Oncology Principles Flashcards
(47 cards)
Cancer
Diseases in which abnormal cells divide without control.
Carcinogens: anything that causes cancer.
Mutation: any change in cell DNA.
Tumor
Tumor: A mass of excess tissue that results from abnormal cell division.
Benign tumor: Tumors that do not spread to tissues around them or to other parts of the body.
Malignant tumor: Tumors that can invade and destroy nearby tissue and spread to other parts of the body.
Metastasis
The spread of cancer from one part of the body to another, usually through the bloodstream or the lymphatic system.
Grade/Stage of Cancer
Grade: Classification of tumors by how the cells look under a microscope and how quickly the tumor is likely to grow and spread.
Stage: Classification of cancer by the extent to which it has spread from the original site to other parts of the body.
Cancer Treatment
Chemotherapy: Treatment with anticancer drugs.
Neoadjuvant: Treatment given before the primary treatment (surgery and/or radiation) to increase the chances of a cure.
Adjuvant: Treatment given after the primary treatment to increase the changes of a cure.
Hyperfractionated Radiation Therapy
Treatment in which radiation is given in smaller doses twice a day.
IMRT (intensity-modulated radiation therapy)
A technique that uses a computer to deliver precise radiation doses to a cancer tumor or specific areas within the tumor.
Lymphedema
A problem in which excess fluid collects in tissue and causes swelling.
It may occur in the arm or leg after lymph vessels or lymph nodes in the underarm or groin are removed by surgery or treated with radiation.
Simulation
A process used to plan radiation therapy so that the target area is precisely located and marked.
Xerostomia
Dry mouth.
Cell Types
Labile cells: constantly diving cells.
- G0 stage is short or absent.
- Bone marrow cells, immune cells, GI tract skin cells, skin cells.
Stable cells: multiply only when needed with irritation, stimulation, or injury.
- Spend most of the time in G0.
- Liver, proximal tubules of the kidney, endocrine glands.
Permanent cells: No ability to regenerate, replace by scar tissue when injured.
Cancer arises more commonly from labile and stable cells
Hyperplasia
- INCREASED # OF CELLS*
- Preneoplastic response to stimuli
- Cells maintain normal regulatory control
- Benign prostatic hyperplasia, Cushing’s (increased ACTH), endometrial hyperplasia (pregnancy), breast hyperplasia, compensatory liver hyperplasia (after donor transplant)
- Benign, generally not increased risk for developing cancer
Neoplasia
- ABNORMAL GROWTH OF CELLS*
- Growth persists even after stimuli is removed
- Benign (uterine fibroids, moles), pre-malignant (carcinoma in situ), or malignant (tumor)
Hypertrophy
INCREASED SIZE OF CELLS
Cell Types: muscles (weight lifting), ventricles (exercise vs. HTN induced)
Atrophy
partial or complete wasting away of part of the body
ø Causes: gene mutation, poor nutrition, poor circulation, decreased hormone, decreased nerve supply to an organ, excessive apoptosis, decreased physical activity
ø Possible responses to physiologic and pathologic stressors (e.g. smoking)
ø Ex. muscle, vaginal
Metaplasia
Reversible replacement of one differentiated cell type with another mature differentiated cell type
ø Ex. Ciliatiated pseudostratified columnar epithelial cells are replaced by stratified squamous epithelium
Dysplasia
Abnormal excessive cell proliferation characterized by loss of normal tissue arrangement and cell structure
ø Cells may revert back to normal or may become malignant
Examples:
- Cervical dysplasia: change to basal-like cells
- MDS: increased immature cells in bone marrow, decrease in functional mature cells in the blood
Neoplasms
Benign neoplasm:
ø unable to invade adjacent tissues or spread to distant sites
ø no treatment vs. surgical removal, usually not chemotherapy
Malignant neoplasm:
ø may spread locally or to distant sites
ø managed with surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy
Mutations
Change in the nucleotide sequence
Examples:
Inherited - KIT with GIST, MET with papillary renal cancer, BRCA1&2, APC with familial adenomatous polyposis
Acquired - BCR-ABL mutation with CML, KIT mutation with GIST, p53 with many cancers
Transformation
process of changing into a malignancy, often from a mutation (nevus to melanoma)
Cancer Advances
Carcinoma in situ - early form of cancer without invasion of the tumor cells into the surrounding tissue
Local invasion - cancer is through the basement membrane
Metastasis - local and distant, cancer outside of the original location
Carcinoma
Origin: epithelial tissue
Spread: through lymph fluid more commonly
MCC of cancer
Sarcoma
Origin: musculoskeletal: bone, muscle, connective tissue
Spread: through blood more commonly to lung, liver, brain, and other areas
- < 1% of total cancers*
Oncogenes
A gene that has the potential to cause cancer
ø often with mutation, virus (EBV, HPV) or high expression rates in tumor cells
