Week 8 Flashcards
How many people will develop cancer in their lifetime?
1 cause of death in Canada
1 in 2
What are the most commonly diagnosed cancers?
lung and bronchus
breast
colorectal
prostate
How do cancer rates change across Canada?
incidence rates lower in Western provinces and territories
higher in the Central and Eastern provinces
How does cancer risk change with age? With sex?
males > females (though rates differ by specific type)
risk increases with age
- 90% of new cases diagnosed in Canadians 50+
How have case numbers changed over time?
increasing over time
- aging population and growing population
decreasing over time
- when controlling for age and population size
What is cancer?
abnormal, uncontrolled cellular multiplication
interruption at any phase of immune response can lead to tumour cells surviving and growing
What is an antigen-producing cell?
gather tumour antigens and mount immune system response
- activates T cells which trigger cell death and tumour cell dies
ex. macrophage, dendritic cell, B cell
What is a tumour?
aka neoplasm
mass of tissue that serves no physiological purpose
What are the 2 types of tumours?
benign = non-cancerous, only dangerous when taking up too much physical space
malignant = cancerous, capable of spreading to other tissues (metastasis)
What tissues are involved in carcinomas?
epithelial cells
What tissues are involved in sarcomas?
connective/fibrous tissues
What tissues are involved in lymphomas?
lymphocytes/lymph nodes
What tissues are involved in leukemias?
blood/bone marrow
What tissues are involved in neuroblastomas?
neuroendocrine
What tissues are involved in adenocarcinomas?
glandular tissue
What tissues are involved in hepatomas?
liver
What is a biopsy?
removal and examination of a small piece of tissue
via needle or surgery
helpful in determining stages
What is staging?
classifying the progress/extent of cancer
0 = early cancer, present only in the layer of cells where it originated
I, II, III = more extensive cancer, higher numbers indicating greater tumour size/degree tumour has spread to adjacent organs
IV = advanced cancer that has spread to another organ