Neoplasia Flashcards
Describe the Warburg effect?
Excessive glycolysis in the presence of oxygen
What are agonists of HER1/2?
EGF - epidermal growth factor
TGFα - transforming growth factor
Do carcinomas have mesenchymal or epithelial origin?
Epithelial
What are the pathways of spread for metastasis?
Direct seeding of body cavities/surfaces
Lymphatic system
Vascular system
Src signaling regulates what?
Cytoskeleton
Cell migration
Adhesion
Invasion
What underlying cancers can cause hypoglycemia as a paraneoplastic syndrome. Why?
Ovarian carcinoma
Fibrosarcoma
Mesenchymal sarcomas
Produce insulin or insulin-like substance; induces glucose uptake
What is the function of p53?
Inhibit cell cycle progression to allow DNA repair
What type of gene promotes proliferation and inhibit cell death?
Oncogenes
Describe the TNM system.
Numbers are assigned to each characteristic based on a scale for individual cancers
T = tumor size
N = lymph node metastases
M = other metastases
In the epithelium, when dysplasia breaches the basement membrane it is considered ____.
Invasive
Metaplasia refers to ____.
Replacement of one cell type to another; associated with tissue damage, repair, and regeneration
Ex: Barrett’s Esophagus
What are some of the local effects of a cancerous tumor?
Affect function of vital tissue by pressure, obstruction, or infection
Solid tumors cannot be more than ______ in diameter without angiogenesis, as it is the diffusion limit
1-2 mm
Where are you most likely to see metastasis via direct seeding?
Peritoneal
Any spaces (including joints and subarachnoid)
A sarcoma has _____ stroma and is considered _____.
little
“fleshy”
Grading of a tumor is determined by?
Cytology
Ex: Pap Smear
The transition between what two phases of the cell cycle is disrupted in most cancers?
G1 to S phase
Under hypoxic conditions, Src signaling promotes what?
Angiogenesis
(VEGF, MMPs, IL8)
Myc controls _____% of all mammalian genes.
10-15%
Does grading or staging have greater clinical value?
Staging
What is a teratoma?
Tumor derived from totipotent cells; mixture of adult tissue types
What are the ways cancer cells evade the immune system?
Antigen loss
HLA mutations (histone compatibility)
Produce immune inhibitors
Stroma refers to what in cancer.
Supportive tissue
ex: connective tissue, blood vessels, lymphatics
Mutations in BRCA1/2 are associated with?
Inherited breast cancer susceptibility
What is a leiomyoma? Is it highly differentiated or does it lack differentiation?
Benign smooth muscle tumor of the uterine wall
Highly differentiated
Does parenchyma or stroma determine tumor behavior?
Parenchyma
What cancer is associated with overactivation of HER1/2?
Breast cancer
Is a papilloma mesenchymal or epithelial in origin?
Epithelial
Is a fibroma mesenchymal or epithelial in origin?
Mesenchymal
Is a leiomyoma mesenchymal or epithelial in origin?
Mesenchymal
The likelihood of metastasis increases due to what cellular factors?
Lack of differentiation
Aggressive local invasion
Rapid growth
Large size
What extracellular stimuli activate Myc?
Growth factors
Cytokines
Cell adhesion
What enzymes does Rb interact with?
Chromatin remodeling enzymes; has significant impact on global gene expression
Does stroma affect parenchymal behavior or does parenchymal affect stroma behavior?
Stroma affects parenchymal behavior
HIF1α induces VEGF, which leads to?
Angiogenesis
The following are all characteristics of what class of tumor?
Pleomorphism
Abnormal nuclear morphology
Irregular and increased mitoses
Loss of polarity
Central ischemic necrosis
Anaplastic
What glycolytic enzyme is activated by HIF1α?
Hexokinase 2 (HK2)
Responsible for initiating glycolysis by phosphorylating glucose into glucose-6-phosphate
Pleomorphism refers to _____?
Variations in size and shape of cells
Ex: tumor giant cells in a Rhabdomyosarcoma (malignant tumor of skeletal muscle)
Pathological staging of a tumor is determined by?
Biopsies
Clinical staging information
Do carcinomas originate from endoderm, mesoderm, or ectoderm?
Any of them
What is the function of cyclins?
Activate cyclin-depending kinases (Cdks) at specific points in the cell cycle