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| We used to treat it like one disease, but there are actually 120 types of cancer and many subtypes. Many do not have symptoms in early stages. Many cannot be cured but can be changed into chronic illnesses. |
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| One of the three general cancer groups. Carcinomas are cancers that start from the parenchyma of an organ, or the functional tissue. Carcinomas include breast, lung, prostate, and colon cancer. |
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| The functional tissue of an organ -- ie, the duct of the breast. |
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| One of the three general cancer groups. Sarcomas are cancers that start in connective tissues. Sarcomas include bone, muscle, fat, blood vessel, and skin cancers. |
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| Leukemias/lymphomas/myeloma |
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| One of the three general cancer groups. Cancers of the white blood cells and immune systems. They are cancers of the leukocytes. |
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| First stage of cancer growth. The cells are growing too fast. |
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| The second stage of cancer growth. The cells are growing too fast and they are starting to look a little different. There are genetic mutations. Dysplasia is often graded as low, intermediate, or high. |
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| The third stage of cancer growth. The cells are growing too fast and look very, very different. Anaplasia is the older version of the word. |
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| Changes in the tissue morphology. An example of this is a cancer tissue going from hyperplasia to neoplasia. However, this describes other processes too. |
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| Wherever the body meets the outside world is uses squamous cells. These cells are very tough. These cells are supposed to be flat. You can tell they are dysplastic if they start to lose their “architecture.” They can’t usually pass the basement membrane to get into the body, but can become malignant and destroy that membrane. |
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| Often encapsulated, these tumors push normal tissue aside but they cannot infiltrate areas. |
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| These are cancers that can go through infiltrative growth. They have no capsule. They are destructive of normal tissues. |
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| The cells that tell other cells when to reproduce and when to die. They need to reproduce when there is normal tissue turnover or wound healing. They also need to die (apoptosis) for tissue turnover. Cancer cells have the capacity to turn these messages on and off. |
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| There is a chance element to cancer growth and spread that is called stochastic. This is because of genetic instability -- the changes are random. There is also a loss of heterozygosity. |
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| The cancer stage refers to how far in the body the cancer has spread. |
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| The cancer grade refers to how aggressive the cancer looks under the microscope. |
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| The system used to stage cancer cells: |
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| NX = we don’t know how many regional lymph nodes |
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| MX = Distant metastasis cannot be evaluated |
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| An example of a cancer that spreads by direct growth. It does not spread outside the brain, but it does invade tissue planes. It responds poorly to therapy (can’t be removed, radiation only temporarily effective, chemo limited). Compare this with a meningioma -- also a brain tumor, but grows without invading tissue. |
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| Thickened portions of the lymph vessels that include white blood cells. They act as filters for dirt and germs. Each organ or region has its own pattern of drainage. The flow slows in a lymph node so the immune cells have more time to kill things. Lymph fluid eventually dumps into the blood. |
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| The “door” lymph nodes the cancer has to go through to get to the rest of the lymph nodes. We used to remove all the lymph nodes -- now we just remove these. To find these, inject radioactive blue dye and search for them with a geiger counter. Removing other lymph nodes does not increase survival. |
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| When you remove lymph nodes, infections are easier to happen. This can cause swelling. |
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| When the primary cancers cells establish colonies in distant organs. |
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| Organ that teaches the T cells who you are |
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| The standard radiation. Aim radioactive beams at it (ie, at the breast) and zap it. |
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| Intensity-modulated Radiation |
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| The radioactive beam can be aimed at different depths -- ie, it might be really hot three centimeters in but cooler deeper. Shape can be determined using physics models. Particularly useful in prostate cancer. |
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| Put a balloon with a tube into the breast. Put a radioactive seed through the tube so it goes in the balloon. Do this 5 days. Advantage is that it irradiates locally and done in five days. But it is very painful and can deform the breast. |
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| Also called “gamma knife” radiation. Most used in the brain -- used in places you can’t irradiate the whole tissue with external beam radiation. You just send little waves from all sides and the point where they intersect gets the radiation. |
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| Chemotherapy agents kill actively dividing cells. Best for actively growing cancer. There are two types: |
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| Chemo given before surgery to shrink the tumor and make the surgery easier. |
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| Chemo given after a surgery to make sure the system is clear. |
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| When you “starve” cancer cells that use estrogen to grow. You do this in two ways: |
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| Cancer cells that can turn on the her-2 gene have a distinct phenotype. Her-2 works as a new receptor that increases their DNA synthesis, growth, and metastatic potential. |
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| If a word ends in mab, it is a Monoclonal antibody |
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| If zu is in a drug name, it is a monoclonal antibody that has been humanized |
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| If tu is in a drug name, it is a monoclonal antibody that is targeting a tumor |
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| A monoclonal antibody that has been humanized and is targeting a tumor |
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| Anti-PD-1. PD1 is a gene cancer cells can activate that deactivates T cells. This turns off that gene, allowing the T cells to work again. Not restricted to any type of cancer. Greatly increasing survival. However, very expensive and when do you stop? |
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| What are the general cancer groups? |
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1. Carcinomas
Start in cells from the parenchyma, the functional tissue, of an organ
Ie, breast, lung, prostate, colon
2. Sarcomas
Start in connective tissues
Ie, bone, muscle, fat, blood vessels, skin
3. Leukemias/lymphomas/mylomas
Cancers of the circulating leukocytes, the white blood cells, the immune system |
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| What are the stages of cancer growth? |
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| Hyperplasia (too much growth), dysplasia (too much growth and cells are starting to look differently), Neoplasia/anaplasia (too much growth and the cells are very, very different) |
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| What are the two main characteristics of a malignant cancer? |
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1. Unrestricted growth
2. Invasiveness |
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| What are the three main causes of cancer? |
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1. Environmental (Viruses, chemicals, radiation)
2. Inheritance (Genes)
3. Chance! (per breast cancer lecture) |
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| What are some of the environmental causes of cancer? |
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1. Viruses (ie, papilloma virus)
2. Chemicals (ie, cigarrettes)
3. Physical factors (ie, asbestos)
4. Radiation (ie, ultraviolet light) |
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1. Direct growth crossing tissue planes
2. Along the lymph drainage system
3. By the way of the blood |
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| What are the six types of cancer treatments? |
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1. Surgery
2. Radiation
3. Chemotherapy
4. Hormone therapy
5. Immunotherapy
6. Targeted therapy |
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| What are the four types of radiation cancer treatments? |
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1. External beam radiation
2. Intensity modulated radation
3. Brachytherapy
4. Stereotactic Radiation |
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| Katie Sanders has no idea and doesn't understand the lecture's explanation. If you figure it out, would you fill it in? |
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