Robbins Neoplasia pg. 1-45 Flashcards
T or F: Cancer cells are subject to Darwinian selection.
T
What does the phrase “all tumor cells are clonal” mean?
they arise from 1 cell
What are the 8 hallmarks of cancer?
- autonomous growth (don’t rely on outside growth signals)
- unregulated growth (do not respond to inhib signals)
- evade death (do not undergo apoptosis) in in conditions normal cells would
- limitless replication
- angiogenesis
- invade tissues and spread to other tissues
- reprogram metabolic pathways
- evade immune system
What is the (simplest) distinction between a malignant and a benign tumor?
benign: remain localized and can be removed surgically
Malignant: the lesion can invade and destroy adjacent structures and spread to distant site to cause death
What to malignant and benign tumors have in common? (think structure/organization)
same 2 basic components: parenchyma and stroma
What are the transformed cells in a turmor called?
parenchyma
What is the stroma? (in a tumor)
supporting, non-neoplastic cells in a tumor
What type cells can make up the stroma?
connective tissue, blood vessels, inflammatory cells (host derived ones)
What does the suffix “-oma” mean?
usually indicates a benign tumor
What are papillomas?
benign epithelial neoplasms
What shape does a papilloma take?
finger-like fronds (macro and microscopic)
What is a polyp?
benign mass that projects from a mucosal surface (macrscopic)
WHat is a benign hollow cystic mass that usually arises in the ovary?
cystadenomas
What is an adenoma?
benign epithelial tumor producing a gland pattern (diff pattern than papillomas)
What are malignant neoplasms that arise in solid mesenchymal tissues?
sarcoma
What are malignant neoplasms that arise from mesenchymal blood cells called?
leukemias and lymphomas
What are carcinomas?
malignant tumors of epithelial cells
What are carcinomas that grow in a glandular pattern?
adenocarcinomas
What are malignant squamous cell tumors called?
squamous cell carcinomas
What is divergent differentiation?
All tumors have a monoclonal origin but at some point during a tumors development it can switch types to create a mixed tumor
Ex: mixed tumor of salivary gland can have epithelial components dispersed in a fibromyxoid stroma with islands of cartilage or bone
What is another name for a mixed tumor?
pleomorphic adenoma
What type of malignant tumor contains recognizable mature or immature cells/tissues of more than one germ layer?
Teratoma
From what do teratomas originate from?
totipotential germ cells such as those present in the ovary and testies (often from more than one germ layer) * they are malignant
**Since they are totipotent in origin, the tumors often have many diff cell types in them (bone, nerve, muscle, fat, etc)
What malignancies end in “-oma”
lymphoma, melanoma, mesothelioma, and seminoma (testicular epithelium)
What is a mass of disorganized tissue indigenous to particular site?
Hamartoma (i.e. a nodule in the lung containing cartilage, bronchi, and blood vessels)
What is a congenital anomaly consisting of a heterotopic rest of cells? (i.e. organized pancreatic tissue found in the submucosa of the stomach)
Choristoma
What are the 4 fundamental features by which benign and malignant tumors can be distinguished?
- differentiation and anaplasia
- rate of growth
- local invasion
- metastasis
In what part of the tumor is differentiation and anaplasia seen?
parenchymal cells
The differentiation of tumor cells refers to …
the extent to which tumor cells resemble their normal cell counterparts.
Describe the difference in differentiation between benign and malignant parenchymal cells?
benign cells are well differentiated and closely resemble their normal counterparts
Malignant cells have a wide range of differentiation–looking similarly and vastly different from their normal counterparts
What does it mean for a neoplasm to be anaplastic?
it is composed of undifferentiated cells
If cells are anaplasic, are they more likely to be malignant or benign?
malignant
Describe the microscopic appearance of anaplastic cells.
- vary in size and shape (pleomorphic)
- extremely hyperchromatic (dark staining)
- larger nuclei (almost equal amt of nucleus to cytoplasm)
- giant cells
- variable shaped and sized nuclei
- numerous mitoses (and can br atypical)
In a neoplasm, what are giant cells?
big cells that can contain an enormous nucleus or several nuclei
T or F: The more rapidly growing and more anaplastic a tumor, the less likely it is to have specialized functional activity.
true
What is the loss in the uniformity of individual cells and their architectural orientation?
dysplasia
In what type of cells does dysplasia principally occur?
epithelial cells
T or F: Dysplasia is a type of neoplastic proliferation
F not neoplastic (can develop into neoplasia)
What is a dysplastic change involving the entire thickness of the epithelium?
carcinoma in situ
What is a pre-invasive stage of cancer?
carcinoma in situ
T or F: Mild to moderate dysplasia that does not involve the entire thickness of the epithelium can regress completely.
True: IF the inciting cause is REMOVED
In general, _____ tumors grow slowly and ____ tumors grow much faster.
benign; cancer
In general, do poorly or well differentiated malignant tumors grow faster?
poorly differentiated
A benign neoplasm does not have the capacity to …
infiltrate, invade, or metastasize to distant sites
encapsulated neoplasms are ______
benign
T or F: all benign neoplasms are encapsulated
F: they are not all encapsulated
Cancers grow by progressive …
infiltration, invasion, and penetration of the surrounding tissues
Next to metastases, _____ is the most relable feature that distinguishes malignant tumors from benign tumors.
local invasiveness