Cancer Support - what is cancer?

Question 1

What is cancer?

Answer 1

Uncontrolled division of abnormal cells that can invade and spread (metastasise) to other body areas.

Question 2

What are the four most common cancers?

Answer 2

Breast, lung, prostate, and colorectal.

Question 3

What is a carcinoma?

Answer 3

A cancer arising from epithelial tissue.

Question 4

What is a sarcoma?

Answer 4

A cancer arising from connective tissues.

Question 5

What is a lymphoma?

Answer 5

A cancer of the lymphatic system.

Question 6

What is a myeloma?

Answer 6

A cancer of plasma cells in bone marrow.

Question 7

What is a leukaemia?

Answer 7

A cancer of blood-forming tissues, like the bone marrow.

Question 8

What is the lifetime risk of cancer for people born after 1960?

Answer 8

1 in 2.

Question 9

How many people die from cancer annually?

Answer 9

10 million.

Question 10

What proportion of global deaths does cancer account for?

Answer 10

1 in 6.

Question 11

What is the second leading cause of death in developed countries?

Answer 11

Cancer (after cardiovascular disease).

Question 12

Name three key traits of cancer cells.

Answer 12

Evasion of apoptosis, limitless replication, sustained angiogenesis.

Question 13

What is apoptosis?

Answer 13

Programmed cell death.

Question 14

What is angiogenesis?

Answer 14

Formation of new blood vessels.

Question 15

What is the Warburg effect?

Answer 15

Reprogrammed energy metabolism in cancer cells.

Question 16

What is the fundamental trait of malignancy?

Answer 16

Invasiveness.

Question 17

How do cancer cells invade other tissues?

Answer 17

Via lymphatics, blood vessels, or trans-coelomic spread.

Question 18

What role do cadherin molecules play in cancer?

Answer 18

Reduced cadherin leads to decreased cell adhesion and increased invasiveness.

Question 19

What helps cancer cells break down connective tissue barriers?

Answer 19

Proteolytic enzymes.

Question 20

What does Stage 0 cancer mean?

Answer 20

Carcinoma in situ; no spread to nearby tissue.

Question 21

At what stage has cancer spread to other organs?

Answer 21

Stage IV.

Question 22

What are oncogenes?

Answer 22

Mutated proto-oncogenes that cause uncontrolled cell growth.

Question 23

What do tumour suppressor genes do?

Answer 23

Regulate cell division or trigger apoptosis.

Question 24

What happens when tumour suppressor genes mutate?

Answer 24

They lose control over cell growth.

Question 25

What do DNA repair genes do?

Answer 25

Fix replication errors or induce apoptosis if errors are severe.

Question 26

What is the clinical approach to cancer pathogenesis?

Answer 26

Identify and reduce risk factors (cancer promoters), and increase protective (anti-cancer) factors.

Question 27

What is cancer?

Answer 27

Cancer is the uncontrolled division of abnormal cells that grow beyond their usual boundaries and can metastasise.

Question 28

What are the most common cancers?

Answer 28

Breast, lung, prostate, and colorectal.

Question 29

How is cancer histologically classified?

Answer 29

Carcinoma (epithelial), sarcoma (connective), myeloma (plasma cells), leukaemia (bone marrow), lymphoma (lymphatic).

Question 30

How common is cancer in the UK?

Answer 30

1 in 2 people born after 1960 will be diagnosed in their lifetime.

Question 31

What percentage of global deaths are due to cancer?

Answer 31

Cancer causes 1 in 6 deaths worldwide.

Question 32

What are key traits of cancer cells?

Answer 32

Evasion of apoptosis, sustained proliferation, angiogenesis, metastasis, immune evasion, genome instability, altered metabolism.

Question 33

What is apoptosis?

Answer 33

Programmed cell death — evaded by cancer cells.

Question 34

What is angiogenesis?

Answer 34

Formation of new blood vessels — sustained by cancer cells to supply nutrients.

Question 35

What is the fundamental trait of malignancy?

Answer 35

Invasiveness — spreading through tissues and body cavities.

Question 36

How do malignant cells become invasive?

Answer 36

By reducing cadherin, secreting proteolytic enzymes, and producing motility factors.

Question 37

What are the stages of cancer?

Answer 37

Stage 0: in situ, I: local, II & III: locally advanced, IV: spread to other organs.

Question 38

What are oncogenes?

Answer 38

Mutated proto-oncogenes that promote uncontrolled cell growth.

Question 39

What are tumour suppressor genes?

Answer 39

Genes that regulate division or apoptosis (e.g., BRCA1/2). Mutations lead to uncontrolled growth.

Question 40

What are DNA repair genes?

Answer 40

They fix replication errors or trigger apoptosis. Faults in these genes increase cancer risk.

Question 41

What are cancer promoters vs anti-cancer factors?

Answer 41

Promoters increase risk; anti-cancer factors reduce it. Clinical focus should be identifying and modifying these.