week 12 patho Flashcards
how do normal cells work
rate of proliferation = rate of degeneration.
what is contact inhibition
normal cell poliferation is controlled by this mechanism, its basically when normal cells don’t grow past the boundaries of surrounding cells.
what is a normal situation that causes your cells to rapidly divide
infection, your body increases poliferation to fight off infection.
cell replication is activated by cell death
what is the main issue with cancer cells
cancer cells lack stop controls, and cant stop proliferating despite body signals.
what are temoleres
they’re protein caps on cells, they get smaller as cells divide. cells know when to stop dividing because these cells will get v tiny and that’s how the body knows
what is telemarase
an enzyme that keeps adding telomeres to the end of cells so they don’t know when to stop dividing. there are in cancer cells
what are proto oncogenes vs. tumour suppressor genes
proto oncogenes are regulators that promote growth
tumour supressor genes are cells that suppress growth, these regulators work together to maintain normal health
which cell is the starting point for all cells
stem cells
what is differentiation
a process where a young cell evolves from mature/generic cell and matures to differentiate into its specific function.
i.e. a stem cell becoming a cardiac cell/
what are the 3 stages of carcinogenesis
initiation: mutation occurs
promotion: mutation multiples
progression: increased growth rate of tumour
which stage of carcinogenesis will the cancer growth be irreversible
progression stage
what is a promoting factor of cancer (which stage is this relevant)
a factor that will speed the process along like obesity, cigarette smoking etc.
this will occur in the promotion stage
what can cause the initation stage of cancer
mutation in cells genetic structure
whats the diff between a benign and malignant tumour
benign: slow growing, doesn’t spread to other locations, well differentiated (like a mole)
malignant: grows rapidly, poorly differentiated, invades (deadly)
when can benign tumours be bad
if they move to surrounding structures
i.e. brain tumour can raise ICP
what are metastic tumours
tumours that have spread.
i.e. breast cancer that has spread to the lungs and bone, still called breast cancer.
makes it v difficult to treat with poor prognosis
what are the most common places for tumours to spread
brain, lung, liver, adrenals, bone
what does it mean when a tumour is differentiated
basically how much the cancer resembles its tissue. if the cancer is more differentiated, there will be a better prognosis
whats the difference between stage 1-2 cancer and stage 3-4
1-2 will be more localised and easier to control, 3-4 will be more spread and harder to control
what is the TNM classification system
T: tumour size
N: degree of spread to lymph nodes
M: metastasis (how much cancer has spread to other organs)
what are the 4 local effects of tumours
occlusion
ulceration (erodes other tissues)
pain
infarction (due to cutting off circulation and growing)
what are the 4 systemic effects of tumours
weight loss
bleeding
anemia
infectionw
why do the systemic effects of tumours occur
because of treatment usually
why does cancer cause pain
because as tumours grow, they cause direct pressure only other tissues
