cancer+articleBA

Cancer Article

1. The article begins by mentioning two important people with cancer. Who is Elizabeth Edwards? Who is Tony Snow? (Include their political party, job, and current health status-this article was written in April-your answer should have more than what you can find in the article). Elizabeth Edwards is a 57-year-old woman, wife of John Edwards. Tony Snow is the secretary of George Bush.

2. What is a metastatic cancer cell? It’s a cancerous cell that can spread from organ to organ.

3. Why does the author call cancer cells barbarians and cannibals? Because they begin to multiply uncontrollably and detraoy and block nutrients to other cells

4. What do we know about the events that transform a normal cell to a cancer cell? Chromosolmal mutations

5. Why is harder to study metastatic cancer cells? Because they must be studied in the body

6. How many cells do primary tumors shed each day (in a rodent)? Yet how many metastatic tumors do these rodents have? Millions of primary, the normal cells however can be counted on one hand

7. Describe two ways metastatic cells can travel through the body avoiding detection from our immune system? One way is through parasites which create safe pools in the flesh

8. Where is the first site (oasis for the cancer cell) that metastasis generally occurs? Why? Why is it an oasis? (What is an oasis?) Usually at a wound site, this allows the cancer to sleep.

9. What is a dormant micrometastasis? Why are they relevant to human health? Dormant micrometastasis is when cancer cells settle into new parts of the body and their replication of more cells can either die or become dormant. This is relevant to human health because people may have dormant cancer cells and not know.

10. What evidence do we have that metastasis occurs in organs that are similar to the organ of the primary tumor? Give two examples. Evidence suggests that micrometastases will not attain macro dimensions unlessthey adapt to their new surroundings.