Unit 3-Cancer Flashcards
Benign Tumor
A tumor that is localized to a specific area of the body and is not harmful.
Malignant Tumor
A tumor that is capable of spreading to surrounding tissues and organs and will cause disease.
Metastasis
The spread of malignant tumor cells from the site of the primary tumor through blood/lymph vessels.
Primary Cancer
The original organ in which a cancer is identified.
Recurrence
The return of cancer in either the primary organ or secondary organs.
Secondary Cancer
Other organs in which a cancer forms after it has undergone metastasis.
Carcinogen
An agent that is responsible for, or associated with cancer.
Leukemia
A cancer of cells of the immune system.
Mutagen
Any chemical or agent that is capable of mutating DNA sequence.
Proto-oncogene
A gene that serves a normal function in a cell, and when mutated, will become an oncogene an promote cancer in cells.
Incidence Rate
The number of people who develop the disease per 100,000 people in the population.
Risk Factor
Any agent that increases the chance that someone will develop a disease.
Explain why cancer is relevant to your age group and how you can change your lifestyle to reduce your risk of cancer.
Cancer is relevant to our age group because there are many behaviors that can increase our risk of getting cancer. Ways we can change our lifestyle to reduce our risk of getting it are not smoking, drinking alcohol, and using tanning beds to tan.
Explain what metastasis means and how is significant in cancer mortality rates.
Metastasis is the spread of malignant tumor cells from the primary tumor to other organs of the body. It is significant in mortality rates because if it does spread it
Explain what happened to Steve Jobs and if you agree or disagree with his decision to put of surgery and why.
Steve Jobs was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He refused to have surgery to remove the primary tumor, until 9 months later he had the surgery. Five years later, he had a liver transplant to remove his secondary tumors in the liver. Two years after that, he died of respiratory arrest related to tumors in his lung. He had metastasis. I disagree with his decision to put off the surgery because it could’ve possibly slow down the spread of the cancer.
List the 6 people that made significant contributions about cancer and explain their notable findings and the impacts they had on the future of cancer research.
Hippocrates- First characterized cancer
Galen of Pergamon- Classified four humors
Andreas Vesalius- Dissected the human body
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek- Visualized cells
Rudolph Virchow- Cells come from other cells
Stephen Paget- Secondary tumors prefer certain organs
Explain the differences between proto-oncogenes and tumor suppressors and how do they lead to uncontrolled cell growth (tumors)
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Define the term carcinogen and explain how carcinogens can act directly or indirectly to mutate DNA
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How does the AMES test work and how does it identify carcinogens in foods?
The Ames test
Explain the differences between survival rate, incidence rate, and age-adjusted mortality rate in the context of cancer statistics.
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Explain how population statistics can be used to calculate risk factors for cancer
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