Pathology Flashcards
What is cancer
uncontrolled cell proliferation and growth that can invade other tissues
What is a tumour
swelling, can be benign or malignant (could even be inflammatory or a foreign body
What is neoplasia
new growth thich is not in response to a stimulus
can be benign, premalignant, or malignant
can occur in any cell in any organ
What is hyperplasia
more cells
What is hypertrophy
cells get bigger
What is metastatic potential
Can spread to other sites (metastases)
Where does malignancy go in epithelium
beyond the basement membrane (access to blood vessels, lymph nodes etc.)
What is dysplasia
abnormal cells growing without a stimulus
Is there invasion with dysplasia
no
Tell me about the nucleic to cytoplasm ratio in dysplasia
High nucleic to cytoplasm ratio
What is carcinoma in situ (CIS)
Dysplasia affecting the whole epithelium
Last stage before becoming malignant
What is metaplasia
reversible change from one mature cell type to another mature cell type due to a change in the demand placed on the tissue
Where does metaplasia occur often
skin and stomach
Tell me about the origin site of metaplasia
often cell or origin is uncertain
Tell me about the double hit hypothesis
One working gene is enough
One faulty gene puts person at increased risk
Two faulty mutated genes will result in a functional problem
What is a carcinogen
Consistently cause mutations
should cause the same mutation and therefore predispose to the same type of cancers
What does an initiator do
cause long lasting genetic damage, not sufficient to cause cancer
must be followed by a promoter
What do promoters do
require initiators to have caused damage
time period can vary after initiation
