★ pltw medical interventions : unit 3.1-3.2 terms

behavior risk factor

behavior risk factor

behaviors that you can change, such as smoking

environmental risk factors

toxins found in your surrounding environment that increase your cancer risk, such as radon and asbestos

genetic risk factor

determined by your genes and are inherited from your parents, such as sex, race, and whether or not you’ve inherited genes related to disease

basal cell carcinoma

a type of skin cancer that originates in the stratum basale (basale cell layer) of the epidermis

BRCA

either of two tumor supressor genes (BRCA1 and BRCA2) that in mutated form tend to be associated with an increased risk of certain cancers and especially breast and ovarian cancers

marker analysis

a genetic technique whereby the sequence of the gene is not directly analyzed, but the mutant copy (allele) of the gene is inferred through analysis of a genetic marker

sporadic cancer

cancer occurring occasionally, singly, or in scattered instances

familial cancer

cancer that occurs in families more often than would be expected by chance. These cancers often occur at an early age, and may indicate the presence of a gene mutation that increases the risk of cancer. They may also be a sign of shared environmental or lifestyle factors.

hereditary cacner

an inherited disorder in which affected individuals have a higher-than-normal chance of developing certain types of cancer, often before the age of 50

genetic marker

alteration in DNA that may indicate an increased risk of developing a specific disease or disorder

microsatellite (STRs)

any of numerous short segments of DNA that are distributed throughout the genome, that consist of repeated sequences of usually two to five nucleotides, and that are often useful markers in studies of genetic linkage because they tend to vary from one individual to another

cryosurgery

surgery in which diseased or abnormal tissue (as a tumor or wart) is destroyed or removed by freezing (as by the use of liquid nitrogen)

x-ray

to examine, treat, or photograph with x-rays

computed tomography scan (CT scan)

a sectional 3-dimensional view of the body constructed by computed tomography

magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

a noninvasive diagnostic technique that produces computerized images of internal body tissues and is based on nuclear magnetic resonance of atoms within the body induced by the application of radio waves

radiology

a branch of medicine concerned with the use of radiant energy (as x-rays or ultrasound) in the diagnosis and treatment of disease

osteosarcoma

a cancer derived from bone or containing bone tissue

bone scan

a test that detects areas of increased or decreased bone metabolism; test is performed to identify abnormal processes involving the bone such as tumor, infection, or fracture

apoptosis

the changes that occur within a cell as it undergoes programmed cell death, which is brought about by signals that trigger the activation of a cascade of suicide proteins in the cell destined to die

oncogene

a gene having the potential to cause a normal cell to become cancerous

proto-oncogene

A normal cellular gene corresponding to an oncogene; a gene with a potential to cause cancer but that requires some alteration to become an oncogene

biopsy

the removal and examination of tissue, cells, or fluids form the living body

contact inhibition

close proximity of cells resulting in cells not replicating

hyperplasia

tissue that contains a higher than usual number of cells; not considered cancerous

dysplasia

tissue that shows loss of standard tissue arrangement and cell structure; not considered cancerous

carcinoma in situ / severe dysplasia

tissue showing uncontrolled growth of cells and aberrant tissue arrangement and cell structure

DNA microarray

a microarray of immobilized single-stranded DNA fragments of known nucleotide sequence that is used especially in the identification and sequencing of DNA samples and in the analysis of gene expression (as in a cell or tissue)

cross hybridization

sequence similarities between closely related genes may result in the cDNA from one gene hybridizing to a spot for a different gene (a process known as cross hybridization); causes a gene to seem that it is active, when it may not be.

upregulation

gene has increased expression

downregulation

gene has decreased expression

hierarchical clustering

taking the most similar genes or gene profiles, and joining them in a group, or cluster; analysis is done by computer algorithms

dendrogram

a graphic representation of the clusters, where the “tree” is built by successively merging similar groups of points together