Neoplasia 5 Flashcards
-Define indirect effects of cancer- paraneoplastic syndromes -Be familiar with the most common examples in veterinary medicine- hypercalcaemia, hypoglycaemia, cachexia. -Describe the aetiology of cancer- genetics and cancer, virally induced tumours. -Give examples of virally induced tumours in a range of species -Equine sarcoids- why are they so difficult?
INDIRECT SYSTEMIC EFFECTS ON THE HOST
PARANEOPLASTIC SYNDROMES.
- Indirect/remote effects
- Caused by tumour cell products
- 75% incidence in humans, unknown in veterinary medicine.
PARANEOPLASTIC SYNDROMES
May occur early, allowing early tumour diagnosis- IF THEY ARE TUMOUR SPECIFIC.
The associated metabolic abnormalities must be treated.
Severity reflects tumour burden- tumour response to therapy, recurrence or spread.
CACHEXIA
A paraneoplastic syndrome with complex aetiology:
Anorexia, poor digestion, nutritional demands of tumour tissue, nutrient loss in effusions or exudates, metabolic/endocrine derangements.
-Muscle and fat loss
-Extra calories do NO reverse the catabolic sate
-Cytokines and hormones are implicated- TNF-a, IL-1, IL-6, prostaglandins.
DYSPROPORTIONATE to nutritional demands of animal due to tumour nutritional demands, nutrient loss etc.
CANCER RELATED HYPERCALCAEMIA
Excess circulating calcium.
Clinical signs- Muscle weakness, cardiac arrhythmia, anorexia, vomiting, renal failure.
-Excess parathyroid hormone- major Ca regulator.
-Increased mobilisation of Ca from bones
-Increased absorption of Ca by kidney
-Increased reabsorption of Ca by gut.
Loss of calcium from bones is replaced with much fibrous tissue (collagen) from spindle cells. More is needed to support tissues as it is weaker. FIBROUS OSTEODYSTROPHY.
eg. ‘Big nose’ in horses- nasal bones are affected by hypercalcaemia- fibrous osteodystrophy causes blocking of airways and thus dystrophy.
Clinical signs are nothing to do with tumour! REMOTE EFFECTS
HYPOGLYCAEMIA
Decreased glucose.
DIRECT- eg. insulomas (functioning tumours of pancreatic islet B cells- produce much insulin, decreasing circulating glucose)
or PARANEOPLASTIC- other tumour cell types.
CLINICAL SIGNS:
Nervous system- high glucose requirement, so this will be affected first. Lethargy, incoordination, muscle weakness, seizures.
GASTRIC/DUODENAL ULCERATION AND HAEMORRHAGE
Direct- eg. Pancreatic carcinoma- increases gastrin production, which can ulcerate gut and cause haemorrhage.
Indirect- eg. Visceral Mast cell tumours- increase histamine on to bloodstream, where it binds to receptors on the parietal cells of the stomach and induces increased HCl release.
Peritonitis is seen on ulceration- abdominal pain, vomiting.
FEMINISATION SYNDROME
Seen in dogs with Sertoli cell tumours.
Indirect effect- Sertoli cells produce oestrogen which causes feminisation:
Thinning of skin, pendulous abdomen, gynaecomastia.
Can sometimes be reversible.
CANCER RELATED ANAEMIA
Possible causes:
- Anaemia of chronic disease
- Bone marrow invasion (bone marrow cells replaced by tumour cells- MYELOPHTHISIS)
- Haemolysis
- Blood loss.
Neutrophils depleted first, then platelets, then other cells.
GENETICS AND CANCER
Heritable DNA changes ie. in germline sequences.
- Enhanced/decreased/absent expression of normal proteins
- Increased expression of abnormal proteins (eg. p53 inactivated/not expressed)
- Oncogene encoded proteins overexpressed.
Altering the profile of the tumour cell determines the tumour PHENOTYPE.
GENETICS AND CANCER AETIOLOGY
- Heritable changes in the germline sequences in all cells.
- Somatic changes that accumulate in individual cells and tissues over time.
GERMLINE MUTATIONS AND CANCER SYNDROMES
Human- BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes (breast and ovarian cancers)
Canine- GERMAN SHEPHERD DOGS- Germline mutations can cause hereditary multifocal renal cystadenocarcinoma and nodular dermatofibrosis.
- Bilateral, multifocal renal tumours
- Uterine leiomyomas (benign smooth muscle tumours)
- Skin nodules (dermatofibrosis)
ACQUIRED SOMATIC MUTATIONS
- INTRINSIC FACTORS- by products of metabolism (eg. ROS)
- EXTRINSIC FACTORS- chemical, radiation (complete carcinogens- cause initiation and promotion), viruses.
ENZOOTIC BOVINE HAEMATURIA
Caused by bracken fern- contains quercetin, a chemical carcinogen.
Affects urinary bladder- Vascular hyperplasia/ectasia, haematuria.
A wide range of mesenchymal and epithelial tumours are seen.
Bracken fern also produces immunosuppressants, so immnosurveillance is ineffective.
Action of carcinogens, immunosuppressants, and additional viruses can cause various tumours:
Haemangiomas/polyps- benign.
ras (oncogene) action causes malignancy:
Haemangiosarcomas/transitional cell carcinoma/papillary carcinoma.
VIRUSES AND CANCER
RETROVIRUSES- FeLV, FIV, Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus, bovine leukosis virus.
HERPESVIRUSES- Marek’s disease virus, Kaposi’s sarcoma virus, Lucke frog virus, Epstein-Barr virus.
PAPILLOMAVIRUSES- Rabbit (Shope) papillomavirus, bovine, canine and caprine papillomavirus.
VIRAL ONCOGENESIS
DOMINANT ONCOGENES- Host or non-host cell origin.
INSERTIONAL MUTAGENESIS- Activates expression of cellular oncogenes.
HIT-AND-RUN MECHANISM- Transient residence on target cells (is present for long enought o cause damage) eg. bovine papilloma.
INDIRECT MECHANISMS- Suppression of host immune system.
-Stimulation of target cell proliferation.