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31 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What is a "cancer"?
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A cancer is a class of diseases in which a group of cells display uncontrolled growth (division beyond the normal limits), invasion (intrusion on and destruction of adjacent tissues), and sometimes metastasis (spread to other locations in the body via lymph or blood), with the potential to do grave harm to the host.
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What is a neoplasm?
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A neoplasm is a clonal (or oligoclonal) genetically abnormal cell population whose members proliferate without being subject to the normal regulators of cell proliferation.
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What is a benign neoplasm?
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A neoplasm that doesn't have the ability to kill the patient.
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How are cancers named?
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1) According to the type of cells (sarcoma, glioma, etc.)
2) According to their tissue of origin (adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, etc.) |
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Can non-cancerous cells change their cellular appearance and function?
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Yes. Change in appearance is called 'atypia' and change in type is called 'metaplasia'
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What is required of normal somatic cell changes such as atypia and metaplasia?
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That they be reversible.
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Hyperplasia
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Increase in cell NUMBER.
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Hypertrophy
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Increase in cell SIZE.
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What is the least common oncogenic mechanism?
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Rare but DOMINANT genetic events, usually the result of translocations. AKA "simple cancers."
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What factors make dominant rare/simple cancers difficult to predict?
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1) They occur randomly
2) There are no precursor lesions in their development |
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What are the major viruses responsible for cancer?
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HPV, Hep B, EBV, Kaposi sarcoma herpesvirus, HTLV-1, and Hep C
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How does HPV cause cancer?
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HPV infected cells make the viral proteins E6 and E7, which suppress p53 and Rb activity.
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What element of HPV-related neoplasms make them a good candidate for screening?
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HPV neoplasms take time to develop and have a precursor lesion.
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What is the most common mechanism for oncogenesis?
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Multi-step mutagenesis. More than 98% of human cancers form this way.
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What is a "precursor lesion"?
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Intermediate cell populations which have some, but not all, of the genetic, behavioral and morphologic features of cancer.
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What is cellular dysplasia?
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Dysplasia is a general term for cytoarchitectural abnormalities covering a broad spectrum of abnormal cell growth, but does not include cancer.
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What does the GRADE of a precursor lesion represent?
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The degree of morphologic abnormality.
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Atypical Hyperplasia
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Dysplasia that most closely resembles the NORMAL TISSUE STATE.
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Carcinoma in situ
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Dysplastic cells have all the features of a cancer, but have not invaded across a basement membrane.
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Are precursor lesions cancer?
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No. They may PROGRESS to cancer, but they themselves are not cancerous.
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What does a precursor lesion GRADE attempt to do?
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Lesion GRADE attempts to estimate the general rate of progression of a lesion.
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Does lesion grading supply specific information about each individual cancer?
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No. It can only predict individual behavior based on general trends of cellular behavior.
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What's the difference between Prognostic and Predictive factors?
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1) Prognosis is related to cancer survival.
2) Predictive factors indicate if a cancer will respond to therapy. |
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What is a Cancer GRADE?
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Cancer GRADE refers to the appearance of cancer cells; more specifically it refers to how closely they resemble their normal counterparts. (AKA differentiation)
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What is a Cancer STAGE?
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Cancer STAGING quantifies the extent of cancer spread
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What parameters are use when evaluating cancer STAGE?
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T - tumor size/local invasion
N - nodal metastasis M - non-nodal metastasis |
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What is the single most important technique in diagnostic pathology?
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Light microscopy
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What are the 5 macro disease processes determined by light microscopy?
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1) Reactive
2) Inflammatory 3) Infectous 4) Degenerative 5) Neoplastic |
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What the basis for the predictive success of light microscopy in path?
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Similar lesions have similar outcomes.
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Is light microscopy effective in all types of cancer?
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No - not all cancers have distinct histologic appearances.
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What are the three general mechanisms of carcinogenesis?
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1) Dominant Rare Genetic Events (<1%)
- sporadic, no precursor lesion 2) Viral Oncogenesis (HPV, HBV) - 1% of all cancers - Precursor lesions, time 3) Multi-Step Mutagenesis - 98% of all cancer - precursor lesions |
