Neoplasia Flashcards
Female Patient comes in with abdominal
midline swelling. You preform differential diagnoses and
pregnancy test is negative. The patient complains that they
look pregnant but they are having normal periods. Biopsy of
a mass was taken from uterus and showed well
differentiated tumor that has the same smooth muscle as as
myometrium.
What is her diagnoses?
What would the condition be if the patient were male?
uterine leiomyoma
If patient were male
-BPH; benign prostatic hyperplasia; bladder is
obstructed and swollen bc of pressure of prostate
Patient comes in with painless swelling on the anterior thigh.
What’s the next step in clinical evaluation?
immediately scan for metastasis
Patient comes in with painless swelling on the anterior thigh. Scan shows metastasis, what’s the condition/prognosis?
Osteosarcoma the patient will likely die within 2 years
-Most common sarcoma is _______ or ________; Treatment for osteoma= _________
distal femur or proximal end of
tibia
Treat it by removing it
Women comes in saying she has regular periods but when she has sex she spots. What is the next step?
Papsmear
Papsmear shows disorganized hyperchromatic, enlarged, multipolar cells. But the basal membrane is not affected. What is her diagnoses?
-localized Carcinoma in situ of the cervix (no metastasis)
b/c tumor hasn’t breached the stroma
28yr old woman comes in with lump
in the breast. She tells you she has family history of breast cancer. You preform a mammogram and see a lesion that is heavily incorporated in breast tissue (pic) what is the diagnoses?
invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast
What’s the differential diagnosis of a fibroadenoma and an invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast?
The fibroadenoma is non-invasive (it’s encapsulated with well defined margins that are estrogen responsive) aka benign
Patient comes in with blurry vision and with strange behaviors. You do a CT and
patient has a brain tumor. The tumor cells are totally undifferentiated from brain tissue. Under further investigation the patient tells you he has been a smoker for many years. How would you treat the tumor?
radiation to lung because that is where brain tumor metastases from and when you kill lung cancer it will kill brain tumor
60 yr old Patient comes in with high BP, coughing and no medication will reduce it.
He is a smoker What is his diagnoses?
bronchogenic carcinoma metastases into a pheochromocytoma (adrenal tumor)
Describe the features of a phenochromocytoma
Pheochromocytoma is a type of neuroendocrine tumor that grows from cells called chromaffin cells. These cells produce hormones needed for the body and are found in the adrenal glands
Heavy smoker comes in and you diagnose bronchogenic carcinomas. What should you scan next?
adrenals and the brain
If you have tumors that hemorrhage how do you differentiate between tumors and herpes simplex (temporal hemorrhages)
Tumor won’t have neutrophils present
Common metastasis:
Prostate carcinoma = ______
Bone
Common metastasis:
Bronchogenic carcinoma = ______
Adrenals or brain
Common metastasis:
Neuroblastoma = ______
Liver & bones
Common metastasis:
Gliomas = ______
Rarely metastasize
Common metastasis:
Basal cell carcinoma = ______
Rarely metastasize
Common metastasis:
Gastric carcinomas = ______
Ovaries & liver
Common metastasis:
Nephroblastoma = ______
Liver
Common metastasis:
Pancrease & Colorectal Carcinomas= ______
Liver
Common metastasis:
Testicular carcinoma = ______
Lung
How do mesenchymal tumors spread
(mesenchymal organ=fat, fibrous
tissue, ligaments, skeletal muscle, smooth muscle, bone)
That will spread by blood.
How do carcinomas (from any 3 germ layers) spread?
By lymphatics
Patient comes with jaundice and weightless and metastasis to the liver. What’s the cancer?
3 possibilities
Gastric, Pancreatic, or Colon
Types of metastasis:
Describe direct seeding & what type of cancers spread like this?
Direct seeding is when the malignant neoplasm penetrates the body cavities:
Colon, ovary, appendix, stomach, pancreas, & sometimes breast
Patient comes in saying they lost 15 pounds 3 months without dieting or exercise but their abdomen is very distended. There is a mass in the abdomen full of fluid. When you cut you see fluid in the peritoneal cavity with tumors all over the peritoneal wall.
What is the diagnosis?
pseudomyxoma peritonea (tumors all over the peritoneal wall and lots of mucinous fluid)
Final diagnoses: mutinous cystadenocarcinoma from ovary or the
appendix (male)
She keeps losing weight but she’s not dieting. She is a smoker and says her periods are very irregular? On palpitations you feel two/bilateral masses in pelvis, what exam do you do next?
endoscopy because metastasis from stomach; (to know the ovarian cancer is from metastasized from stomach you will look for signet-ring morphology; if endoscopy is normal check breast)
Types of cancerous spread:
Describe Hematogenous spread
Mesenchymal tumors (mesenchymal organ=fat, fibrous tissue, ligaments, skeletal
muscle, smooth muscle, bone) will spread by blood.
Prostate spreads to the pelvis & lower spine via osteoblasts (look for dense lesions)
Thyroid spreads via osteolytic metastasis (look for black holes)
Breast spreads via osteoblastic and osteolytic
Male Patient above 60 comes in with recurrent back pain. He says he doesn’t have any urinary issues. Taking NSAIDS but the pain doesn’t go away. What is the 1st thing you should do?
-PROSTATE EXAM
Psa levels >10 =problem with prostate
(Then preform biopsy to confirm prostate cancer; Patient won’t have any urinary symptoms in prostate CANCER but will have back pain bc of the osteoblastic activity of metastases cancer cells)
Lady comes in saying her back has been killing her. She works as a lawyer’s secretary. You order an xray and don’t see anything. Order an MRI and see osteolytic (black hole) and osteoblastic (white spots) areas on lower spine. What is her diagnoses?
Order a mammography to diagnose breast cancer; The intervertebral vein that drains the blood from the breast connects to the batsons plexus in the spine. Therefor that is the
cause of metastasis to the spine.
Osteolytic lesions in proximal humerus, iliac, or vertebral column with normal thyroid panel but has Hypercalcemia
suspect thyroid carcinomas or multiple myoma
Hot nodule= inject dye and thyroid accepts it =graves
Cold nodule= dye is not taken up =cancer
Teenager comes in with shortness of breath, heavy breathing, on x-ray you see “cotton ball” appearance what is the next step?
check testicles
Teenager comes in with shortness of breath, heavy breathing, on x-ray you see “cotton ball” appearance. If one of the testis is missing (undescended) then what?
Do a pregnancy test; if it comes back positive
-choriocarcinoma of testis that has mestatsted to the lung
Teenager comes in with shortness of breath, heavy breathing, on x-ray you see “cotton ball” appearance. If one of the testis is missing (undescended) & pregnancy test is positive then what?
Check alpha feta proteins if they’re absent patient is not pregnant; if it were positive could be hydatiform mole
What are the most common tumors in the USA in men
1) Prostate 2) Lung 3) Colon
What are the most common tumors in the USA in women
1) Breast 2) Lung 3) Colon
Human papilloma virus (HPV)— an agent that is spread through sexual contact, is
responsible for what 2 types of cancers.
Cervical carcinoma and head and neck cancers
Cervical carcinoma and head and neck cancers are caused most commonly by what virus
Human papilloma virus (HPV)-
Epstein–Barr virus—-causes what 3 cancers
Burkitt lymphoma
Hodgkin lymphoma
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (China)
HBV, HCV and Aflatoxins (green mold on peanut)(Aspergillus)(Asia and African)—
can cause what cancer?
Hepatocellular carcinoma
Alcohol consumption(USA)—-causes what type of cancer
Hepatocellular carcinoma
Helicobacter pylori(USA) and Nitrosamines(Japan) (smoked foods)—–cause what type of cancer
Gastric adenocarcinoma
Low fiber diet—–increases incidences of what type of cancer
Colorectal carcinoma
Bronchogenic carcinoma= most commonly caused by what
smoking
Mesothelioma= ________________________
asbestos exposure; never caused by smoking
Vinyl chloride- From smooth muscle= _______________________________
hepatic angiocarcoma bc exposure from PVC
pipes
Mesothelioma & lung cancers are caused by what
Asbestosis & silicosis
Colorectal carcinoma is caused by what?
Inflammatory bowel disease
Carcinoma in draining sinuses causes what conditions
Osteomyelitis & bacterial infection
Bladder carcinoma is caused by what
Chronic cystitis & schistosomiasis
Nonlethal genetic damage causing cancer when the patient
Develops cancer within the first 15 years of life or
genetics
Describe the molecular hallmarks of cancer
1.End of glycolysis for cancer cells give lactic acid even though there is oxygen
=Warburg effect**
2. Ability to evade the host
immune system
28 year old Patient comes in passing blood in stool. They tell you their father was diagnosed with a hereditary disease when he was young. Colonoscopy reveals normal colon; no polyps. CT scan shows growth in ileoceacal valve that looks like a cauliflower. what is the diagnoses?
-haaratomatous polyp
-Hereditary nonpolypos
*If women do ultrasound to rule out ovarian cancer and endometrial biopsy for cancer;
Do endometrial biopsy and pelvic ultrasound every year after 25
Describe the condition and its features
- Xeroderma Pigmentosum
-inherited loss of nucleotide excision repair
-skin cancers follow exposure to UV light
-will see basal cell in young children
What screening exams need to be done if family history of BRCA1 mutations for men & women respectively?
Man- prostate ultrasounds
Women- ovarian and breast cancer exams
. What screening to do with BRCA2 mutation in family history? Men & women
Man and women- breast exams as well as other cancers
Malignant lump found in breast. It is already metastasized to lymph node
What is the next step?
check for HER2 gene to determine treatment
Q. Did a pap smear on. 26 yr old and patient is HPV positive. And find malignant cells
on cervix. But she doesn’t understand that her best friend, who is also HPV positive,
doesn’t have the same malignancy on her cervix. What should you tell her?
-she has a genetic mutation ( p53 is polymorphic at amino acid 72, encoding for
arginine residue instead of lysine) making her more likely to developing cervical cancer
What is the cause of developing burrkitts lymphoma in African patients? & what are the effects of the tumor on the host
8, 14 translocation c-MYC oncogene
Effects on host:
1. Jaundice
2. Constipation
3. Weightless
4. Superior Vena cava syndrome
Patients gets up in the morning and
their face flushes like this. What’s wrong
with him & what if it’s seen in a child?
Adult: superior vena cava syndrome from
carcinoma of the bronchus
child= acute lymphoblastic leukemia; on
xray you see widened mediastinum with
shadow
Describe what paraneoplastic syndromes are & what condition is the most common
The cancers are don’t originate from the endocrine tissue but they secrete various hormones (aka ectopic hormone production)
Cushing syndrome
Describe the features of Cushing Syndrome
Excess ectopic ACTH & cortisol causing:
(1)overproduction of cortisol, hirsutism, hyperglycemia
(2)muscle wasting
(3)hypokalaemia with metabolic alkalosis
(4)Hypertension
(5) “Moon” face, abdominal striae and “Buffalo” hump
Describe the differential for cushings
cortisol test
Normally
cortisol is high in the morning & low by midnight
In Cushing’s
cortisol is high by midnight & low in the morning
cortisol is high by midnight & low in the morning
Cushings syndrome
How do you treat cushings syndrome?
Give dexamethasone (an external cortical steroid, will cause ACTH to be suppressed causing the cortisol levels to decrease)
Increased ACTH
Increased Cortisol
Rx with Dexamethasone causes cortisol to decrease (pituitary-dependent cushings)
A pituitary tumor, the ACTH is increased causing more cortisol production by the adrenal glands
if ACTH levels are suppressed & the cortisol levels do not decrease after administering dexamethasone, it suggests Cushing’s syndrome caused by a pituitary tumor.
Cushings vs pituitary tumor dependent cushings deff
Cushings: Normally, the administration of dexamethasone should suppress the production of ACTH & Cortisol
Pituitary dependent Cushings:
if cortisol levels do not decrease after administering dexamethasone & if ACTH levels are appropriately suppressed by the high cortisol levels
Describe the Syndrome of Inappropriate ADH secretion (SIADH)
-over production of ADH from tumor; tumor controls pituitary gland
-heavy association with small cell lung carcinoma
Patient comes in feeling weak and tired. His eyes appear sunken and he is dehydrated.
No history of head injury. In the ER you order a urine sample.
Results:
Electrolytes <130 (hyponatremia)
What is his diagnoses?
SIADH due to small cell lung carcinoma
-gradually give concentrated sodium
Why don’t you want to give more fluids in patients with SIADH syndrome?
*the retention of the urine causes the blood sodium to be diluted and decreases
osmolity- so if you give more fluids the patients blood will be MORE diluted and causes seizures -> can cause central pontine myelinosis
Urine Osmolality will be high in diabetes insipidus
if patients Electrolytes are below <120 then what will happen?
neurological symptoms; severe hyponatremia (caused by severe head trauma increasing ADH or from Small cell lung carcinoma)
heavily associated with SQUAMOUS cell carcinoma of the lung; it produces
parathyroid hormone-related protein that mimic PTH stimulates osteoclasts and
increases blood calcium;
Hypercalcemia
Describe the features of Hypercalcemia
heavily associated with SQUAMOUS cell carcinoma of the lung; it produces
parathyroid hormone-related protein that mimic PTH stimulates osteoclasts and
increases blood calcium;
If patient has hypercalcemia, show tetany, & are an aged smoker then suspect
squamous cell carcinoma causing hypercalcemia
Tumors most associated with paraneoplastic hypercalcemia are carcinomas of
the______, _______, & ______
breast, lung, kidney, and ovary.
Low calcium is considered _____ & under
High calcium is considered ____ & up
low 8 & under
high 11 & up
60 yr old Patient comes in saying their heart is skipping. They are a smoker. Blood
calcium is 11.2
squamous cell carcinoma
In the condition Acanthosis Nigerians a normal BMI is associated with ________ & a high BMI (32+) is associated with __________
Normal = GI adenocarcinomas
High BMI = Insulin resistance (Diabetes)
Describe neuromyopathic paraneoplastic syndrome
Antibodies that are induced against tumor cell antigens that cross-react with the host’s neuronal cell antigens (aka our own antibodies mistake our neuron antigens for the tumors antigens)
Antibodies that are induced against tumor cell antigens that cross-react with the host’s neuronal cell antigens (aka our own antibodies mistake our neuron antigens for the tumors antigens)
Describe neuromyopathic paraneoplastic syndrome
Antibodies against Purkinje cells (paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration) can be due to which 3 types of cancers?
Small cell lung carcinoma
Gynecologic/breast cancers
Hodgkin lymphoma
Patient comes in with wide stumbling gait. No history of alcohol. No trauma history,
they keep falling down. The patient has down beating nystagmus (eyes slowly go
down) what is his diagnoses
neomyopathic paraneoplastic syndrome
Describe myasthenia gravis & how do you treat it?
- antibodies against ACH receptors
-associated with Thymoma
Rx. with cholinergic drugs
Describe the symptoms of myasthenia gravis
- Ptosis
- Diplopia
- Muscle weakens with increased movement
Describe the features of Lambert-Eaton Myasthenia syndrome
-antibodies against presynaptic calcium channels
-associated with small cell carcinoma
-symptoms improve with use (movement)
Describe the symptoms of Lambert-Eaton Myasthenia syndrome
- proximal muscle weakness and autonomic dysfunction.
- No clinical improvement is produced by anticholinesterase agents
- proximal muscle weakness and autonomic dysfunction.
- No clinical improvement is produced by anticholinesterase agents
symptoms of Lambert-Eaton Myasthenia syndrome
-antibodies against presynaptic calcium channels
-associated with small cell carcinoma
-symptoms improve with use (movement)
Lambert-Eaton Myasthenia syndrome
- Ptosis
- Diplopia
- Muscle weakens with increased movement
Myasthenia gravis symptoms
- antibodies against ACH receptors
-associated with Thymoma
Rx. with cholinergic drugs
Features of myasthenia gravis
Describe the features of Hypertrophic osteoarthropathy
associated with bronchogenic carcinomas
(1) periosteal new bone formation, primarily at the distal ends of long bones, (metatarsals, metacarpals, and proximal phalanges)
(2) arthritis of the adjacent joints
(3) clubbing of the digits
associated with bronchogenic carcinomas
(1) periosteal new bone formation, primarily at the distal ends of long bones, (metatarsals, metacarpals, and proximal phalanges)
(2) arthritis of the adjacent joints
(3) clubbing of the digits
Hypertrophic osteoarthropathy
. Patient comes in with coughing and shortness of breath. The patient has been a
smoker for 20 years. On exam his hands look like this with dorsal and plantar swelling
of fat pads and nail bed. They also have periostel bone formation in hand joints and
osteoarthitis in hand joints. What is the diagnoses?
-Lung cancer (do a CT) that causes hypertrophic osteoarthropathy
Migratory Thrombophlebitis (Trousseau syndrome)
-associated with pancreatic cancer which causes migratory thrombophlebitis
(Trousseau syndrome) ; Cancer is producing thrombolytic agents
Patient has superficial tender swelling of the legs. It looks like veracious veins. He tells you he has lost a lot of weight lately. You Treat the patient and he comes back in 3 months with the same problem. What is his diagnoses?
-pancreatic cancer-> causes migratory thrombophlebitis (Trousseau syndrome) ; Cancer is producing thrombolytic agents that cause this
Describe the features of nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis
fibrinous vegetation’s form on the left sided cardiac valve leaflets particularly in
individuals with advanced mucin-secreting adenocarcinomas
Long history of diabetes (at least 10 years) and patient has stroke on left side. He
has recently lost a lot of weight. On CT you see a thrombus in the brain. And
echocardiogram shows vegetations in cardiac valve leaflets on ventricular side. what is
his diagnoses?
Gastric cancer creates mucin that gets into blood and bounces back on the valve
leaflets and will eventually clog aorta and or clot and go to brain Cause nonbacterial
thrombotic endocarditis. The valve will be normal with no murmurs
fibrinous vegetation’s form on the left sided cardiac valve leaflets particularly in
individuals with advanced mucin-secreting adenocarcinomas
Nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis
Immunohistochemistry:
Keratin intermediate filaments in anything other than epithelial cells indicates _______
Carcinomas
Immunohistochemistry:
Vimentin intermediate filaments in anything other than mesenchymal cells indicates _______
Sarcomas
Immunohistochemistry:
Desmin intermediate filaments in anything other than muscle cells indicates _______
Uterine leiomyoma or Rhabdomyosarcoma
Immunohistochemistry:
Neurofilament intermediate filaments in anything other than CNS/PNS neurons & neural crest derivatives indicates _______
Pheochromocytoma or Neuroblastoma
Immunohistochemistry:
Glial fibrillary acidic protein intermediate filaments in anything other than glial cells indicates _______
Astrocytoma or Ependymomas
Serum tumor markers:
Alpha-fetoprotein is indicative of
Hepatoma or
Nonseminomatous testicular germ-cell tumors
Serum tumor markers:
Beta human chorionic gonadotropin (BhCG) is indicative of
Trophoblastic tumors or Choriocarcinoma
Serum tumor markers:
Calcitonin is indicative of
Medullary carcinoma of the thyroid
Serum tumor markers:
Carcinoembryonic antigen is indicative of
Carcinomas of the lung, pancreas, stomach, breast, & colon
Serum tumor markers:
CA-125 is indicative of
Malignant ovarian epithelial tumors
Serum tumor markers:
CA 19-9 is indicative of
Malignant pancreatic adenocarcinomas
Serum tumor markers:
Placental alkaline phosphatase is indicative of
Seminoma
Serum tumor markers:
PSA is indicative of
Prostate cancer
Serum tumor markers:
CA 15-3/CA 27-29 is indicative of
Breast cancer
Serum tumor markers:
LDH is indicative of
Testicular germ cell tumor, Ovarian dysgerminoma, etc
Serum tumor markers:
Neuron-specific enolase is indicative of
Neuroendocrine tumors, (small cell lung cancer, carcinoid tumors, & neuroblastoma)
Serum tumor markers:
Chromogranin is indicative of
Neuroendocrine tumors
BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations occur in familial ________, these genes are
not inactivated in sporadic cases of ________
Breast cancers
Describe the features of Breast cancer
BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations occur in familial breast cancers, these genes are
not inactivated in sporadic cases of breast cancer
What screening exams need to be done if family history of BRCA1 mutations
Man- prostate ultrasounds
Women- ovarian and breast cancer exams
What screening to do with BRCA2 mutation in family history?
Man and women- breast exams as well as other cancers
Malignant lump found in breast. It is already metastasized to lymph node
What is the next step?
-check for HER2 gene to determine treatment
Carcinogenesis:
cause permanent DNA damage; rapid irreversible
Initiators
Carcinogenesis:
Initiators
cause permanent DNA damage; rapid irreversible
Carcinogenesis:
Promoters
-induce tumor formation
Ex. Hep B virus is a INITIATOR causes damage
Interleukins1,6 and TNF alpha->Inflammation is a PROMOTOR for cancer
Carcinogenesis:
-induce tumor formation
promoters
Esophageal cancer from GERD:
ACID= _________
Chronic inflammatioin= __________ -> DNA damage
initiator & promoter
x. HPV and E6 and E7= ________
estrogen= __________
initiator & promoter
. Why don’t >65 year old women have papsmears?
-because without estrogen you won’t develop cervical cancer
Describe Direct- acting carcinogens
require no metabolic conversion; ex chemo therapy
-If you see bladder cancer. Always check if the patient has had any cancer
treatment before because direct-acting carcinogens
If African: check for parasites (schistoma)
Indirect- acting carcinogens
chemical that require metabolic conversion like Aflatoxin B1 from nuts; (some people eat nuts and are fine but if you have the conversion factor then you will develop cancer)
In indirect acting carcinogens most of the known carcinogens are metabolized by _________________________. The genes that encode these enzymes are ______________
cytochrome P-450-dependent
mono-oxygenases
polymorphic
How can an HPV infection cause cervical cancer?
HPV 16 and 18 cause cervical cancer b/c E6 protein degrades p53
Describe how EBV can cause the African form of Burkitt lymphoma, B-cell lymphoma in immunosuppressed persons, & Hodkins lymphoma
1) EBV infects B lymphocytes and epithelial cells of the oropharynx by CD21 receptors to
attach to and infect B cells
2) Latent membrane protein-1 (LMP-1), acts as an oncogene. LMP-1 activates the NF-κB
and JAK/STAT signaling pathways and prevents apoptosis by activating BCL2.
3) EBNA-2 trans activates host genes like cyclin-D lymphoma develops only in people with the acquisition of the t(8;14) translocation
which activate the c-MYC oncogene = Burkitt’s lymphoma
Describe the features of Hereditary Nonpolyposis Colon Cancer Syndrome
due to DNA mismatch repair genes being defective MSH2 and MLH1;
“proofreading” function is lost so errors gradually accumulate.
-also see micro satellite instability that are unstable and increase or decrease in
length( they are tandem repeats that remain constant without mutation)
-autosomal dominant
Describe the features of VHL (von Hippel-Lindau gene
-loss of function mutations associated with:
1.hereditary renal cell cancers,
2.pheochromocytomas,
3.hemangioblastomas of the central nervous system.
In the presence of oxygen, HIF1α is hydroxylated and binds to
VHL, leading to its ubiquitination and degradation but if mutated
HIF1α accumulates in the nuclei and turns genes encoding
vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and PDGF.
Patient comes in with complaint of “seeing double”
-meningioma or ependymomas