The Individual Across the Lifespan

Prof. Eljohn P. Zulueta, RN, MAN, PhDc

Definition of Terms

• Oncology - the branch of medical science dealing with

tumors, including the origin, development, diagnosis,
and treatment of malignant neoplasms.
– the study of Cancer.
• Cancer - a disease process that begins when an
abnormal cell is transformed by the genetic mutation of
the cellular DNA.
– In cancer, the abnormal cell forms a clone and begins to
proliferate abnormally, ignoring growth-regulating signals in
the environment surrounding the cell.
Definition of Terms

• Neoplasm - new growth; tumor; can be benign or

malignant; uncontrolled cell growth that follows no
physiologic demand.
• Hyperplasia - aka hypergenesis
– associated with the increase in number of cells.
– as a result, an organ can get enlarged.
– the cells look like normal cells but they are more in number if
we compare them with normal human body.
Definition of Terms
• Metaplasia - convertion of one cell into another cell type.
– transformation can be natural or it can be induced by an
external stimulus.
• Anaplasia - differentiation of cells gets back to the
original cells.
– the literal meaning of this word means “to form backward” and it
is basically the dedifferentiation of cells.
– this dedifferentiation can be of functions and cell structures or
both.
Definition of Terms

• Dysplasia - term used for the abnormality of development.

– overgrowth of immature cells at the location where the number
of mature cells is decreasing.
– particularly used for when cellular abnormality is restricted to
the new tissues.
 Hyperplasia vs Metaplasia vs Anaplasia vs
Dysplasia vs Neoplasia
• Hyperplasia is the increase in number of cell.
• Hyperplasia is often confused with Dysplasia but hyperplasia is
increase in number of cells while dysplasia is the growth of
immature cells.
• In metaplasia one type of cells convert into another type of
cells due to the presence of a stimuli, while anaplasia is the
dedifferentiation of cells.
• Neoplasia is the next stage which happens after metaplasia or
dysplasia.
• In metaplasia, when stimulus is removed, cells can get back to
the original state while in all others cells cannot get back to the
original phase.
Definition of Terms

• Benign – not malignant; an abnormal growth that is stable,

treatable and generally not life-threatening.
• Malignant – cancerous; cells that are invasive and tend to
metastasize, uncontrollable or resistant to therapy;
rapidly spreading.
• Invasion – refers to the growth of the primary tumor into the
surrounding host tissues.
• Metastasis – the dissemination or spread of malignant
cells to distant sites by direct spread of tumor cells to
body cavities or through lymphatic and blood circulation.
Definition of Terms

• Carcinoma – term used for malignant tumors

of epithelial in origin (bronchogenic carcinoma,
invasive ductal carcinoma, endometrial carcinoma,
adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, basal
cell carcinoma).
Definition of Terms

• Sarcoma – term used for malignant tumors of

mesenchymal/connective tissue in origin.
(rhabdomyosarcoma, liposarcoma,
leiomyosarcoma, angiosarcoma).
• Note: benign tumors usually end with the suffix
“oma”, except for lymphoma, hepatoblastoma,
neuroblastoma, myeloma, melanoma. These are
already malignant.
Definition of Terms

• DNA-repair genes – the “caretaker genes” –

genes involved in controlling or regulating
genetic instability to ensure integrity of genetic
information.
Definition of Terms

• Oncogenes – genes that encode proteins

(oncoproteins) whose action promotes cell
proliferation.
• Tumor suppressor gene, or anti-oncogene, is a
gene that protects a cell from one step on the path
to cancer.
– slow down cell division, repair DNA mistakes, and tell
cells when to die (apoptosis, or programmed cell death)
Definition of Terms

• Proto-oncogene - a normal gene which, when

altered by mutation, becomes an oncogene that
can contribute to cancer.
– Proto-oncogenes may have many different functions in
the cell.
– Some proto-oncogenes provide signals that lead to
cell division. Other proto-oncogenes regulate
programmed cell death (apoptosis).
Definition of Terms

• Carcinogenesis - the formation of a cancer,

whereby normal cells are transformed into cancer
cells.
– The process is characterized by changes at the cellular,
genetic, and epigenetic levels and abnormal cell division,
in some cancers forming a malignant mass.
– aka Oncogenesis or Tumorigenesis
 Some Examples of Genes in
Cancer Susceptibility
• ALDH2 – alcohol-related cancers
• APC – colorectal cancer
• CCND1 – head and neck cancer
• COMT – breast cancer
• CYP1A1 – lung, oral, and breast cancers, childhood
leukemias
• GSTM1 - bladder and breast cancers; lung cancers
• HRAS – breast, ovarian, lung and colorectal cancer risk
• LTA – myeloma
• MCIR – melanoma
Definition of Terms

• Necrosis – cell death.

• Apoptosis – programmed cell death.
• Differentiation - process by which cells or
tissues undergo a change toward a more
specialized form or function, especially during
embryonic development.
Definition of Terms

• Hypertrophy – increase in the size of cells,

resulting in an increase in the size of the organ.
• Hyperplasia – an increase in the number in an
organ or tissue, usually resulting in increased
mass/thickening of the organ or tissue.
• Atrophy – reduced size of an organ or tissue
resulting from a decrease in cell size and
number.
Hypertrophy
Atrophy
QUESTIONS?