Oncology

uncontrolled cell proliferation and spread of abnormal cells

breast, lung, and colon/rectum

prostate, lung, colon/rectum

due to prevention and detection, surveillance, intervention, and coordination between specialists

heredity, aging, lifestyle, geographic/environmental variables, precancerous lesions, stress

only 5-10% of cancers are linked to this

most cancers are_____

the median age of primary diagnosis

linked to 90% of lung cancers

1/3 of cancer mortality linked to this

there is a link between behavioral and psychologic factors and the _____ of cancer

process by which normal cells undergo physical and structural changes as they develop to form tissues

differentiation is altered and malignant

increased number of cells in tissue and increased tissue mass

can be normal in physiological function such as, wound healing, callus forming

increase in cell mass due to tumor or formation

disorganization of cells in which an adult cell varies from its normal size, shape, or organization

may revere itself or lead to cancer

often caused by chronic irritation

early dysplasia

reversible and benign but still an abnormal change

“neoplasms”

abnormal new growth of tissues that serves no functional purpose and may harm the host organism

competes for blood supply/nutrients and doesn’t respond to normal body function

normally local to the given structure

cells have metastasized from another part of the body

cell type, tissue of origin, degree of differentiation, anatomic site, benign/malignant

carcinoma in situ

early stage, cancer localized to primary organ

increased risk of regional spread because of tumor size/grade

local cancer has spread regionally but may not be disseminated to distant regions

cancer has spread and disseminated to distant sites

neoplasia originates in a single cell

the addition or deletion of entire chromosomes

translocations, deletions, inversions, and insertions of parts of chromosomes

cancer causing genes

transform normal cells into malignant cells, independently or incorporated with a virus

the “brakes” to the “stuck accelerator” of the activated oncogene

can regulate growth and inhibit carcinogenesis

takes place when defects in the oncogene occur simultaneously with the inactivation of growth-suppressing genes

process by which a normal cell undergoes malignant transformation

directly kill cancer cells without any previous exposure to the tumor

can function as effectors that kill tumor cels

can be mediated by antibodies

the major immunologic barrier against tumora

tumors can mutate antigenic peptides so that they cannot be loaded onto the class I MHC and be presented to CD8+ cells

cytotoxic T cell cannot make good contact with the tumor cell and undergo the remaining steps of triggering its killing mechanism

refers to loss of surface antigen

tumor antigens are internalized or down regulated so that antibodies cannot bind

tumors produce a variety of suppressive factors that inhibit NK and T cells directly

key factor to cure cancer

easily invaded by the cancer cells that are closely adjacent to them

blood vessels from preexisting vessels grow into the tumor

describes the time between diagnosis and recurrence or relapse

most important predictors of recurrent cancer

consists of making an incision and removing a portion of the abnormal tissue

does not attempt to remove the entire pathologic structure

aka lumpectomy

consists of making an incision to excise all gross, abnormal tissue that is either visually apparent or identified

surgeon will try to obtain these with a resection

substances produced and secreted by tumor cells may be found in the blood

used more frequently than just individual tumor marker evaluations

can help determine the aggressiveness of the tumor, potential response to treatment, and prediction of risk for cancer diagnosis within a family

identifies the presence of specific proteins at the cellular level

illustrated by gene expression by microarray

identify genes with multiple copies or arrangements

can identify mutations in selected genes

most often in combination with other therapies

require additional treatment (chemo radiation)

delivered over weeks to capture cells at each stage of proliferation

1.destroy the dividing cancer cells by destroying hydrogen bonds between DNA strands within the cancer cells

2.limit damage to resting normal cells

•May be used preoperatively to shrink a tumor, making it operable, while preventing further spread of the disease during surgery.

•After the surgical wound heals, postoperative doses prevent residual cancer cells from multiplying or metastasizing.

kill cancer cells by affecting DNA synthesis/function

may develop after treatment

occur with screening and early detection/treatment

for anyone with advanced, disseminated cancer

in terminally ill pts, these are more important indicators of survival than absolute measures