cancer symptoms
are changes in the body caused by cancer
local symptoms
are due to the mass of the tumor or its ulceration
systemic symptom
are due to effects that re not related to direct or metastatic spread
cancer screening
aims to detect cancer before symptoms appear
universal screening
involves screening everyone, often within a specific age group
selective screening
involves screening people who are at higher risk of developing cancer
screening tests
must be effective, safe, and swell tolerated with low rates of false positive and negative results
colonoscopy
the gold standard of early detection of colon polyps/cancer
stool DNA screening tests
looks for biomarkers associated with colorectal cancer and precancerous lesions, including altered DNA and blood hemoglobin
cologuard
is a stool DNA test for colorectal cancer
M2-PK
is also a stool analysis test; _____(pyruvate kinase isoenzyme type M2) is a key enzyme in colorectal cancer and polyps
fecal occult blood test (FOBT)
checks for hidden (occult) blood in the stool
Pap test
Cervical screening by the _________is highly effective at detecting cervical cancer
Digital rectal examination (DRE)
prostate-specific antigen (PSA)
The two commonly used in screening tools for prostate cancer are__________ and measurements of ________ in the blood
CancerSEEK
detects eight common cancer types by measuring levels of circulating proteins and mutation in the blood
Total biochemical infrared analysis (TBIA)
is a method of screening of solid tumors using blood spectroscopy analysis
surgery
in theory, non-hematological cancer cancers can be cured if removed by _____
recurrence
a single cancer cell can regrow into a new tumor
margin of healthy tissue
the pathologist will examine the surgical specimen to determine if a _______is a present, decreasing the chance that cancer cells are left behind
radiation therapy
is the use of ionizing radiation to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors
external beam radiotherapy (EBRT), sealed source radiotherapy, unsealed source radiotherapy, radiopharmaceuticals
radiation therapy can be administered externally via _______, internally via ________; or internally via_______ ( uses _______).
rapidly dividing cells
Most forms of chemotherapy target all ______ and are not specific to cancer
targeted therapy
is the use of drugs that target the aberrant proteins in cancer cells
enzyme inhibitors
small molecule targeted therapy drugs are often____
Monoclonal antibody therapy
is a strategy in which the therapeutic agent is an antibody which specifically binds to a protein on the surface of cancer cells
cancer immunotherapy
refers to therapeutic strategies designed to induce the patients own immune system to fight the tumor
hormone therapy
the growth of some cancers can be inhibited by providing or blocking certain hormones
angiogenesis inhibitor
prevent the growth of blood vessels that tumors require to survive
alkylating antineoplastic agent
attaches an alkyl group to DNA
antimetabolite
is a chemical that inhibits the use of the metabolite, which is a chemical that is part of normal metabolism
anti-microtubule
agents block cell division by preventing microtubule function
Vinca alkaloids and taxanes
are the two main types of anti-microtuble agents
topoisomerase inhibitors
affect the activity of topoisomerase I and II
cytotoxic antibiotics
are diverse group of drugs that have various mechanisms of action; these drug typically interrupt cell division
BRCA1 AND BRCA2
account of most of the cases of familial breast cancer
Carcinoma in situ
is cancer without invasion of the surrounding tissues
invasive carcinoma
invades the surrounding tissue
TNM
classification (0-4) for staging cancer is based on three criteria
T
describes the size of the original tumor and whether it has invaded nearby tissue
N
describes nearby
regional
lymph nodes that are involved
M
describes the distant metastasis
spread of cancer from one part of the body to another
receptor status
breast cancer cells have different types of receptors, the most important for classification being; the estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and HER2/neu
DNA based classification
identifying gene mutation or changes in gene expression in the specific breast cancer may help guide the course o treatment
Mastectomy
removal of whole breast
quadrantectomy
removal of one-quarter of the breast
lumpectomy
removal of small part of the breast
adjuvant therapy
drugs used after surgery
neoadjuvant therapy
chemotherapy or other types of therapy prior to surgery
mucosal disease
colon cancer is a ______, most colon cancers are derived from the mucosal lining of the bowel
crypts of lieberkuhn
generation of new cells in the colon begins in the
APC
The loss of ___function causes excess cell proliferation (colon polyps)
K-ras
mutation in _____can lead to the production of constitutively-activated Ras protein-causes unregulated expression of genes controlling cell growth
genetic instability
additional changes then occur
p53
When DNA is damaged, ____signals the cell to pause the cell cycle or undergo apoptosis
exploratory laparotomy
most surgical procedures for color cancer are performed via ___
stage 1 colon cancer
surgery is the definitive treatment
stage II colon cancer
chemotherapy is usually not offered unless there additional risk factors
Stage III and stage IV colon cancer
chemotherapy is an integral part of treatment