Neoplasia Flashcards
What is a neoplasm?
An abnormal growth of cells that persists after the initial stimulus is removed
What is the full definition of a malignant neoplasm?
An abnormal growth of cells that persists after the initial stimulus is removed AND invades surrounding tissue with potential to spread to distant sites
What is a tumour?
Any clinically detectable lump or swelling
A neoplasm is just one type of tumour
What is a cancer?
Any malignant neoplasm
What is a metastasis?
A malignant neoplasm that has spread from its original site to a new non-contiguous site
What is dysplasia?
A pre-neoplastic alteration in which cells show disordered tissue organisation - not neoplastic because the change is reversible
What is the difference between a benign and malignant neoplasm?
Benign neoplasms remain confined to their site of origin and do not produce metastases
How do benign and malignant neoplasms appear differently?
Benign tumours grow in a confined local area so have a pushing outer margin
Malignant tumours have an irregular outer margin and shape and may show areas of necrosis and ulceration
What is meant by the varying degrees of differentiation shown by neoplasms under the microscope?
A benign neoplasm has cells that closely resemble the parent tissue - well differentiated
Malignant neoplasms can range from well to poorly differentiated
What are cells with no resemblance to any tissue called?
Anaplastic
What is seen with worsening differentiation?
Individual cells have increasing nuclear size and nuclear to cytoplasmic ration
Hyperchromasia (increased nuclear staining)
More mitotic figures
Increasing variation in size and shape of cells and nuclei (pleomorphism)
What is used by clinicians to indicate differentiation?
Grade (high grade = poorly differentiated)
What is neoplasia caused by?
Accumulated mutations in somatic cells
What do the actions of initiators and promoters result in?
An expanded, monoclonal population of mutant cells
What is the process in which a neoplasm emerges from the monoclonal population of cells called?
Progression
How can a collection of cells be monoclonal?
If they all originated from a single founding cell
How do we know neoplasms are monoclonal?
Evidence from the study of the X linked gene for G6PD in tumour tissue from women
On what basis are neoplasms named?
Site of origin
Benign or malignant
Type f tissue the tumour forms
Gross morphology
What suffix do benign neoplasms end in?
-oma
What suffix do malignant neoplasms end in?
Carcinoma if epithelial
-sarcoma if stromal
What does it mean when a carcinoma is in-situ?
No invasion through epithelial basement membrane
What does it mean when a carcinoma is invasive?
Penetrated through basement membrane
What is leukaemia?
Malignant neoplasm of blood-forming cells arising in bone marrow
What are lymphomas?
Malignant neoplasms of lymphocytes
What is myeloma?
Malignant neoplasm of plasma cells
What do germ cell neoplasms arise from?
Pluripotent cells, mainly in testis or ovary