Cancer - Lecture 25 Flashcards
What was the leading cause of death in 2007?
Cancer; it surpassed cardiovascular disease
Most three common diseases in Canada
1) Heart Disease
2) Diabetes
3) Cancer
Rates of Lung Cancer
On the decline because smoking rates down
What is cancer?
Out of control growth of cells spreading into new areas of the body
What percentages of cancers are preventable and how?
50% of cancers are preventable through change in lifestyle
What’s different about these new cells that are growing?
No longer behave like the original host cell.
Malignant?
Cancerous cells
Benign
Non-cancerous cells
Characteristics of Benign Tumours
Slow growing; non-invading cells
Characteristics of Malignant Tumours
Grow fast or slow; spread to other organs and tissues
Metastasese?
Spreading of the cancer cells
Can Benign Tumours Metastasize?
No; they stay in their own capsule. If it spreads it’s cancer.
The medical term for cancer
Malignant Neoplasm
Malignant Neoplasm?
Growth and spread of abnormal cells that don’t look like regular cells.
How is the type of cancer named?
Cancer is named based on where the neoplasm (abnormal cancerous cells) originated from not where it spread to.
Most common cancers that metastasize?
Lung, colorectal, breast and prostate.
What is Hyperplasia?
Growth of cells in localized area. Not yet considered cancer, but it’s caused by mutation.
What is Mutation?
When something goes wrong when cells replicate
What is Atypical Hyperplasia?
Very unusual hyperplasia; a second mutation
Point Mutation?
A certain trigger for that mutation; smoking, drinking, etc.
Does Atypical Hyperplasia mean cancer?
Not yet cancer, but pretty close.
Carcinoma
Basically another term for saying cancer under the microscope
Carcinoma in Situ?
Cells are contained; no longer look like host cell and can become cancerous.
Can you do anything at the carcinoma in situ stage?
Because cells are growing inward there’s an opportunity to cut the abnormal cells out.
