Cancer - Review Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering cancer basics, including definitions of cancer types, staging, pathophysiology, risk factors, treatment modalities, and diagnostic markers from the lecture notes.

Cancer

Diseases in which abnormal cells divide uncontrollably and are able to invade other tissues.

Malignant neoplasm

A cancerous tumor that can invade surrounding tissues and metastasize to distant sites.

Benign tumor

A noncancerous growth that does not invade or metastasize.

Carcinoma in situ

Early-stage cancer that is localized and not invasive (has not penetrated the basement membrane).

Carcinoma

A cancer arising from epithelial tissue.

Adenocarcinoma

Carcinoma arising from glandular or ductal tissue.

Sarcoma

Cancer arising from connective tissue, muscle, or bone.

Lymphoma

Cancer of lymphatic tissue.

Leukemia

Cancer of blood-forming cells.

Metastasis

Spread of cancer cells from the original tumor to distant organs or tissues.

Tumor grading

System for classifying tumor cells from well-differentiated (Grade I) to poorly differentiated (Grade IV); higher grade often indicates worse prognosis.

Differentiation

The extent to which cancer cells resemble normal cells of the tissue of origin.

Proliferation

Rapid growth and multiplication of cells; cancer cells proliferate uncontrollably.

Angiogenesis

Growth of new blood vessels to supply tumors.

Genomic instability

Increased rate of genetic mutations in cancer cells (mutator phenotype).

Hallmarks of cancer

Acquired capabilities of cancer cells, including sustaining proliferative signaling, evading growth suppressors, resisting cell death, enabling immortality, inducing angiogenesis, activating invasion/metastasis, avoiding immune destruction, genome instability, and tumor-promoting inflammation.

Tumor initiation

First stage of carcinogenesis; formation of initial cancer cells, often due to viruses, bacteria, immune suppression, or chronic inflammation.

Tumor promotion

Expansion and mutation of cancer cell population, increasing malignant cell numbers.

Tumor progression

Cancer cells acquire new traits and may metastasize; tumor grows and adapts to new environments.

Stage 0

Carcinoma in situ; cancer localized and not invasive.

Stage I

Localized tumor with limited spread; early stage.

Stage II

Localized but larger or more involved tumor with regional spread.

Stage III

Advanced local spread or regional involvement (e.g., lymph nodes).

Stage IV

Cancer that has metastasized to distant organs.

TNM classification

Staging system based on Tumor size (T), Node involvement (N), and Metastasis (M).

T category

Tumor size/extent of the primary tumor (T0–T4, increasing in size/invasion).

N category

Lymph node involvement (N0–N3), from no involvement to extensive involvement.

M category

Metastasis status (M0–M1), absence or presence of distant metastasis.

Tumor markers

Biomolecules used to detect, diagnose, or monitor cancer (e.g., ACTH, AFP, β-HCG, CA-125, CA 15-3/CA27-29, CEA, PSA, HVA/VMA).

Surgery

Local treatment; removal of the tumor with surrounding normal tissue margins.

Radiation therapy

Local treatment; damages DNA of cancer cells to kill or control tumor growth.

Chemotherapy

Systemic treatment with drugs that target rapidly dividing cells.

Immunotherapy

Treatment that stimulates the patient’s immune system to fight cancer.

Targeted therapy

Drugs designed to specifically target molecular abnormalities in cancer cells.

Bone marrow transplant

Replacement of diseased bone marrow with healthy stem cells; used in certain cancers.

Cancer treatment side effects

Adverse effects on rapidly dividing cells, often affecting the GI tract, bone marrow, hair follicles, skin, and reproductive system.

CAUTION

Seven warning signs of cancer: Change in bowel/bladder habits; A sore that does not heal; Unusual bleeding or discharge; Thickening or lump; Indigestion or difficulty swallowing; Obvious change in wart or mole; Nagging cough or hoarseness.

Tobacco smoking (cancer risk)

Major risk factor; about 19.4% of cancer diagnoses are caused by smoking tobacco.

Excess body weight

Overweight/obesity linked to about 7.8% of cancer diagnoses.

Alcohol

Alcohol consumption linked to roughly 5.6% of cancers.

Ultraviolet light

Exposure to UV light from the sun or tanning devices increases cancer risk.

Diet

Poor dietary habits linked to about 4.2% of cancers.

Cancer-causing pathogens

Infections by viruses/bacteria (e.g., HPV, H. pylori) that increase cancer risk.

Physical inactivity

Lack of exercise linked to about 2.9% of cancers.

Metastasis vs differentiation

Metastasis is the spread to distant organs; differentiation is how much cancer cells resemble normal tissue; they are not the same.