

Has it metastasised - via blood or lymphatics?

To where has it travelled - how far?

45
Q

What does a high TNM mean?

A

This means the worse a tumour has gotten and means that is has advanced.

46
Q

What is the stage of tumour?

A

How far the tumour has spread - described through the TNM system

47
Q

What is the grade of a tumour?

A

How differentiated is the tumour?

48
Q

What is more important, stage or grade of tumour?

A

Stage, however they both correlate with each other typically.