Neoplasia 2 Flashcards
What is the difference between a benign and malignant tumour?
Malignant tumours have the ability to invade and metastasise.
What is the systemic consequence of metastasis?
There is a greatly increased tumour burden, and vast numbers of malignant cells.
What are the three steps involved in metastasis?
Cells must grow and invade at a primary site, they then must enter a transport system and become lodged somewhere followed by growth at this new, secondary site.
What must metastasising cells evade in order to be successful?
The immune response from the body.
What three properties of an cancerous epithelial cell change when it invades?
Motility, stromal proteolysis and altered adhesion
What is EMT?
Epithelial to mesenchymal transition. This occurs because cells undergo change when they invade tissue.
What is responsible for altered adhesion between 2 malignant cells?
E-Cadherin
What is responsible for altered adhesion between malignant cells and other stromal proteins?
Altered integrin expression.
What is a Matrix metalloproteinase?
These degrade the basement membrane and stroma and allow invasion of cells.
What is a cancer niche?
This is the name for the cells surrounding the tumour which are taken advantage of, and secrete some growth factors as well as proteases.
What is the major change in a cell which leads to altered motility?
Changes in the actin cytoskeleton.
Through what structures can cancerous cells travel to distant sites?
Blood vessels, lymphatic system and coelomic spaces.
What is extravasation?
When cells travel to a distant site in a vessel, this is the process in which they leave the vessel.
What is the name for growth of tumour cells once they reach a distant site?
Colonisation.
What is tumour dormancy?
This is where tumour free individuals harbour micrometastisis