Term
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Definition
| cancer is an increasingly common disease with diverse treatment and molecular/biological characteristics. |
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Term
| Biologist's perception of cancer |
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Definition
| an disease that develops from genetic mutation that alters cell production/behavior. Unlimited cell reproduction occurs and begins to form a tumor, which can develop largely and spread through tissue, blood to other parts of the body. |
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Term
| Scientist Design Experiments (general) |
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Definition
-control (healthy people) vs. sick
-Electronic noses and dogs: using scent to detect cancer odors (illnesses contain specific scents). |
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Term
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Definition
2 groups of people
-one with lung cancer
-on without lung cancer
-ask both groups about their smoking history |
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Term
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Definition
| Catch patients with disease before it forms and track development as it progresses. |
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Term
| Retrospective Cohort Studies |
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Definition
-group of patients with cancer that are asked about their disease and history.
-tries to link habits w disease. |
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Term
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Definition
1) Growth without "go" signals
2) Failure to respond to "stop" signals
3) Cells can't die (regular cells go through apoptosis)
4) Unlimited cell division
5) Sustained angiogenesis - blood vessel formation
6) invasion and metastatis |
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Term
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Definition
-clinical description of what the cells look like in a cancer
1- small, uniform, tightly packed
2- varied cell sizes and shapes, loosely packed
3- increased cell size and shape irregularity, less distinction between cells
4- large, irregular, fused cells
5- irregular, fused cells that have invaded surrounding connective tissue cells. |
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Term
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Definition
-clinicians consider the whole disease and how advanced the cancer is in development.
0- carcinoma in situ - early form (too early to detect)
1- localized (small growth of irregular cells)
2- early locally advanced (more aggressive, invasive)
3- late locally advanced (spread throughout tissue, travels to nearby sites)
4- metastasized (disease has spread throughout body) hard to treat. |
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Term
| 5 features that distinguish transformed malignant cells from normal cells |
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Definition
1) cells capable of sustained growth in culture that was virtually immortal.
2) cells overgrew in culture forming a mass due to piling of cells.
3) solid tumor cells growing in culture were less adherent to each other and the tissue culture substratum.
4) cells morphologic appearance ranged from resembling original normal cells to embryonic form.
5) increase number of nuclei and distinct karyotype including translocation, deletions and chromosomal inversion. |
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Term
| 2 Classes of Genetic Alterations That Occur in Cancer Cells |
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Definition
1) Gain of oncogenes (oncogenes arise in cancer cell when proto-oncogenes mutate or amplify leading to enhanced cell growth)
2) Loss of tumor suppressors (when tumor suppressors undergo mutagenesis or inactivation, cellular proliferation continues without regulation leading to cancer growth). |
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Term
| Uncontrolled growth of cancer cells (contributors, morphology) |
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Definition
contact inhibition:
a) normal cells (contact inhibition): when they contact each other they stop dividing
b) cancer cells (no contact inhibition): they lack the ability and will continue dividing despite contact. This increased growth leads to cancer cells colonizing and destroying normal tissue.
cancer cell morphology:
-increased growth (re genetic alterations)
-loss of contact inhibition
-altered cell shape - cancer cells look different from normal counterparts. (normal cells grow as ordered patterns as cell density increases, but cancer cells form chaotic masses. This altered shape increases cell movement, making it easier for the cells to migrate and spread). |
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Term
Most critical historical event for modern understanding of cancer & why?
what other events are significant? |
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Definition
-(1760) John Hunter, a scottish surgeon successfully removes tumors from animal's bodies.
-classified tumors into stages:
a) early stage, "movable", local tumors
b) late stage, "immovable", advance, invasive & metastasized.
--> he was one of the first scientists to gain understanding of cancer development & treatment redirecting the field after research had been long astray by Galen's "bile" theory.
Other events:
-1800s William Halsted introduces idea of "radical masectomy" he spoke about lymph node involvement and claimed that once cancer spread to the lymph node it will spread to the full body and be too difficult to treat.
-Emil Grubbe - after marie curie's discovery of radiation, Grubbe discovered xrays killed brains cells. he then tried to direct radiation from xray onto breast cancer to kill cancer cells (this is the foundation for gamma ray therapy). |
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Term
| Claudius Galen view on cancer |
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Definition
-Proposed that cancer is trapped black bile, unable to escape from a site and congealed into a mass.
-Thought cancer was a systemic malignant state, an internal overdose of black bile.
- Thought if you removed cancer, the bile would flow back in.
*** This theory hampered the treatment of the disease for many centuries bc it misunderstood the nature of cancer. People believed bloodletting, cupping, and leeching were all adequate treatment methods. |
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Term
| antiseptic vs. anaesthetic |
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Definition
antiseptic: disinfectant/antibacterial to prevent the growth of disease causing microorganisms. (part of regular medical sanitation procedure).
anaesthetic: a substance that induces insensitivity to pain. (often used in patients undergoing surgery) |
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Term
| Why is there little early information about cancer? |
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Definition
-Few records kept - Imhotep kept written records of breast cancer cases describing bulges in breasts but nothing other than physical observation.
-Bone scans and studies for dinasours and mummified Chirabaya reveal cancer existence but causes/development can only be inferred by what we know of diets.
-It's hard to gain a full picture in terms of causal development without details, especially when animals/people during this time didn't have a conceptual understanding for the disease. |
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Term
| Why is cancer more prevalent in our modern world? |
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Definition
far more carcinogen exposure:
a) environmental pollution
b) habitual choices (smoking, tanning)
c) dietary changes (paleolithic diet healthier; red meat, processed meat, suger, artificial sweetner etc implicated with cancer)
d) industrial revolution (working environments unsafe: chimney sweeps, "radium factory girls" - even today firefighters, etc.) |
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Term
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Definition
| the process by which a double-stranded DNA molecule is copied to produce two identical DNA molecules. |
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Term
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Definition
| is the process by which the information in a strand of DNA is copied into a new molecule of messenger RNA (mRNA). |
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Term
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Definition
| the process in which cellular ribosomes create proteins. In translation, mRNA is decoded by a ribosome to produce a specific amino acid chain, or polypeptide. |
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Term
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Definition
-the protein
-takes the RNA that's made and turns it into protein.
-any mutations in the DNA will have a negative effect on what is produced on the protein level |
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Term
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Definition
-monomers/subunits of nucleic acids such as DNA and RNA. They are the building blocks of nucleic acids that form a double helix with the matching of base pairs.
-The pieces are: cytosine, thymine, adenine, and guanine.
They match: A with T, C with G. |
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Term
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Definition
-amino acids are proteins that are used in everyday life, they are a simple organic compound containing a carboxyl and an amino group.
-9 essential amino acids
-amino acids bond together to make chains - these chains are proteins. |
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Term
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Definition
The central dogma of biology states that DNA can be
replicated or copied, that DNA can be transcribed into
messenger RNA (mRNA), and that mRNA can be
translated into protein. Proteins are the functional units of the cell; they have activity. |
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Term
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Definition
| a change in one DNA base pair. the altered DNA sequence prematurely signals the cell to stop building a protein. This type of mutation results in a shortened protein that may function improperly or not at all. |
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Term
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Definition
| a change in one DNA base pair that results in the substitution of one amino acid for another in the protein made by a gene. |
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Term
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Definition
| This type of mutation occurs when the addition or loss of DNA bases changes a gene’s reading frame. A frameshift mutation shifts the grouping and changes the code for amino acids. The resulting protein is usually nonfunctional. Insertions, deletions, and duplications can all be frameshift mutations. |
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Term
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Definition
| Silent mutations are DNA mutations that do not significantly alter the phenotype of the organism in which they occur. |
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Term
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Definition
| Nuclear and cell division takes place through mitosis and cytokinesis processes. |
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Term
| Cell Cycle: Interphase (1) |
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Definition
Nuclear membrane in present and chromosomes are relaxed.
*See week 3 moodle cell cycle powerpoint for image |
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Term
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Definition
Chromosomes condense.
Each chromosome has two chromotids.
The mitotic spindle forms.
*See week 3 moodle cell cycle powerpoint for image |
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Term
| Cell Cycle: Prometaphase (3) |
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Definition
The nuclear membrane disintegrates.
Spindle microtubules attach to chromatids.
*See week 3 moodle cell cycle powerpoint for image |
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Term
| Cell Cycle: Telophase (6) |
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Definition
chromosomes arrive at spindle poles.
the nuclear membranes reforms and chromosomes relax.
*See week 3 moodle cell cycle powerpoint for image |
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Term
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Definition
Sister chromatids separate and move toward opposite poles.
*See week 3 moodle cell cycle powerpoint for image |
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Term
| Cell Cycle: Metaphase (4) |
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Definition
Chromosomes line up on the metaphase plate.
*See week 3 moodle cell cycle powerpoint for image |
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Term
| How do Rb and E2F control cell cycle progression? |
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Definition
The Rb protein helps control the progression through the G1/S checkpoint by binding transcription factor E2F.
When E2F binds to DNA it stimulates the transcription of genes required for DNA replication. |
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Term
| Why do we use animal models in research? |
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Definition
-Some animals display quicker development than humans (ie zebrafish)
-Animal testing can use greater # of subjects, meaning larger datasets (ie zebrafish, fruit flies, mice etc) |
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Term
| Why do we use animal models in research? |
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Definition
-Some animals display quicker development than humans (ie zebrafish)
-Animal testing can use greater # of subjects, meaning larger datasets (ie zebrafish, fruit flies, mice etc)
-Some animals can easily be compared to human anatomy (ie chimps, zebrafish eyes)
-Overall, animal testing is less costly than human testing.
-similar enough phenotype to discover what makes treatments successful, how to prolong cancer, variances in treatment reaction. |
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Term
| 3 Different Animal Research Models for Cancer |
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Definition
1. Genetically modified animal - introduce a gene that will cause cancer and note how it is expressed/whether it is formed
2. Spontaneous Model - wait for cancer to develop naturally and track development.
3. chemically induced model - animal exposed to a chemical or environmental factor to see if they develop cancer.
4. Gene identification model - animals whose unaltered genetic makeup permits scientists to look at genes susceptible to cancer development. |
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Term
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Definition
zebrafish - quick development & reproduction. used to study uveal melanoma
ferrets - used to study carcinogen induced model of cancer (chemically induced model)
mice - genetically modified to study skin and breast cancer. |
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Term
| Regulations in Place for Animal Research |
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Definition
-Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC): Every institution using animals for research must have an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). Each IACUC reviews research protocols and conducts evaluations of the institution's animal care and use
-IACUC plays the same role the Institutional Review Board plays with humans - both work to provide safe and ethical conditions, and may approve of or disapprove studies. |
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Term
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Definition
Proto-oncogenes are genes that help cell growth. When a proto-oncogene mutates or there are too many copies of it, it becomes a "bad" gene that can become permanently
turned on or activated when it is not supposed to be. This is an oncogene - it can cause cancer. |
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Term
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Definition
| Tumor suppressor genes are normal genes that slow down cell division, repair DNA mistakes, or tell cells when to die. When tumor suppressor genes mutate they don't work properly, cells can grow out of control, which can lead to cancer. |
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Term
| What types of genes are GNAQ and GNA11 in uveal melanoma? |
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Definition
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Term
| What is the main goal of lab 3? (Zebrafish) |
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Definition
| the purpose of the lab is to learn how to use molecular biology to investigate the level of the GNA11 genes in transgenic zebrafish. by doing so we will enhance our understanding of uveal melanoma development by tracking GNA11 expression in zebrafish. |
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Term
| Why did Halsted favor the radical mastectomy? |
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Definition
| -Halsted favored the radical mastectomy because it removed chances of breast cancer metastasizing to the lymph nodes - an indicator he believed meant that it would be too far spread to treat. |
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Term
| How were dyes used for cancer? |
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Definition
| Paul Ehrlich used dyes as biological stains. He discovered specificity in dyes - certain dyes were attracted to specific tissue, organs, and cells. Dyes have been further developed for screening and treating specific cancer. |
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Term
| What is the history of mustard gas and cancer? |
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Definition
During World War II, naval personnel who were exposed to mustard gas during military action were found to have toxic changes in the bone marrow cells that develop into blood cells.
a compound called nitrogen mustard was studied and found to work against a cancer of the lymph nodes called lymphoma. |
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Term
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Definition
biological cell forming the body of an organism ie bone, blood, tissue, skin.
-oncogenes accelerate cell growth & division
-mutations cant be inherited |
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Term
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Definition
Cells that develop into eggs and sperm.
-tumor suppressor mutation/inactive
-damage to both alleles lead to cancer
-mutant dna can be passed on |
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Term
| Knudson's 2 Hit Hypothesis & Retinablasphoma |
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Definition
| individuals will develop cancer of the retina if they either inherit one mutated retinoblastoma (Rb) gene and incur a second mutation (possibly environmentally induced) after conception, or if they incur two mutations or hits after conception. If only one Rb gene functions normally, the cancer is suppressed. |
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Term
| Inhertiance for Autosomal Chromosomes |
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Definition
Dominant: mutated gene is the dominant one.
Recessive: both copies of the gene must be mutated and both genes need to be inherited. |
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Term
| Genetic Testing Pros and Cons |
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Definition
Pros:
-preventive measures are available (prophylactic surgery)
-risk awareness
-family planning
Cons:
-unecessary stress
-unecessary measures taken
-guilt, fear |
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