28) Treatment of Cancer Flashcards
(40 cards)
1) Cancer definition
disease in which control of growth is lost in one or more cells leading to solid mass of cells known as a tumour
growing (primary) tumour often becomes life-threatening by obstructing vessels and/or organs
death most often caused by spread of primary tumour to one or more other sites in the body (i.e metastasis) making surgical intervention impossible
other types of cancers such as leukaemias involve a build up of white blood cells in the blood
2) Naming of cancers
in relation to the type of tissue they arise from
3) Tumour definition
also called a neoplasm
an abnormal tissue mass or growth which results from neoplasia
neoplasia is a state in which control mechanisms governing cell growth become deficient leading to cell proliferation
4) Sarcoma definition
tumours occurring in mesodermal tissue which includes connective tissue, bone and msucle
5) Osteosarcoma definition
bone cancer
6) Carcinoma definition
tumours of the epithelial cell tissues such as mucous membranes and glands (including cancers of the breast, ovary and lung)
7) Blastoma definition
cancers of the blood or haemopoietic tissue
these can involve lymphoid, erythroid or myeloid cells which generally fall into the sarcoma category
8) Leukaemias definition
originate in leukocytes and may be myeloid, lymphatic or monocytic
in addition these particular cancer types may be described as chronic or acute
9) Myelomas definition
refer to bone marrow cell tumours
in multiple myeloma a clone of plasma cells is involved
10) Primary polycythaemia definition
neoplasia of erythroid cells
11) Lymphosarcoma definition
cancer of lymphoid cells
12) Hodgkin’s disease definition
example of a lymph adenoma
13) Histology of cancer cells
irregular nuclear border
nucleus that engrosses most of the cell
14) Growth pattern of tumour cells
in early stages of tumour growth, cancer cells look like the original cells from which they derive
later lose appearance and function of these tissues
requires only a slow increase in the rate of proliferation to gradually outgrow normally controlled cellular populations
15) Stages involved in the formation and progression of solid tumours
transformation of normal cell into cancer cell (primary tumour)
metastasis-cells break off and move around body
cancer cell- grows into secondary tumour
16) Metastases definition
ability of solid tumours to spread to new sites in the body thus establishing secondary cancerous growths
tumour cells may easily penetrate the walls of lymphatic vessels and distribute tot eh draining lymph nodes and hence move to distant sites
can also invade blood vessels directly since capillaries have weak thin walls that offer little resistance
may also spread across body cavities from one organ to another, e.g ovary to stomach
most patients die of cancer due to metastatic spread to vital organs
both primary and secondary tumours not only expand in size but also infiltrate surrounding tissue
when nerve endings are affected then pain and discomfort is experienced
17) Importance of early diagnosis in cancer
at point of diagnosis, curative surgical or radiological treatment only possible if metastasis of primary tumour has not occurred
early diagnosis essential as about 50% of malignant tumours have already metastasised prior to diagnosis so the condition is often beyond reach of curative surgery or radiotherapy alone
in these cases systemic chemotherapy can reduce risk of further formation and growth of secondary tumours
18) Screening of cancer
highly sensitive analytical techniques to detect tumour markers (e.g. proteins or glycoproteins) in easily obtain body fluids such as blood, urine and saliva and are likely to revolutionise early diagnosis
19) Possible causes of cancer
exposure to ever increasing number of chemicals (carcinogens) in the environment
diet may also be significant contributing factor
occupation factors, life-style and diet
genetic predisposition is also a factor in some types of disease
20) Challenges of treating cancer
more than 200 different diseases
late diagnosis
metastasis
tumour cells evolve to become more aggressive and therefore very similar to healthy cells
most drug targets are also present in healthy cells (unlike bacterial cells)
21) Hallmarks of cancer
small number of molecular, biochemical and cellular traits shared by most and perhaps all types of human cancers
22) Rareness of cancer cells during human lifetime
multiplicity of defences
23) Characteristic hallmarks of tumour cancer cells
evading growth suppressors
avoiding immune destruction
enabling replicative immortality
tumour promoting inflammation
activating invasion and metastases
inducing angiogenesis
genome instability and mutation
resisting cell death
deregulating cellular energetics
sustaining proliferative signalling
24) Mechanisms of genomic damage
internal factors
external factors
hereditary factors
