Week 4- Cancer

Question 1

Define tumor

Answer 1

Any kind of mass forming lesion

Question 2

Define neoplasm

Answer 2

Autonomous growth of tissue that has escaped the constraints of normal cell proliferation

Question 3

Define benign

Answer 3

Remains localized

Question 4

Define malignant

Answer 4

Invades locally or at distant sites

Question 5

How can cancers be defined- use technical vocabulary

Answer 5

As malignant neoplasms

Question 6

Which cancer doesn’t metastasise?

Answer 6

Basal cell carcinoma

Question 7

What are harmatomas?

Answer 7

Localized benign overgrowth of mature cell types

Question 8

What is hetertopia?

Answer 8

Normal tissue that’s growing in the wrong place

Question 9

How are neoplasms classified?

Answer 9

Primary: cell of origin
Secondary: benign or malignant

Question 10

What suffix indicates benign?

Answer 10

Oma

Question 11

What suffix indicates malignant?

Answer 11

Sarcoma or carcinoma

Question 12

What are cartiledge tumors called?

Answer 12

Chondromas or chondrosarcomas

Question 13

What type of connective tissue neoplasms are there?

Answer 13

Smooth muscle (leiomyoma or meiomyosarcoma) or bone (osteoma or osteosarcoma)

Question 14

What types of epithelial neoplasms are there?

Answer 14

Squamous (squamous epithelioma or squamous cell carcinoma)
Glandular (adenoma, adenosarcoma)
Transitional (trasitional papilloma, transitional sarcoma)

Question 15

What types of haematological neoplasms are there?

Answer 15

Lymphocytes: benign is v uncommon, malignant is called lymphoma
Marrow: benign is v uncommon, malignant is leukaemia (acute lymphoblastic or chronic myeloid)

Question 16

What are the 2 types of leukaemia?

Answer 16

Chronic myeloid

Acute lymphoblastic

Question 17

What are teratomas?

Answer 17

Cancers arising from germ cells

Question 18

What is the difference between dysplasia and cancers?

Answer 18

Dysplasia is not invasive

Question 19

What 4 cancers are exceptions and are malignant even though they have the suffix ‘oma’?

Answer 19

Lymphoma, melanoma, hepatoma, teratoma

Question 20

What are key differences to look for in benign vs malignant tumors?

Answer 20

Metastases: malignant cells all have the ability to metastasize
Invasion: is there direct invasion to adjacent cells?
Differentiation: how similar are the tumor cells to the cells they arose from
Growth pattern: how similar is the architecture of the tumor to the tissue it arose from?

Question 21

How may tumor cells look different to normal cells?

Answer 21

They often have larger nuclei and more mitoses

Question 22

What are the routes by which neoplasms spread?

Answer 22

Heamatogenous: blood vessels (usually capillaries and veins as they have thin walls)
Perineural: via nerves
Transcoelomic: via body cavity (pleural and peritoneal)
Direct extension

Question 23

How is tumor spread described?

Answer 23

Tumor size (0-3)
Lymph nodes involved (0-2)
Metastases (0-1/X)

Question 24

What is the difference between grade and stage when describing the tumor? Which is more important?

Answer 24

Grade: how differentiated the tumor is
Stage: how far the tumor has spread

Stage is more important