Pathology 10 and 11 - Neoplasia 4 and 5 Flashcards
What are the 4 main points that pathologists want to find out from a cancer resection?
Is it out?What is it?How far has it gone?How bad is it? (how malignant is it behaving)
What does the presence of a capsule around a neoplasia indicate?
It is slow growing - slow growing usually = benign (the body has tried to fence it off from surrounding tissue)
Are malignant tumours normally homogenous or heterogenous?
Heterogenous - different areas of the tumour look different
What is the N:C ratio?
Nuclear: cytoplasmic ratioA ratio of the size of the nucleus compared to the cytoplasm
N:C ratio in cancer?
High
What type of cells do cells originate from?
stem cells (cells then receive various signals to mature into a specific cell type with a specific function - they differentiate)
Poorly differentiated cells?
Difficult to tell what the cell of origin is
What does hyperchromasia mean?
Increased pigment - increased staining capacity - usually highly active cells
What are the main groups of cells that cancer forms in? (4)
EpithelialMesenchymal (connective tissue)Haematopoietic (cells that circulate blood)Others - melanocytic, brain (glial)
What tissues do carcinomas affect
Epithelium
Benign tumour of glandular epithelium?
Adenoma
Cancerous tumour of glandular epithelium?
Adenocarcinoma
Benign tumour of squamous epithelium?
Papilloma
Malignant tumour of squamous epithelium?
Squamous cell carcinoma
Malignant tumour of bladder?
Transitional cell carcinoma - sometimes called urothelial cell carcinoma
What is mesenchymal tissue?
Connective tissues e.g. bone, cartilage, peripheral nerves, fat, fibrous tissue, smooth muscle, skeletal muscle, etc.
What are mesenchymal malignancies called?
Sarcomas
Benign tumour of fat?
Lipoma
Malignant tumour of fat?
Liposarcoma (e.g. retroperitoneum, testicular - rare)