Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

IMS Y1 v2 > Topic 1 - Cancer > Flashcards

Topic 1 - Cancer Flashcards

Cause and mechanism

1
Q

What is cancer?

A

A group of diseases that includes solid tumours at almost any site in the body, and leukaemias. A disease of the body’s own cells.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What causes cancer?

A

Uncontrolled division of abnormal cells in a part of the body

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What are the features of cancer at a cellular level?

A
  • uncontrolled cell division
  • change in morphology
  • dedifferentiation of cells
  • cell mitigation into adjacent and distal tissues
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What are the characteristics of cancer cells grown in lab?

A
  • Uncontrolled growth
  • Loss of contact inhibition
  • Immortal
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What are the stages of cancer development?

A
  1. Normal cells
  2. Hyperproliferative cell population
  3. Early adenoma
  4. Late adenoma
  5. Carcinoma
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What is hyperproliferation?

A

An abnormally high rate of proliferation of cells by rapid division; substantial overproliferation

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What is adenoma?

A

A benign tumour formed from glandular structures in epithelial tissue.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What are the steps of cancer development at a cellular level?

A 
Normal cells
Mutation
Proliferation 
Mutation
Rapid growth 
Tumour
Mutation
Malignant tumour
Mutation
Enters blood stream
Metastatic tumour
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What are the common genetic abnormalities?

A
  • Point mutation
  • Deletion
  • Insertion
  • Gene amplification
  • Chromosomal translocation
  • Aneuploidy
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What can point mutations result in?

A
  • A change in gene function
  • Amino acid substitution
  • Introduce a stop codon early
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What can insertions and deletions result in?

A
  • Gain or loss of one or two bases results in a shift in the reading frame of a gene transcript
  • Frameshift mutation
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What can gene amplification result in?

A

-A cell having anywhere up to 100 copies of a gene it would normally have 2 of

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What can chromosomal translocations result in?

A
  • Genes being moved to a more transcriptionally active site of the chromosome
  • Two genes being recombined into a new gene fusion
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What can aneuploidy result in?

A

-Any departure from the normal structure or number of chromosomes

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What are the two things mutations can do to genes?

A
  • Disrupt the coding sequence sufficiently to stop protein product from functioning normally
  • Make the protein more active by improving the amino acid sequence, or by allowing more copies to be made
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What does genetic instability caused by carcinogens/mutations lead to?

A

Genetic variation in populations of tumour cells for natural selection to work on

17
Q

What does mutation induction require?

A
  • Chemical modification of DNA
  • Replication of DNA
  • Resulting in misincorporation of DNA by polymerase
18
Q

What induces normal cells to divide?

A

+ve growth factors

19
Q

What prevents normal cells from dividing?

A

-ve growth factors

20
Q

What is apoptosis?

A

The death of cells which occurs as a normal and controlled part of an organism’s growth or development

21
Q

What are the characteristics of normal cells?

A
  • Induced to divide by +ve growth factors
  • Prevented from dividing by -ve growth factors
  • Finite life span
  • Self-destruct by apoptosis
  • No influence on blood vessel formation
  • Tightly joined and immobile
  • Genetically stable
22
Q

What are the hallmarks of cancer cells?

A
  • Genetic instability
  • Invasive and metastatic
  • Independent of +ve growth factors
  • Resistant to -ve growth factors
  • Immortal
  • Resistant to apoptosis
  • Angiogenic
23
Q

What is Angiogenesis?

A

The formation of new blood vessels

24
Q

What are oncogenes?

A

Mutated versions of normal genes that have a key role in promoting growth and division of cells - mutations lead to increased activity/inappropriate switching on of cell division

25
Q

What are tumour suppressor genes?

A

Genes that play a role in controlling growth/protecting cells against damage

26
Q

What can cause cancer?

A
  • Genetics

- Environmental agents (Biological, chemical and physical)

27
Q

Give two examples of rare inherited cancer syndromes?

A
  • Li Fraumeni syndrome

- Xeroderma pigmentosum

28
Q

What are some biological causes of cancer?

A
  • Hep B (liver cancer)
  • HPV (cervical cancer)
  • H. pylori (stomach cancer)
29
Q

What are some chemical causes of cancer?

A
  • Cig smoke (lung bladder etc, cancer)

- Heterocyclic amines in cooked meat (colon)

30
Q

What are some physical causes of cancer?

A
  • UV in sunlight (skin cancer)

- X-Rays/Gamma rays (radiotherapy related leukaemia)

31
Q

What are carcinogens?

A

Agents that induce cancer:

  • Any agent that significantly increases risk
  • Often genotoxic
32
Q

How do we show that a chemical is carcinogenic?

A
  • Animal tests
  • In vitro tests
  • Epidemiological studies
33
Q

What is a case control study?

A

Compares disease groups with matched control groups to look for factors more common in people with the disease

34
Q

What are prospective studies?

A

Follow a population over time to confirm that the disease is linked to the suspected cause

35
Q

What is a cohort study?

A

Healthy people are recruited and followed over time. Data collected about exposure is later used to establish whether there is an association between exposure and disease

36
Q

What is an example of a carcinogen found in tobacco smoke?

A

Benzo[a]pyrene - binds to deoxyguanosine to form a DNA adduct. Adduct leads to increased chance of mutation

37
Q

What is one form of DNA damaged caused by exposure of skin to UV?

A

Thymine dimer - the input of energy from the UV light causes the formation of covalent bonds between adjacent thymine molecules

IMS Y1 v2 (14 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions