Neoplasia 1

Question 1

What is cancer?

Answer 1

A common word for malignant lesions

Question 2

What is a tumour?

Answer 2

A neoplastic lesion - benign or malignant

Question 3

What is oncology?

Answer 3

The study of neoplastic lesions

Question 4

What is neoplasia?

Answer 4

excessive and unregulated cell proliferation

Question 5

Why does neoplasia occur?

Answer 5

Due to a genetic mutation that affects cell cycle, apoptosis and DNA repair

Question 6

What are the two types of neoplasia?

Answer 6

Benign and malignant

Question 7

What are the features of a benign tumour?

Answer 7

Slow growth, well circumscribed, may be encapsulated, well differentiated cells, unable to metastasise, rarely life threatening

Question 8

What are the features of a malignant tumour?

Answer 8

Invasive and destructive growth locally, poorly circumscribed, frequently induce desmoplasia, may have necrosis, cells are variably differentiated from well differentiated to anaplastic, potential to metastasise

Question 9

What is desmoplasia?

Answer 9

Where the tumour releases cytokines and growth factors which induce fibroblasts to proliferate and produce extracellular matrix in the stroma which the tumour invades

Question 10

What are anaplastic cells?

Answer 10

Cells which cannot be determined if they are differentiated

Question 11

How do tumours metastasise?

Answer 11

Via the lymphatics, via the blood (haematogenous) or along pleural space (transcoelomic)

Question 12

What are some common sites of metastases?

Answer 12

Liver, brain, lungs, bone - although it is different for different cancers

Question 13

What feature do metastases from melanoma have?

Answer 13

They are pigmented

Question 14

How colour are tumours macroscopically?

Answer 14

Pale - often with paler areas within if there is necrosis

Question 15

What may peritoneal metastases present with clinically?

Answer 15

Abdominal swelling due to fluid production

Question 16

What is lymphangitis carcinomatosis?

Answer 16

Liv - there was no answer in Evernote

Question 17

What do neoplastic cells demonstrate histologically?

Answer 17

cytological atypia and architectural disorganisation

Question 18

What is cytological atypia?

Answer 18

larger nuclei, pleomorphic nuclei, coarse nuclear chromatin, hyper chromatic nuclei, larger more prominent nucleoli, more mitotic activity

Question 19

What is architectural disorganisation?

Answer 19

Cells are more crowded and less organised

Question 20

What other features may be seen in neoplasia histologically?

Answer 20

desmoplasia, chronic inflammatory cells, pyknosis and karryolysis

Question 21

What phenotype do tumour cells usually show?

Answer 21

One that resembles their normal counterparts

Question 22

What features do tumour cells with glandular cell lineage show?

Answer 22

formation of glandular lumen, signet ring cells, formation of mucin

Question 23

What features do tumour cells with squamous cell lineage show?

Answer 23

keratinisation (whirls in the middle of the tumour), eosinophilic cytoplasm, intercellular bridges

Question 24

What features do tumour cells with smooth muscle lineage show?

Answer 24

elongated nuclei with rounded ends, elongated cells

Question 25

What does the prefix in the name of the tumour mean?

Answer 25

Its cell lineage

Question 26

What type of tumour is an adeno-?

Answer 26

Glandular

Question 27

What type of tumour is a leiomyo-?

Answer 27

smooth muscle

Question 28

What type of tumour is an osteo-?

Answer 28

osteoblastic

Question 29

What does the suffix in the name of the tumour mean?

Answer 29

Whether it is benign of malignant, and if malignant whether it is mesenchymal or epithelial

Question 30

What does the suffix -oma mean?

Answer 30

Benign

Question 31

What does the suffix carcinoma mean?

Answer 31

It is a malignant epithelial tumour

Question 32

What does the suffix sarcoma mean/

Answer 32

It is a malignant mesenchymal tumour

Question 33

What are some exceptions to the naming terminology?

Answer 33

seminoma (malignant testicular), lymphoma (malignant lymphocytes)

Question 34

What is the degree of differentiation?

Answer 34

The extent to which the tumour cells resemble their normal counterparts - differentiation in malignant tumours is referred to as grade

Question 35

Why is the tumour microenvironment important?

Answer 35

For establishment and growth of metastases

Question 36

How do genetic alterations which lead to neoplasia arise?

Answer 36

carcinogenic agents (microbes, radiation, chemicals), inherited, mistakes in normal replication, sustained cell proliferation from any cause

Question 37

What are premalignant lesions?

Answer 37

Cells that are not yet malignant but there is a reasonable chance of them becoming malignant

Question 38

What else are premalignant lesions called?

Answer 38

dysplasia and intraepithelial neoplasia

Question 39

How are intraepithelial neoplasias graded?

Answer 39

mild, moderate or severe where severe is an in situ carcinoma

Question 40

What is an in situ carcinoma?

Answer 40

A severe dysplasia where cells look malignant but haven’t yet invaded past the basement membrane into the stroma

Question 41

How do dysplasias get past the basement membrane?

Answer 41

With enzymes such as metalloprotinases

Question 42

What is a polyp?

Answer 42

A glandular dysplastic lesion