Chap 20 Flashcards
Cancer Genetics and Genomics (29 cards)
Cancer
-Disease that cells become able to divide abnormally
-Heterogeneous
Tumor type
-Benign: No invade
-Malignant: Invade to nearby tissues
-Metastasis: Spreads to other parts of the body
Carcinogens
- Substances that cause cancer
Oncogene
- Cause cancer when overexpressed or constitutively activated
- Dominant
Tumor suppressor genes
- Cause cancer when they are deleted or inactivated
- Recessive
Proto-oncogenes
- Genes that promote cell division
- Can become oncogene
Cancer-Causing Viruses
- Viruses infect cell may insert DNA next to a proto-oncogene.
- Activating and amplifying oncogenes as well as inverting and
translocating chromosomes.
Cancer-Causing Viruses Type
- Epstein-Barr virus
- Hepatitis C
- Herpesvirus Kaposi’s sarcoma
- HIV
- HPV
Retinoblastoma
- Childhood eye tumor
- Require 2 deletions (mutation)
RB protein
Rb bind transcription factors to stop cell division
p53
transcription factor that “determines” if a
cell repairs DNA replication errors or dies by apoptosis
Germline mutations vs Cancer
- not usually inherited
- Susceptibility passed on to offspring.
Somatic mutations vs Cancer
- 90% of cancers are sporadic.
- non-sex cell
- not passed on to offspring.
Characteristics of Cancer Cells
- Looks different
- Different numbers/ types of antigens
- Transplantable
- Unusual cell growth
Dedifferentiated
Less specialized than normal cell types
Invasiveness
Have surface structures that enable them
to squeeze into any space
Cancer stem cells
produce both cancer cells and abnormal specialized cells
angiogenesis
Formation of new capillary extensions
Metastasize
Move to new location in body
Origins of cancer cell
- Activation of stem cells that produce cancer cells
- Dedifferentiation
- Increase in proportion of a tissue that consists of stem cells or progenitor cells
- Faulty tissue repair/ Uncontrolled tissue repair
- Cell lost specialization
- Loss of balance at the tissue level
Cancer stem cells
Produce both cancer cells and abnormal
specialized cells
Cancer Genomes
Nearly 300 somatic mutations and chromosome alterations
Driver mutation
Actively cause cell growth, generate cancer
Passenger mutation
Does not cause cell growth, just happen alongside with driver mutation.