Intro to cancer Flashcards
(23 cards)
What is the origin of the word ‘cancer’?
It comes from the Latin word ‘cancrum’ meaning crab, coined by Hippocrates in the fifth century BC to describe a disease with unrestrained tissue growth and spread.
What is the general definition of cancer?
Cancer is an abnormal growth of cells caused by multiple changes in gene expression, leading to a dysregulated balance of cell proliferation and cell death.
What does cancer ultimately evolve into?
A population of cells that can invade tissues and metastasize to distant sites, causing significant morbidity and, if untreated, death.
How is the division of normal cells controlled?
It is precisely controlled, and new cells are formed only for growth or to replace dead ones.
What happens to cell division in cancer?
Abnormal cells proliferate in an uncontrolled fashion and spread throughout the body.
Can tumors arise from any cell type in the body?
Yes, tumors can arise from any cell type.
How are tumors classified?
Tumors are classified based on their cell type.
What is epidemiology?
The scientific, systematic, and data-driven study of the distribution and determinants of health-related states and events in specified populations.
What role does epidemiology play in cancer?
It helps in cancer prevention and control by describing cancer distribution and identifying risk factors.
What are the types of epidemiological study designs mentioned?
Descriptive, ecologic, cross-sectional, and analytic (cohort, case-control, and intervention) studies.
Do tumors originate from outside the body?
No, tumors arise from normal tissues in the body and are not foreign masses.
What does the suffix “-oma” usually indicate?
It usually indicates a tumor (e.g., carcinoma, sarcoma, lymphoma, myeloma, neuroblastoma).
Give an example where “-oma” does not indicate a tumor.
Granuloma – a mass of granulation tissue due to chronic inflammation or abscess, not a tumor.
What are the four major types of new tissue growth?
(a) Hypertrophy, (b) Hyperplasia, (c) Dysplasia, (d) Neoplasia.
What characterizes hypertrophy?
Increase in cell size with normal organization.
What characterizes hyperplasia?
Increase in cell number with normal organization.
What characterizes dysplasia?
Disorganized growth with abnormalities in cell organization and proliferation.
What characterizes neoplasia?
Disorganized, uncontrolled, autonomous proliferation of cells resulting in a tumor.
Are hypertrophy and hyperplasia reversible?
Yes, they are potentially reversible.
Give examples of reversible tissue growth from daily life.
Muscles growing from exercise (hypertrophy); calluses from guitar playing (hyperplasia).
Is dysplasia reversible?
Mild dysplasia can be reversible; severe forms may progress to neoplasia.
Where is dysplasia commonly found?
In the uterine cervix.
What test can detect early-stage uterine dysplasia?
Pap smear.
