Cancer+Stuff

Define: apoptosis, telomeres, metastisis, tumor, proto-oncogenes, oncogenes, growth factor, tumor suppressor gene, oncology, carcinoma, sarcoma, leukemia, lymphoma Apoptosis - programmed cell death telomeres - special repetitive DNA sequences metastisis - when cells begin new tumors far from the primary tumor tumor - Cancer cells have lost all restraint they pile on top of one another and grow in multiple layers proto-oncogenes - code for proteins that promote the cell cycle and prevent apoptosis. oncogenes - when proto-oncogenes mutate, they become cancer-causing genes growth factor - a signal that activiates a cell cell signaling pathway, resulting in cell division tumor supressor gene - code for proteins that inhibit the cell cycle and promote apoptosis. they are often likened to the brakes of a car because they inhibit acceleration oncology - the study of cancer carcinoma - are cancers of the epithelial tissues and adenomas include cancer of the skin, breast, liver, pancreas intestines, lung, prostate and thyroid sarcoma - are cancers that arrive in muscles muscles and connective tissue, such as bone and fibrous connective tissue leukemia - are cancers of the blood lymphomas - cancers of lymphatic tissue 1. What do cancer cells look like? there all piled on top of each other and overflowing where as normal cells are straight in a line this is called an unrestrained cell cycle 2. What is unusual about the nuclei of cancer cells? the nuclei of cancer cells are enlarged and may contain an abnormal number of chromosomes 3. Why don't cancer cells die? Cancer cells are immortal and keep on dividing for an unlimited number of times 4. Describe the three phases of the development of cancer. Iniation - a single cell undergoes a mutation that causes it to begin to divide repeatedly promotion - a tumor develops and the tumor cells continue to divide as they divide they undergo mutations progression - one cell undergoes a mutation that gives it a selective advangtage over the other cells. this process is repeated several times and eventually there is a there is a cell that has the ability to invade surrounding tissue 5. Mutations in what two types of genes lead to uncontrollable growth? RB P53 6. What is p53? How does it cause cancer? P53 is a protein that turns on genes that stop the cell cycle and activiates repair enzymes. if repair is impossible the p53 protein programs cell death no matter how much p53 is made none will be available 7. What is RB? How does it cause cancer? RB turns on the gene for cyclin D and other genes whose products promote entry into the S phase of the cell cycle. when the tumor suppressor gene p16 mutates the RB protein is always functional and the expereinces repated rounds of DNA synthesis without the occurrence of mitosis 8. What are the most common cancers cases for males and females? Male - Prostate, Lung Female - Breast, Lung 9. What are the most common cancer deaths for males and females? Male - Lungs Female - Lungs