Neoplasia I

Question 1

What is cancer?

Answer 1

Uncontrolled cell proliferation and growth that can invade other tissues

Cancer cells must evade death and promote survival & growth

Question 2

What is a tumour?

Answer 2

Swelling that can be benign/malignant, perhaps inflammatory or even caused by a foreign body

Question 3

What is a neoplasm?

Answer 3

NEW growth that is not in response to a stimulus

Can be benign/pre-malignant/malignant

Question 4

Locations of neoplasia occurrence?

Answer 4

Any part of body

Only exception not reporter to have undergone neoplastic change is eye lens

Question 5

Malignant definition?

Answer 5

Metastatic potential

Question 6

Metastases definition?

Answer 6

Spread to other sites

Question 7

Epithelium definition and clinical significance for cancer?

Answer 7

Cells sitting on basement membrane.

When cells breach basement membrane, considered to be malignant

Question 8

What is dysplasia?

Answer 8

Disordered growth of EXISTING TISSUE due to abnormal cells that grow even without a stimulus

Dysplasia is often graded (low grade being most normal and high grade being most abnormal/closest to becoming cancerous

Question 9

Why is dysplasia an important concept in screening programmes?

Answer 9

Forms the basis of smears, etc as it is the detection of disordered growth in cervix
Aim is to catch dysplasia before it becomes cancer

Question 10

What is CIS?

Answer 10

Carcinoma in-situ:
Dysplasia affecting whole of epithelium (applies to all non-glandular epithelium and also glandular epithelium)

LAST stage before becoming invasive

E.g: bladder has transitional epithelium that changes to squamous epithelium

Question 11

What is metaplasia?

Answer 11

Changes from one type of mature epithelium to another form, that usually occurs in response to injurious stimuli

Question 12

Metaplasia examples?

Answer 12

Barrett’s oesophagus - squamous epithelium cope cope well with frictional & heat but not well with gastric acid from reflux, so cells change into glandular mucin-secreting cells

Smoking changes columnar epithelium of lungs to squamous epithelium

Bladder changes from transitional epithelium to squamous, in response to a catheter which creates inflammation

Question 13

Clinical significance of metaplasia?

Answer 13

Metaplastic epithelium is at RISK of undergoing MALIGNANT CHANGE (not all become cancer, e.g: heartburn is common, Barrett’s less so and cancer not even as much)

Epithelium is changing and constantly damaged, thus inherently stable

Question 14

What is hyperplasia?

Answer 14

Growth of cells in response to stimulus but cells can become AUTONOMOUS and no longer require a stimuli (hyperplasia sites are associated with cancer)

Question 15

Why are obese individuals at increased risk of certain cancers?

Answer 15

Basic steroid hormone structures is shared by cholesterol

E.g: endometrial cancer. Cholesterol has similar structure to oestrogen. Endometrial cells eventually become autonomous in response to continued stimulus

Question 16

Common male cancers?

Answer 16

Prostate
Lung
Bowel
Bladder
Lymphoma
Skin
Kidney

Question 17

Killer cancers in men?

Answer 17

Lung 
Prostate
Bowel
Oesophagus
Pancreas

Question 18

Common female cancers?

Answer 18

Breast
Lung
Bower
Uterus
Ovarian
Skin

Question 19

Killer cancer in women?

Answer 19

Lung
Breast
Bowel
Pancreas
Ovarian
Oesophagus

Question 20

Causes of cancer?

Answer 20

For rare tumours, thus may be easily answered (like a single gene fault)
For common tumours, unlikely that only one factor is involved

Question 21

Carcinogenic agents?

Answer 21

Genes
Smoking
Alcohol
UV radiation + other radiation
Drugs
Infection
Obesity

Question 22

4 main groups involved with cancer?

Answer 22

Oncogenes - promote growth
Tumour Supressors - cancer cells turn off inhibition by these genes to grow
Spell Checkers - like p53
Evade apoptosis (programmed cell death)