Cancer Study Guide PDF

Cancer Cancer: cells dividing abnormally and at an abnormal rate, can invade other tissues ​ As cells continue to reproduce without need, it deprives other tissues of nutrition Neoplasia: uncontrolled abnormal growth of cells/tissues in the body (neoplasms) Growth dysregulation causes: ​ Genet...

Cancer Cancer: cells dividing abnormally and at an abnormal rate, can invade other tissues ​ As cells continue to reproduce without need, it deprives other tissues of nutrition Neoplasia: uncontrolled abnormal growth of cells/tissues in the body (neoplasms) Growth dysregulation causes: ​ Genetic: DNA mutation ​ Heritable: Darwin selection Benign ​ Noncancerous ​ -oma ​ Differentiated (similar to normal) ​ Encapsulated ​ Slow Growing ​ Remained Localized ​ Not life threatening (usually) Malignant ​ Cancerous ​ -carcinoma ​ -sarcoma ​ Specific Names to Know ○​ Melanoma ○​ Hepatoma ○​ Hodgkin’s Lymphoma ○​ Wilm’s Tumor ○​ Ewing Sarcoma ​ Undifferentiated ​ Mitosis is increased and atypical ​ No capsule ​ Metastasis (travels to other tissues) Anaplasia: Loss of mature/specialized features of cell/tissue, CANCEROUS Carcinoma in situ: early stage cancer, preinvasive epithelial tumors, 3 outcomes ​ Remain stable ​ Progress ​ Regress Proto-oncogenes: normal cell proliferation genes Oncogenes: mutated proto-oncogenes/cancerous Genetic/Molecular Mechanisms of Cancer: ​ Proto-oncogenes activated, creating hypergrowth (oncogenes) ​ Mutation of genes that inhibit growth (tumor suppressors)  ​ Mutation of genes overexpress products preventing apoptosis Tumor Suppressor Gene: stops cell division, inhibits proliferation, prevents mutations Governors: stop growth ​ RB gene: Mutation of this gene removes breaks on cell division leading to uncontrolled growth Guardians: damage the growth (cessation) ​ P53 ​ BRCA-1 (chromosome 17) ​ BRCA-2 (chromosome 13) ​ Mutation of these genes results in the inability to damage growth, leading to uncontrolled cell growth Replicative Immortality Telomeres: normally present, prevents cell from being immortal, shrinks with every division Telomerase: not normally present, restores/maintains telomeres, 90% of cancer Angiogenesis: growth of new blood vessel Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor(VEGF): cancerous tumors secrete to gain nutrients from blood vessels Warburg Effect: cancerous cells using aerobic glycolysis Reverse Warburg Effect: the cancerous cells causing other cells to use aerobic glycolysis to supply the cancer cells with lactate/metabolites for cell growth Chronic Inflammation: important factor for cancer ​ Hepititis B/C: primary hepatocellular carcinoma ​ Epstein-Barr: Bursitis Lymphoma ​ HIV/AIDS: Kaposisarcoma herpesvirus ​ HPV: cervical cancer ​ Helicobacter pylori: gastric carcinoma ​ Reflux Disease: adenocarcinoma of lower esophagus Local spread: will happen pre-metastasis, direct invasion of contiguous organs Metastasis: spread from site of origin to a distant site( through blood/lymph) Cancer Manifestations cachexia/wasting away, pain, obstruction, necrosis/ulcers, anemia, severe fatigue, effusions, infections, bleeding Tests Routine screenings (early detection), blood test (tumor markers/AFP=liver, PSA=prostate), biopsy (immunohistochemistry) TNM Universal language ​ T = tumor spread ○​ T0 = organ free of tumor ○​ T1 = lesions under 2 cm ○​ T2 = lesions 2 to 5 cm ○​ T3 = lesions greater than 5 cm ​ N = nodes ○​ N0 = none ○​ N1-3 = involvement of regional nodes ​ M = metastasis ○​ M0 = none ○​ M1 = present Grading “How bad do the cells look”, histology, from slow growing to aggressive ​ 1 = well differentiated/like normal tissue ​ 2 = moderately differentiated ​ 3 = poorly differentiated/disorganised, aggressive ​ 4 = anaplastic, undifferentiated Staging Where it has spread ​ 1 = non, confined ​ 2 = local invasion ​ 3 = spread to regional structures ​ 4 = distant metastasis ​ Staging is use to understand how serious the disease is In situ: abnormal cells present Localized: contained to where it started Regional: spread to nearby tissue Distant: metastasis, spread to distant parts of the body Unknown: not enough info Therapy Surgery, chemotherapy (drugs to kill cancer cells), radiation (kill cancer/shrink tumor size), hormone (slow/stop cell growth), targeted (target mechanisms related to cancer), immunotherapy (increase immune system to fight cancer), stem cell (restore destroyed cells) Epidemiology/Risk Factors Prevalence: percentage of those with the disease at a given time Incidence: number of new cases in specific time period Morbidity: having signs/symptoms Mortality: number of deaths due to disease Sensitivity: correctly identified with disease Specificity: correctly identified without the disease Top 3 Cancer Diagnoses ​ Female ○​ Breast ○​ Lung ○​ Colorectal ​ Male ○​ Prostate ○​ Lung ○​ Colorectal Top 3 Cancer Deaths ​ Female ○​ Lungs ○​ Breast ○​ Colorectal ​ Male ○​ Lungs ○​ Prostate ○​ Colorectal Lifestyle factors: alcohol, sun exposure, viruses, tobacco, nutrition Cancer effect on fat: lipolysis, fat supports cancer growth and metastasis