Tumour pathology diagnosis and prognosis Flashcards
How can some tumours be detected
Certain tumours liberate products that can be detected in blood/urine samples thereby acting as tumour markers
What are some examples of tumour markers
HCG- human chorionic gonadotrophin from tumours with trophoblast elements
AFP- alpha fetoprotein. Liver cancer, germ cell tumours
PSA- prostate specific antigen fro carcinoma of the prostate
Wha can an increase in tumour marker levels show
Increase in tumour size
How do you handle tissues which are going to be used for biopsy tests
- Fix in formalin solution otherwise it would degrade without it
- Fix in glutaraldehyde for electron microscopy
What is diagnostic cytology
Examination of cells in tissue fluids or exfoliated from surfaces (eg smear test)
What are you trying to look for in a histology of neoplasms
- Analysis of the degree of differentiation and growth pattern of the tumour
- Evaluation of how far a tumour has spread
Difference between low grade and high grade tumours
Low grade- Slow growing and have a good prognosis
High grade- Fast growing and have a poor prognosis
What is mitotic index
Proportion of cells containing mitotic figures
What can you check in a histology assessment to check the degree of differentiation
Tubule formation (are they forming ducts)
Nuclear pleomorphism
Mitotic counts
What is grade T: 1 2 3 for breast cancer grading
G0- no tumour
g1- small
g2-larger than t1
t3-invading other tissues and is a large tumour
What does the TNM system show
- Extent of local tumour spread
- Regional lymph node involvement
- PResence of distant metastases
What is grade N:
0
1
2
0- no nodes involved
1-one node
2-multiple nodes have cancer in them
What is grade M:
0
1
x
0-no site
1-one site
X-multiple sites
What can the TNM system be used to do
Put patients into prognostic groups
What is Dukes stage A cancer
Within muscle and has a high 5 year survival rate
