MLT GlobeBasic Pathology: Neoplasia
120 Basic Pathology MCQs on Neoplasia with answers and explanations.
A gene that can drive cells into uncontrolled growth when mutated or overexpressed is called what?
Oncogenes are activated forms of normal proto-oncogenes (e.g. src, myc, ras). Tumour suppressors act the opposite way, and carcinogens are external agents.
A malignant tumour arising from mesenchymal tissue such as bone or muscle is termed a:
Sarcomas are malignant mesenchymal tumours; carcinomas arise from epithelium. A haematoma is a blood collection, not a tumour.
Histological grading of a cancer is based on:
Grade describes how abnormal the cells look. Tumour size, node involvement and metastases determine the stage (TNM).
Grain contaminated with Aspergillus flavus exposes people to aflatoxin B1. Which cancer does this chiefly cause?
Aflatoxin B1 is metabolized in the liver and induces TP53 mutations, causing hepatocellular carcinoma, especially with hepatitis B.
Which of these tumours is benign?
Leiomyoma is a benign smooth-muscle tumour, e.g. uterine fibroid. Despite "-oma", melanoma, lymphoma and medulloblastoma are malignant.
Which of the following changes is generally irreversible, persisting after the stimulus is removed?
Adaptations like hyperplasia, hypertrophy and metaplasia regress when the stimulus ends. Neoplastic growth is autonomous and continues without the stimulus.
A benign growth projecting from the colonic mucosa into the lumen, visible at colonoscopy, is termed a:
A polyp is any mass projecting above a mucosal surface into the lumen. Papilloma refers to finger-like epithelial projections, usually of surface epithelium.
Loss of structural and functional differentiation (anaplasia) is considered the hallmark of:
Anaplasia — pleomorphism, abnormal nuclei, atypical mitoses and loss of polarity — is the hallmark of malignancy. Benign adaptations remain well differentiated.
Which of the following is a benign bone-forming tumor?
Osteoma is a benign tumor of mature bone. Osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma and Ewing sarcoma are malignant.
An ovarian tumor contains hair, sebaceous material, teeth and cartilage derived from more than one germ layer. It is a:
Teratomas contain tissues from more than one germ layer, arising from totipotent germ cells. The mature cystic ovarian form is often called dermoid cyst.
A malignant tumor arising from squamous or glandular epithelium is called a:
Carcinomas are malignant epithelial tumors. Sarcomas, including leiomyosarcoma, arise from mesenchymal cells; lymphomas from lymphoid cells.
Gastric MALT lymphoma, a B-cell tumor arising in chronically inflamed mucosa, is most strongly linked to infection with:
Chronic H. pylori gastritis drives B-cell proliferation that can progress to MALT lymphoma; early lesions may regress after eradication therapy.
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma, endemic in southern China, parts of Africa and Arctic Inuit populations, is associated with:
EBV is present in almost all cases of undifferentiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma in endemic areas.
Which virus was the first to be linked to a human tumor, namely Burkitt lymphoma?
EBV was isolated from African Burkitt lymphoma cells in 1964, the first virus associated with a human cancer.
Squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix, anogenital cancers and a proportion of tonsillar oropharyngeal cancers are caused by:
High-risk HPVs produce E6 and E7 oncoproteins that inactivate p53 and RB. Low-risk types 6 and 11 cause benign warts.
The first lymph node that receives lymphatic drainage from a primary tumor is the:
The sentinel node is the first node in the tumor's drainage basin; its biopsy predicts the status of the remaining nodes, e.g., in breast cancer and melanoma.
A well-circumscribed uterine mass shows whorled bundles of bland smooth muscle cells without atypia or mitoses. The best diagnosis is:
A benign smooth muscle tumour is a leiomyoma. The '-sarcoma' suffix marks malignancy, and 'rhabdo-' refers to skeletal muscle.
Like HIV, HTLV-1 mainly infects and transforms which cells?
HTLV-1 is tropic for CD4+ T cells, and ATLL is usually a CD4+ T-cell neoplasm.
Ultraviolet B light causing skin cancer is an example of which class of carcinogenic agent?
Carcinogens are grouped as chemicals, radiant energy and microbes. UVB causes pyrimidine dimers and is a form of radiant energy.
Although richly vascular, which tissue is only rarely a site of metastatic deposits?
Skeletal muscle (and spleen) rarely host metastases despite high blood flow. Liver, lung and bone are among the commonest metastatic sites.