Test 1 Flashcards
Three characteristics of neoplasia
Monoclonal, autonomous, irreversible
What is a teratoma?
Tumor containing cells from more than one germ layer
Difference between teratoma vs mixed tumor?
Teratoma - multiple germ layers (usu. gonads - req. completely naive pluripotent stem cell?)
Mixed tumor - one germ layer, more than one cell type (ex. salivary tumor with epithelial and myoepithelial cells). All teratomas are mixed tumors but not all mixed tumors are teratomas
Pathways of tumor dissemination (metastasis)
(1) Seeding within body cavities (think abdominal - ovarian)
(2) Lymphatic spread (think carcinoma)
(3) Hematogenous spread (think sarcoma)
“Big 3” (well, 4) most common and deadly cancers, epidemiologically speaking
Lung/bronchial ; breast ; prostate ; colorectal
PCB exposure is a risk factor for what CA?
Lung
Asbestos exposure is a risk factor for what CA?
Mesothelioma, bronchogenic carcinoma
Aromatic amines and azo dye exposure are risk factors for what CA?
Bladder
Most common adult cancer
Carcinoma
Most common peds cancers (2)
Leukemia ; CNS (brain)
Name two autosomal dominant cancer syndromes
Familial adenomatous polyps of colon (fapc)
Retinoblastoma
Name “the” autosomal recessive defective DNA repair syndrome often associated with CA
Xeroderma pigmentosum
Name the four classes of regulatory genes that are key targets of cell damage
Proto-oncogenes
Tumor suppressor genes
Genes regulating apoptosis
Genes involved in DNA repair
Are proto-oncogene mutations dominant or recessive?
Dominant (only requires one for altered activity)
Are tumor-suppresor mutations dominant or recessive?
Recessive (requires 2 for altered activity)
Differentiate between BAX/BAK/BCL-2/BCL-XL
These are all proteins/gene products in the BCL family. BAX/BAK are pro-apoptotic and BCL-2/BCL-XL are anti-apoptotic.
Name six hallmarks of cancer
(1) evade apoptosis
(2) lose reliance on extracellular growth signals
(3) lose sensitivity to anti-growth signals
(4) invade and metastasize
(5) replicate without limit
(6) initiate and sustain angiogenesis
Vinyl chloride is a risk factor for what CA?
Angiosarcoma of liver
Nitrosamine (smoked foods) is a risk factor for what CA?
Gastric CA
Arsenic is a risk factor for what CA?
Squamous cell carcinoma (skin)
Napthalene (aniline) dye is a risk factor for what CA?
Urothelial carcinoma
Aflatoxin B
Hepatocellular carcinoma
Mechanism of carcinogenesis and associated CA:
ionizing radiation
chromosome breakage, point mutations, translocations
associated with papillary carcinoma of the thyroid
Mechanism of carcinogenesis and associated CA:
UV light
formation of pyrimidine dimers (normally repaired by nucleotide excision pathway)
squamous cell, basal cell carcinoma (skin); melanoma
Characteristics of radiation carcinogenesis (3)
Long latent period
Damage is additive
Damage is irreversible
Human T Cell Lymphotrophic Virus (HTLV-1) is a risk factor for what CA?
T cell leukemia/lymphoma (T cell proliferation [polyclonal] by autocrine and paracrine pathways mediated by TAX gene. TAX also neutralizes p53 and p16 genes to decrease growth inhibitory signals. Then, all it takes is another couple mutations of one of the cell lines
Human papilloma virus (HPV) is a risk factor for what CA?
Cervical CA (also benign warts)
Epstein Barr Virus (EBV) is a risk factor for what CA?
Burkitt lymphoma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma
Hep B/C is a risk factor for what CA?
Hepatocellular carcinoma
H. pylori is a risk factor for what CA?
Gastric adenocarcinoma, MALT lymphoma
What is the major immune cell of CA defense?
Cytotoxic (CD8) T cells
Describe the potential dual role of macrophages in the tumor milieu
May attack the tumor under the right circumstances, but also may secrete growth factors that stimulate tumor growth
Name a couple common paraneoplastic syndromes
Cushing’s syndrome with small cell lung cancer
PTH like hormone (hypercalcemia?) with breast CA
Acanthosis nigrans in gastric, lung, uterine carcinoma
Differentiate between grading and staging of cancer
Grading attempts to estimate the aggressiveness of the tumor based on cytologic differentiation; really only “important” in prostate CA and chondrosarcoma. Staging attempts to do the same based on more global characteristics of the lesion and is generally more clinically helpful.
What is staging of CA based on?
Size, extent of spread to lymph nodes, and metastasis
What is the primary utility of detecting tumor associated markers (and give two examples)?
Detecting recurrence
Alpha-fetoprotein [Liver carcinoma, gonadal tumors, tumors of yolk sac remnanats]
Carcinoembryonic antigen [Colon, pancreas, lung, breast, stomach]
