Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM


Top Flashcards (Certified)
All Flashcards

Medicine: PBL wrap-ups > Unit 2 Case 1: Breast cancer > Flashcards

Unit 2 Case 1: Breast cancer Flashcards

(73 cards)

Start Studying
1
Q

anatomy associated with the case

A

breast and axilla
-learn separately

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

hormonal risk factors for breast cancer

A

early menarche
late menopause
late first full term pregnancy
exogenous sex hormones
postmenopausal combination hormone therapy

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

why does early menarche/late menopause increase risk

A

longer exposure to ovarian hormones and oestrogen
cells associated with breast cancer have specific receptor sites that bind to oestrogen, stimulate their growth

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

why does a late first full term pregnancy increase risk

A

before pregnancy the mammary glands haven’t differentiated to function to produce milk
as cells haven’t differentiated are more likely to develop into cancer cells than differentiated cells

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

non-hormonal risk factors for breast cancer

A

family history
gender
age
obesity
radiation

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

how is family a risk factor

A

BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are hereditary
if a mutated version is inherited then 60-80% risk of breast cancer and 33% ovarian

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

how is gender/age a risk factor

A

breast cancer more prevalent in women
75% of all female cases the women are over the age of 50

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

relation of BMI to breast cancer risk

A

obesity grade 2-3 may lead to increased tumour sizes and positive lymph nodes
BMI higher than 35 leads to a stronger risk for oestrogen receptor positive and progesterone receptor positive

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

how can radiation affect breast cancer risk

A

linear no-threshold model displays that the risk of developing breast cancer is proportional to the dose of radiation

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

what is a benign tumour

A

doesn’t invade and destroy the tissue in which it originates or spread to distant sites in the body
tumour that isn’t cancerous

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

what is a malignant tumour

A

tumour that invades and destroys tissue in which it originates and has the potential to spread to other sites in the body via the bloodstream and lymphatic system

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

what is a fibroadenoma

A

benign neoplasm of the breast
neoplasm- any new or abnormal growth

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

symptoms of fibroadenoma

A

painless
usually small
hard lump

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

types of fibroadenomas

A

simple
juvenile
giant
coomplex
myxoid
cellular
hyalinised

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

risk factors for fibroadenoma

A

age
hormonal levels of oestrogen
family history of cancer
obesity

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

types of non-invasive breast cancer

A

DCIS- ductal cancer in situ
LCIS-lobular cancer in situ

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

types of invasive breast cancer

A

invasive
invasive lobular
inflammatory
pages disease
angiosarcoma

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

other types of breast cancer

A

triple negative
not driven by oestrogen, progesterone or HER2 overexpression

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

ductal cancer in situ

A

cancer cells have developed in the ducts but haven’t yet spread beyond

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

lobular cancer in situ

A

abnormal cells have developed in the lobules

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

invasive breast cancer

A

cancer cells have grown through the duct lining into the surrounding breast tissue

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

invasive lobular cancer

A

cancer cells have started to grow in the lobules and have spread to the surrounding tissues

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

inflammatory breast cancer

A

within the lymph vessels in the skin of the breast, inflamed and painful

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

pagets disease

A

develops in the nipple or areola

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
angiosarcoma
start in the blood or lymphatic vessels within the breast primary and secondary
26
types of breast cancer
oestrogen receptor positive ER+ progesterone receptor positive PR+ HER2 positive HER2+ve
27
main genes associated with developing breast cancer
BRCA1 BRCA2
28
BRCA1
tumour suppressor double strand breaks of DNA transcription coupled repair
29
BRCA2
involved in double stranded break repair
30
HER2
proto-oncogene HER2 gene amplification leads to HER2 protein over expression membrane tyrosine kinase, when activated provides the cell with proliferative and anti-apoptosis signals not hereditary
31
TP53
tumour suppressor gene if p53 is faulty it fails to stop cell division TP53 mutations can be both hereditary and non-hereditary binds to apoptosis regulator PTEN
32
CHEK2
encodes for a checkpoint tyrosine kinase which acts as a tumour suppressor
33
types of DNA mutations
point mutation/substitution addition deletion inversion duplication
34
somatic mutation
occur in non-reproductive cells not passed onto further generations
35
germline mutations
occur in reproductive cells are hereditary
36
missense mutation
change in DNA sequence that results in one amino acid replaced with another amino acid that is different
37
non-sense mutation
genetic alteration that causes the premature termination of a protein
38
5 treatments for breast cancer
surgery chemotherapy radiotherapy hormone therapy targeted therapy
39
how to choose the right treatment
how cancer was diagnosed stage type health of patient menopausal or not
40
surgery
breast conserving- remove only the tumour mastectomy- whole breast is removed, including the nipple
41
chemotherapy
uses anti-cancer medicine to kill the cancer cells can also stop oestrogen production, can encourage growth of breast cancers Neo-adjuvant first to shrink the tumour
42
side effects of chemotherapy
loss of appetite feeling nauseous fatigue hair loss
43
radiotherapy
uses doses of radiation to kill cancer cells sessions last for 3-5 weeks, 3 sessions a week
44
side effects of radiotherapy
extreme tiredness irritation darkening of the skin on the breast
45
hormone therapy
lowers the levels of oestrogen and progesterone in the body, stimulates breast cancer growth or stops the effect breast cancer cells have receptors where oestrogen and progesterone bind to, treatments stop these hormones from attaching
46
example of common hormone therapy drug q
tamoxifen used in both pre and post menopausal and men with breast cancer
47
targeted therapies
medicines that change the way cells work and help to stop cancer from growing and spreading can be given IV, pill or injection
48
side effects of targeted therapies
shivering, diarrhoea, vomiting, headache
49
treatment or management of fibroadenoma
only if fast growing or large or causing symptoms surgical excision- cutting out freezing- thin wand shaped device inserted into the skin to the fibroadenoma and freeze it, ultrasound used to guide the wand towards the lump
50
3 stages of triple assessment
clinical assessment imaging pathology
51
why does the accuracy of clinical and imaging assessment vary with age
assessments less accurate in younger patients when you age your breast shrinks and the density reduces so abnormalities are easier to differentiate from normal breast tissue
52
clinical assessment stage
take history which includes symptoms and risk factors examine by observing the symmetry, colour and masses, feel each quadrant of the breast and the axillary tail, move to see if a fixed or mobile mass
53
what can be used in the clinical imaging stage
mammography breast ultrasound MRI staging axillary ultrasound
54
mammography
uses low dose X-rays in age 40+ due to glandular tissue density look for lesions, asymmetry, skin thickening and lymph nodes
55
breast ultrasound
uses sound waves measures the size of cancer and can guide needle biopsies more accurate than mammography in young patients
56
MRI
detects subtle morphological changes but poorly differentiates between benign and malignant lesions
57
staging axillary ultrasound
look for enlarged lymph nodes with increased thickness
58
pathology, what is included
biopsy fine needle aspiration cytology vacuum assisted biopsy
59
biopsy
remove cylinders of tissue under local anaesthetic
60
fine needle aspiration cytology
reserved for small lesions that are difficult to biopsy
61
vacuum assisted biopsy
larger biopsy probe used to collect tissue samples through small 1/4 inch incisions
62
urgent GP referral
within 2 weeks
63
very urgent GP referral
within 48 hours
64
non-urgent GP referral
longer than 2 weeks
65
what is the multidisciplinary team
team of healthcare professionals who meet to discuss a patient
66
examples of the MDT on a breast cancer case
surgeon oncologist radiologist histopathologist clinical/oncology nurse specialist nurse practitioner MDT patient pathway facilitator prosthesis fitter pastoral care team clinical psychologist physiotherapist
67
support available for breast cancer patients
national hereditary breast cancer helpline
68
support available for breast cancer patients
national hereditary breast cancer helpline
69
NHS breast cancer screening program ages
screening for women aged 50-70 every 3 years screening uses mammograms aged under 50 you may be screened if you have family history
70
how does breast cancer screening work
used mammograms in normal age range MRI's instead if younger than 50 as breast tissue is more dense
71
public health breast cancer initiatives
be clear on cancer to drive awareness
72
coping with bereavement of breast cancer
live chat forums free mental health audio guides talking to family and friends living a healthy lifestyle
73
lifestyle factors that can contribute to increased risk of developing breast cancer
being overweight or obese alcohol

Medicine: PBL wrap-ups (21 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions