Oncology Flashcards
What is cancer/neoplasia?
Caused by: Genetic predisposition and viral.
Enviro, abiotic, nutirional, zenobiotic factors
Most cause:
- Inflammation, Damage to DNA, reactive oxygen species
- A cluster of molecular disturbances causing abnormal growth regulation
- Cells no longer respond to growth & differentiation stimulation & act like embryonic cells
- Cancer cells can hijack cellular support mechanisms and evade inflammation/immune defences
What are the different types of cancer?
Cell types:
- Epithelial
- Mesenchymal
- Round
Cancer types:
- Carcinoma: Malignant, arise from cell lining/glandular structures
e.g. Squamous cell carcinoma, adeno(gland)-carcnimoa (Intestinal adenocarcinoma)
- Sarcoma: Malignant, arise from connective tissue
e.g. Haemangiosarcoma, oesteosarcoma
‘oma’ without carcin/sarc is a benign tumour
EXCEPT melanoma, lymphoma
What are the differences in benign vs malignant?
Benign:
- Growth rate: Slow, may cease
- Growth manner: Expansive, well defined and encapsulated
- Effects on adjacent tissue: Often minimal, may cause pressure necrosis and anatomical deformity
- Metastasis: Not present
- Effect on host: Minimal and life threatening if in vital organ
Malignant:
- Growth rate: Rapid, rarely ceases
- Growth manner: Invasive, poorly defined, scattered
- Effects on adj. tissues: Serious, destruction of adj. normal tissues via ulceration
Metastasis: via lymphatic, haematogenous routes, transcoleomic spread
- Effects on host: Life threatening destruction and metastatic dissemination to vital organs
What are the clinical signs of cancer?
- Local: Anatomical perturbations i.e. lameness, dyspnoea, seizures, GIT obstruction
- Systemic:
- General: Wt loss, pain, malaise, inflammation
- Paraneoplastic: Hypercalcaemia, gastric ulcers, hyperviscosity, anaemia, polycythaemia, coagulopathy
- Presentation: a visible mass or sick dog/cat
What is the diagnostic approach to cancer?
Findings of interest with cytology:
- Tissue origin
- Cell type
- Malignancy markers
- Biological aggression markers
- Cellular atypia
- Predominate cytological picture (Inflam vs neoplasia)
*BIOPSY and fine needle aspirate
Describe fine needle aspiration as a tissue sampling technique
- Poke/stab vs suck/aspiration
- Cells are spread (squash or slide)
Adv: Quick, cheap, fairly sensitive
Dis: Lymph nodes difficult
Definitive diagnosis: MCT (mast cell tumour), LSA (lymphosarcoma), melanoma
Sensitivity: 66%for cytology
Methods of Biopsy?
- Trucut biopsy (Tissue core)
–> Don’t recommend
Indication: Small samples
Dis: Easy to sample non-representative area, cannot grade lesion, sensitivity equal to FNA - Incisional: piece without removing
Indication: Diagnose before planning approach or removal
Adv: Improves outcome, histological grade prior to surgery, poor prognosis leads to euthanasia (save costs)
Dis: No histo grade, no indication of metastatic potential, may seed tumour into adjacent areas - Excisional:
Indication: Low finances or lipomas, small skin tags, readily excisable and benign
Adv: Diagnostic + curative, cheaper, accurate grading, assess margins
Dis: May compromise long term prognosis, may cost money in a hopeless prognosis
Pre-op: Full physical (lymph node, lymph, co-morbidities), check thoracic radiographs and abdominal ultrasounds, explain risk and sign waiver
Post-op: Send for HP, considered malpractice if not
What is cancer grading and staging?
Grading: Histological appearance, categorised from 1-4 or low-mod-high.
Associated with biological aggression and likelihood of metastasis
Role:
- Aggression: How much tissue to remove, where it can spread to
- Prognosis: Likelihood of metastasis, recurrence, median survival time, median disease-free interval
- Treatment: If post-op chemo/radiation is required or more extensive surgery
Staging:
Refers to: Tumour (T), Node (N), and Metastasis (M)
Classed according to mass nature and extension beyond mass limits
Role:
- Local vs Systemic
- Prognosis according to stage
- Req. of multimodal approaches, LN excision or chemo/radiation
Describe the staging system?
- Primary Tumour (T):
0 – Primary neoplasia not evident
1 - <1cm, mobile
2 – 1-3cm diameter, not deeply attached
3 – 3-5cm diameter, partially fixed
4 – 5cm diameter, invading deeper structures - Regional Lymph Node (N):
0 – Palpably normal size & consistency
1 – Enlarged, firm, ipsilateral
2 – Fixed to surrounding tissues
3 – Involvement of LN beyond 1st region - Distant Metastasis (M):
0 – No evidence of Mx
1 – Single visceral Mx
2 – Multiple visceral Mx
What are paraneoplastic syndromes?
Disruption to the physiology and homeostasis that occurs systemically or distant to the tumour
Not directly related to the mass effect of the tumour
Describe how hypercalcaemia can be a sign of paraneoplastic syndrome
Role of Ca:
- Bone formation
- Muscle contraction
- SA node firing and contraction
- Glycogen metabolism
- Nerve function
- Blood clotting
Normal Range: 1.1-1.5 mM/L (ionised)
Regulation of Ca:
- Excess Ca: Thyroid glands release calintonin –> Ca falls
- Low CA: Parathyroid lands release release of PTH –> Ca rises.
Differentials for hypercalcaemia:
- Lymphoma, lymphoid leukemia, myeloma, bone metastases, anal gland adenocarcinoma
Clinical signs:
- PU/PD, renal failure, muscle weakness, coma/seizures, bradycardia, hypertension, GI signs (anorexia, vomiting, constipation)
Pathophysiology:
- Humoral: Tumours secrete PTH related peptide
e.g. Multiple myeloma, lymphoma, anal gland adenocarcinoma
- Cell Mediated: Unlikely to have marked hypercalcaemia, caused by bone metastases and oesteoclastic activity.
Describe how hypoglycaemia can be a sign of paraneoplastic syndrome
Tumours: Large hepatic tumours (Hepatoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, islet cell tumours,
Insulinoma, saliavry adenocarcinoma, leukaemia, non-islet solid tumours
- Leukaemia: Consume blood lucose
- Non islet solid tumours: Produce insulin like growth factors.
Describe how hypergammaglobulinaemia can be a sign of paraneoplastic syndrome
Tumours: Multiple myeloma, B cell lymphoma
Produces: Monoclonal gammopathy - IgG, IgA, IgM & light chains via replication
CS: Hyper-viscosity –> Bleeding, retinopathy, seizures, renal disease, heart disease
Treatment: Identify and treat underlying cause e.g. melphalan and prednisolone if multiple myeloma
AND phelbotomy and crystalloid fluids
Describe how erythrocytosis can be a sign of paraneoplastic syndrome
Renal tumours or several other tumours (Mesothelioma)
Pathogenesis: Increased erythropoietin
CS: Hyperviscosity
How does paraneoplastic syndrome cause cachezia/fever
CS: Anorexia, wt loss, impaired immunity –> Cannot be fully corrected via diet
Pathogenesis:
- Cytokines mediate effect
- Some tumours use carbs for growth
Diagnose: Alterations in carbs, fats and protein metabolism which are detectable before clinical cachexia
Treatment: Doxorubicin, arginine supplementation –> Supress tumour dose
Differences in chemotherapy from animals to humans?
- Dogs and acts do not get sick as it is palliative instead of curative, doses of chemo are lower.
Quality of life should be good if used correctly
What are the main therapeutic modalities for cancer
Surgery
Drugs i.e. chemotherapy
Radiation
What are the types of chemo?
- Systemic
- Intralesional/Intracavitary
- Neoadjuvant (before surgery)
- Adjuvant (During or post surgery)
What are the goals of chemo?
- Induce complete remission
- Delay development of drug resistance
- Minimise morbidity with treatment and disease
- Induce second remission following relapse if owner requests (‘rescue)
What are the principles of chemotherapy?
- Use single agent drugs
- Combine drugs with different MOAs
- Use drugs with different toxicities
- Use intermittent treatment schedules
- Treat big when the tumour is small
Pre-requisities: Achieve definitive diagnosis, explain to owner, understand drugs, handling
What are chemotherapy kill kinetics?
Fractional Kill: Lowered by logs. Clinical detection limit is power to 9, below is remission.
E.g. 4 logs: will reduce 10^12 to 10^8
Fast dividing cells: When tumour is small and rapidly growing
Resting tumours or terminally differentiated: Are not dividing and resistant to treatment
Normal tissues: Active dividing cells or short cycles are prone to destruction.
Phases: Induction + intensification, maintenance, rescue