SKIN CANCER Flashcards
What is the adult human follicular skin made of?
Stratified squamous epithelium
What layer of skin is the epidermal barrier?
Stratum corneum
What is the most abundant cell in the epridermis?
Keratinocytes
What cell is important for tissue repair?
Keratinocytes
What is the normal wound healing order?
Inflammation, proliferation, maturation
What is the most common type of skin cancer?
Basal cell carcinoma
When does the skin maturation lead to a component barrier being formed?
24 weeks
What basal is most common in basal cell carcinoma?
Nodular
What cells are skin cancers found in?
Keratinocytes and melanocytes
What type of skin cancer is easy to mestastisise?
Squamous cell carcinoma
What molecular changes lead to basal cell carcinoma?
Abnormal activity of the hedgehog signalling pathway, mutations in patched 1 and SMO can cause tumour formation
Where does squamous cell carcinoma begin?
Epidermis
What is the mutation gene that causes squamous cell carcinoma?
P53 - wild type to mutant 53
How many stages of squamous cell carcinoma are there?
5 (0-4)
What is cyrosurgery used for in squamous cell carcinoma?
Freezing cancer cells in order to destroy them
What are the symptoms of melanoma?
Change in mole or patch of skin
What mutation does melanoma have?
BRAF mutation
What are the general cancer stages?
1: cancer cells look normal and growing slowly
2: cancer cells looking abnormal and growing quicker
3: cancer cells look extremely abnormal and growing rapidly
Where are melanocytes found in the human skin?
Basal layer of epidermis
What does a fine needle do?
Inserted into tissue cells with a tumour present, e.g. a patient with a tumour in their neck representing a case of melanoma
