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biology of cancer Flashcards

(72 cards)

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1
Q

what is the most common form of cancer?

A

breast cancer

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2
Q

define cancer

A

an abnormal growth of cells which tend to multiply in an uncontrolled way and in some case tend to metastasise

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3
Q

define tumour

A

an abnormal mass of tissue which grows in an uncontrolled and uncoordinated manner

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4
Q

define neoplasia

A

formation of new, abnormal growth of tissue

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5
Q

is neoplasia reversible?

A

no

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6
Q

define mutation

A

abnormal change in a gene

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7
Q

define oncology

A

study of tumours or neoplasia

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8
Q

define benign

A

tumours which grow locally and do not invade nearby tissue

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9
Q

what pathways can tumours invade nearby tissues via

A

through the basement membrane or lymphatic system

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10
Q

define malignant

A

tumours which invade nearby tissues and metastasise

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11
Q

define metastasis

A

spread of cancer cells from the primary tumour to distant organs to develop a secondary tumour

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12
Q

what is a primary tumour?

A

where the tumour has originated

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13
Q

what is carcinogenesis?

A

multistep process of transformation from a normal cell to a cancerous cell

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14
Q

define carcinogen

A

an agent that induces changes to a cell population to cause cancer

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15
Q

define carcinoma

A

cancer arising from the epithelium of the skin or internal organs

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16
Q

what are the most common carcinomas?

A

breast
prostate
lung

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17
Q

define differentiation

A

the process by which a cell develops or matures which allows it to perform a specific function

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18
Q

how many types of cancers are there?

A

over 200

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19
Q

what is meant by a ‘multi-hit’ process?

A

multiple mutations are required

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20
Q

explain the physiology of cancer cells

A 
loss of regulation and control
unresponsive to inhibitory signals
avoid apoptosis
DNA repair defective
can metastasise
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21
Q

what are the six hallmarks of cancer?

A 
self-sufficiency in growth signals
insensitivity to anti-growth signals
evading apoptosis
limitless reproductive potential
sustained angiogenesis
tissue invasion and angiogenesis
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22
Q

explain what is meant by self-sufficiency in growth signals

A

autocrine signalling - cancer cells mimic the normal growth signals needed for mitosis and reduce their dependence on normal tissue microenvironment

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23
Q

how can anti-growth signals block proliferation?

A

force cells into G0

induce differentiation so they cant divide

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24
Q

define apoptosis

A

programmed cell death

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25
how do tumour cells have a limitless replication potential?
produce telemerase which maintains the telomeres
26
how do tumour cells evade apoptosis?
mutations in the genes which drive apoptosis
27
what are the most common cancers in females?
breast carcinomas leukemias brain tumours
28
what are the most common cancers in males?
prostate testicular germ cell tumours
29
how is a tumour formed?
uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells abnormal cells keep dividing get closer together to form a tumour inhibit function of healthy tissue/organ
30
define oncogene
gene that encodes protein capable of inducing cancer, activated by gain of function
31
define proto-oncogene
normal gene from which an oncogene derives
32
how do proto-oncogenes become oncogenes?
mutations
33
what is a tumour suppressor gene?
a gene that encodes proteins which slow down cell division, repairs DNA and triggers apoptosis --> cancerous when theres a loss of function
34
what are the 5 categories of proto-oncogenes?
``` growth factors growth factor receptor signal transduction proteins transcription factors pro or anti-apoptotic proteins ```
35
which genes are overexpressed in cancer?
oncogenes
36
what happens to growth factors in hyperplasia?
over-expressed not mutated
37
what growth factors are overexpressed in hyperplasia?
VEGF - vascular endothelial growth factors PDGF - platelet derived GF TGFa - transforming GF alpha
38
what does over-expression of VEGF lead to?
benign prostate cancer
39
what does over expression of PDGF lead to?
glioblastoma
40
what does over expression of TGFa lead to?
oesophagul cancer
41
what happens when growth factor receptors are overexpressed?
``` activate growth pathways uncontrolled growth survival of cells containing mutations invasion of tumour cells migration of tumour cells ```
42
what are the three growth factor receptors that can be overexpressed to cause cancer?
ErbB2 HER2 EFGR
43
what does HER2 stand for?
human epidermal growth factor
44
how are growth factor receptors over expressed?
unregulated dimerisation of the receptors and activation in the absence of growth signals
45
what type of receptors are ErbB2 and HER2?
tyrosine kinase receptors
46
what does the overexpression of HER2 cause?
invasive breast carcinoma
47
what is signal transduction?
the process by which an extracellular signalling molecule activates a membrane receptor that alters intracellular molecules and causes a response
48
name a signal transduction protein
ras
49
what does a mutation is ras cause?
formation of KRAS
50
how does KRAS cause cancer?
accumulation of GTP bound state excess growth signals to nucleus MAP kinase pathway is activated
51
what cancers does KRAS cause?
lung colorectal pancreatic
52
what are transcription factors?
proteins which bind regulatory regions on DNA to regulate transcription of genes
53
what does c-MYC do?
codes for the transcription factor Myc
54
what does Myc do?
transcription of clyclin genes regulates cell cycle progression activates cells to go into apoptosis/cell cycle
55
what does a mutation in c-MYC cause?
Burkitt's lymphoma
56
what does overexpression of c-MYC cause?
breast, colon and lung cancer
57
can c-MYC cause tumorgenesis on its own?
no | needs other mutations
58
how do cancer cells develop the ability to avoid apoptosis?
up-regulate expression of anti-apoptotic proteins | down regulate pro-apoptic proteins
59
what is bcl2?
anti-apoptotic | proto-oncogene
60
what is Bax?
pro-apoptotic | tumour suppressor gene
61
what is the cause of B-cell lymphomas?
overexpression of Bcl2 and t(14:18) translocation
62
what do tumour suppressor genes do?
block development of cancer by controlling the cell cycle and cell division and inducing apoptosis
63
what does p53 do?
cell cycle arrest DNA repair or entry to apoptotic pathway activates p21 which inhibits cyclin complexes in the G1 checkpoint
64
what does a mutation in the p53 gene do?
allows cells to progress through the cell cycle even with damaged DNA. it accumulates mutations and becomes cancerous
65
what is pRB?
retinoblastoma protein
66
what does pRB do?
stops cell cycle progression past G1 phase by inhibiting the expression of S phase genes
67
what does a mutation in pRB lead to?
retinoblastoma
68
what are caretaker genes?
responsible for DNA repair during cell cycle arrest
69
what are examples of caretaker genes?
BRCA 1 and BRCA 2
70
what cancers do mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 lead to?
familial breast and ovarian cancer
71
what do BRCA1/2 do?
repair damaged dsDNA crosslinks at the G2/M checkpoint
72
what does a mutation in BRCA1/2 cause?
DNA strand breaks --> aneuploidy

cancer (3 decks)

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