Nomenclarue/histology of cancer Flashcards
What is Neoplasm and its characteristics
Another word for tumor; abnormal growth of tissue that can be benign or malignant
Neo= new; plasm= tissue
Characteristics:
- Derived from cells with a capacity to proliferate
- Stimuli responsible for uncontrolled proliferation may not be identifiable
- Involvement of gene regulation cell growth, death or repair (ex. P53)
- Involement of epigenetic factors (DNA)
- May express varying degrees of differentiation
What is a benign tumor and its characteristics
It usually grows slowly and it doesn’t spread
Characteristics:
- No invation in adjacent tissue
- No metastasis
- Differentiated cells so they look like the cells of the tumor they’re in; they resemble tissue of origin
- No infiltration in surrounding tissue (no metastase)
- Usually no fatal outcome; however it can be fatal depending on the anatomical position (ex. brain tumor) or express hormone production (ex pancreas tumor)
Benign doesn’t mean it’s better than malignant, however they are in CLUMBS so doctor can scoop them out easily, so they disappear after resection
What is a malignant tumor and its characteristics
Grow rapidly and invades other part of the body (metastasis)
Characteristics:
- Ability to invade in adjacent tissue
- Ability to metastatize (invade other tissue)
- Low differentiated cells so they donot look like the cells of the tissue they’re in; they donot resemble tissue of origin
- Can regrow after resection
What are the hallmarks of cancer
Substaining proliferative signaling
Evading growth suppressors
Nonmutational epigenetic reprogramming
Avoiding immune destruction
Enabling replicative immortality
Tumor-promoting inflammation
Polymorphic microbiomes
Activating invation and metastasis
Inducing or accessing vasculature
Senescent cells
Genome instability and mutation
Resisting cell death
Deregulating cellular metabolism
Unlocking phenotypic plasticity
What can you look for when there is a suspection of cancer?
- High degree of cellular atypia (anaplasia)
1. Variation in size/shape of cell (nuclei) (plemorphism)
2. Enlarged and hyperchromatic nuclei (clumped chromatin, prominent nucleoli)
3. Atypical mitosis
4. Bizarre cells (giant cells) - High mitotic activity
- Disorganized growth pattern and often comprimised blood supply
- Incasion into surrounding tissue
- Metastasis
What are the basic components of tumors (benign and malignant)
- Parenchyma (transformed-/neoplastic cells) what determines the behaviour of the tumor
- Host derived non-neoplastic stroma (connective tissue, blood vessels and inflammatory cells) what are crucial for the growth of the neoplasma
What do you take to account when naming a tumor
- Location where the cancer originated; even when metastasized to other parts of the body
- Hostological tissue type affected
What are -oma tumors?
Benign from Mesenchymal origin
What are -sarcoma tumors?
Malignant from Mesenchymal origin
What are papilloma tumors?
Benign from epithelial surface origin
What are (squamous cell) carcinoma tumors?
Malignant from epithelial surface epithelium origin
What are adenoma tumors?
Benign from epithelial glandular epithelium origin
What are adenocarcinoma tumors?
Malignant from epithelial glandular epithelium origin
What are leukemias?
Malignant neoplasm of hematopoietic cells (lymphoid/myeloid; bloodcells) (exceptions)
What are lympOMA’s?
Malignant neoplasm of lymphoid cells/tissue (exceptions)
What are gliOMA’s?
Malignant tumor derived from non neural supporting braintumor (exceptions)
What are melanOMA’s?
Malignant tumor from the skincells (melanocytes) (exceptions)
How is the benign tumor of connective tissue called?
Fibroma
How is the malignant tumor of connective tissue called?
Fibrosarcoma
How is de benign tumor of adipose tissue called?
Lipoma
How is the malignant tumor of adipose tissue called?
Liposarcoma
How is the benign tumor of bone tissue called?
Osteoma
How is the malignant tumor of bone tissue called?
Osteosarcoma
How is the benign tumor of cartilage called?
Chondroma
How is the malignant tumor of cartilage called?
Chondrosarcoma
How is the benign tumor of smooth muscle tissue called?
Leiomyoma
How is the malignant tumor of smooth muscle tissue called?
Leiomyosacroma
How is the benign tumor of skeletal muscle tissue called?
Rhabdomyoma
How is the malignant tumor of skeletal muscle tissue called?
Rhabdomyosarcoma
What is the function of VEGF
VEGF is secreted by the tumor and is stimulated angiogenesis; new bloodvessel sproud out of old bloodvessels to provide the tumor with blood (oxygen) and nutrients
VEGF= vascular edothelium growth factor
Where does EMT stands for
Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition
Why are the lymph nodes and liver an easy target for tumor growth (especially secundary tumors)
They filter the body so eventually the tumor cells will end up there and colonize the era
How can a malignant tumor spread through metastasis
- Local invasion (ex. tumor extends into lung tissue)
- Lymphatic spread (ex. tumor extends along pulmonary lymphatic vessels into hilar nodes)
- Blood-borne spread (ex. tumor enters draining veins and cell enter the systemic circulation)
- Spreading through body cavities (ex. transcelomic spread; tumor migrates along pleural spread)
What does the 0-4 stages of tumor (carcinoma) tell us?
Stage 0: Abnormal cells are present, but have not spread to nearby tissue
Stage 1-3: Cancer is present. The higher the stage number, the bigger the tumor and the more it has spread in its origin tissue
Stage 4: Metastase
What does TNM mean
Tumor: Nodes (lymph): Metastases
If tumor is T3, but N0: No cancerous cells in lymphnodes, but a big tumor in tissue.
What are different techniques for cancer therapy
- Surgery (curative (cure), debulking (making tumor smaller), palliative (make the patient suffer less, not a cure)
- Radiotherapy (damaging DNA)
- Chemotherapy
- Hyperthermic Intraperioneal Chemotherapy
- Photodynamic therapy
- Targeted therapy: immunotherapy/small molecules/retargeting of tcells
- Gene therapy
- Personalised therapy
