Deck 10: Biology of Cancer

Question 1

A 25-year-old male develops a tumour of the breast glandular tissue. What type of tumour will be documented on the chart?

A) Carcinoma
B) Adenocarcinoma
C) Sarcoma
D) Lymphoma

Answer 1

Adenocarcinoma

Question 2

A primary care provider is attempting to diagnose cancer and is looking for a tumour marker. Which of the following could be a possible marker?

A) Red blood cells
B) Apoptotic cells
C) Enzymes
D) Neurotransmitters

Answer 2

Enzymes

Question 3

An oncologist is discussing when a cancer cell loses differentiation. Which of the following is the oncologist describing?

A) Autonomy
B) Anaplasia
C) Pleomorphism
D) Metastasis

Answer 3

Anaplasia

Question 4

A nurse is discussing preinvasive epithelial tumours of glandular or squamous cell origin. What is the nurse describing?

A) Tumour in differentiation
B) Dysplastic
C) Cancer in situ
D) Cancer beyond (meta) situ

Question 5

Which information should the nurse include when teaching about angiogenic factors in cancerous tumours?

A) Angiogenic factors release of growth factors.
B) Angiogenic factors stimulate tumour regression.
C) Angiogenic factors trigger apoptosis.
D) Angiogenic factors stimulate new blood vessel growth.

Question 6

A patient asks when adjuvant chemotherapy is used. How should the nurse respond?

A) Adjuvant chemotherapy is a primary treatment.
B) Adjuvant chemotherapy is used before radiation therapy.
C) Adjuvant chemotherapy is used after surgical removal of a tumour.
D) Adjuvant chemotherapy is administered in cancer with little risk of metastasis.

Question 7

Brachytherapy is being used to treat cancer in a patient. What types of cancers respond well to brachytherapy? (Select all that apply.)

A) Prostate
B) Cervix
C) Head
D) Neck
E) Lung

Question 8

Which information indicates that a nurse understands characteristics of malignant tumours?

A) Grows slowly.
B) Has a well-defined capsule.
C) Cells vary in size and shape.
D) Is well differentiated.

Question 9

A 45-year-old male presents with persistent, severe stomach pain. Testing reveals a peptic ulcer. Further laboratory tests reveal the presence of Helicobacter pylori. Which of the following is of concern for this patient?

A) Gastric cancer
B) Leukemia
C) Lung cancer
D) Adenocarcinoma of the colon

Question 10

A patient has a tissue growth that was diagnosed as cancer. Which of the following terms best describes this growth?

A) Malignant tumour
B) Lipoma
C) Meningioma
D) Hypertrophy

Question 11

Which genetic change causes alterations in only one or a few nucleotide bases?

A) Insertions
B) Deletions
C) Point mutations
D) Amplification mutations

Question 12

A 30-year-old male with HIV is diagnosed with Epstein-Barr virus. After 2 months, the virus is still active. Based upon the Epstein-Barr virus, which of the following cancers is most likely to develop in this patient?

A) B-cell lymphoma
B) Kaposi sarcoma
C) T-cell leukemia
D) T-cell lipoma

Question 13

A 52-year-old male with hepatitis C recently developed hepatic cancer. Which of the following markers should be increased?

A) Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP)
B) Catecholamines
C) Prostate-specific antigen
D) Homovanillic acid

Question 14

A nurse is giving an example of inflammation as an etiology for cancer development. What is the best example the nurse should give?

A) Pneumonia and lung cancer
B) Ulcerative colitis and colon cancer
C) Prostatic hypertrophy and prostate cancer
D) Hypercholesterolemia and leukemia

Question 15

Which of the following indicates that a nurse understands a proto-oncogene? A proto-oncogene is best defined as a(n) _____ gene.

A) normal
B) altered
C) inactive
D) tumour-suppressor

Question 16

Which statement indicates the patient has a correct understanding of metastasis? The most common route of metastasis is through the blood vessels and:

A) lung tissue.
B) body cavities.
C) lymphatics.
D) connective tissues.

Question 17

A 45-year-old female was recently diagnosed with cervical cancer. Which of the following is the most likely cause of her cancer?

A) Herpes virus
B) Rubella virus
C) Human papillomavirus (HPV)
D) Hepatitis B virus

Question 18

What does the activation of telomerase by cancer cells result in?

A) Repeated divisions of cancer cells
B) Cancerous clonal distinction
C) Limited mitosis by healthy cells
D) Enhanced mutation abilities