wk1 part 1 intro to cancer

Question 1

what is cancer

Answer 1

inappropriate cells

and malignancy

Question 2

what is aetiology

Answer 2

the cause of a disease and predisposition to a disease (eg: smoking is aetiological agent in cancer

Question 3

what is pathology

Answer 3

a branch of medicine that looks at abnormal changes in cells and tissues that signal that the tissue is diseased

Question 4

malignancy

Answer 4

a tumour that can invade tissues and spread to other organs (metastasising)

Question 5

neoplasm

Answer 5

abnormal uncoordinated tissue growth persisting after the withdraw of the original causal factors

Question 6

difference between tumorgenesis, oncogenesis and carcinogenisis

Answer 6

toumorgenisis: the production or formation of a tumour
oncogenesis: mechanisms of the causation of a tumour
carcinogenesis: oncogenesis of an epithelial tumour

Question 7

difference bettween benign and malignant

Answer 7

growth: benign grows slowly
morphology: benign looks like parent tissue
spread: benign doesnt invade tissues but may compress them

Question 8

nomenclature

Answer 8

• for benign the suffix oma is added
• for malignant the suffix carcinoma or sarcoma is usually added

exceptions:
- lymphoma = malignant lymphoid tissue
- leukaemia = malignant bone marrow
- melanoma = malignant melanocytes

Question 9

what is invasion

Answer 9

when an epithelial cancer spreads through the basement membrane

Question 10

sarcoma vs carcinoma

Answer 10

sarcoma: connective tissue
carcinoma: epithelial tissue

Question 11

primary vs secondary

Answer 11

the original tumour is the primary one, any ones that broke off and spread from it to other parts of the body is secondary

Question 12

dysplasia

Answer 12

/atypia/dysplastic

- departure from normal typical appearance, usually before cells become fully malignant

Question 13

anaplasia/anaplastic

Answer 13

lack of differentiated features, looks very different from parent cells, usually highly malignant

Question 14

types of differentiation

Answer 14

1: embryological, process by which tissue develops special characteristics
2. pathological, degree of morphological resemblance of a neoplasm to its parent tissue

Question 15

patterns of growth

Answer 15

fungating: forming elevated growth
stenosis: narrowing of a lumen
ulcer: full thickness defect in surface epithelium or mucosa. ulceration is when tissue is discontinuous with surrounding tissue because ulcerated tissue has died or been swept away
scirrous: of a scar like consistancy

Question 16

effects of cancers

Answer 16

lesion: any abnormality associated with injury or disease
stasis: stagnation of fluid, often due to obstruction
ischaemia: an insufficient supply of blood to an organ usually due to a blocked organ
cachexia: extreme wasting of the body often associated with malignant neoplasm

Question 17

what is epidemiology

Answer 17

pathology of populations