what is banign?

unable to invade healthy surrounding tissue, incapable of indefinite growth

what is malignant?

becomes progressively more invasive, may metastasize

what is metastasis?

the spread of cancer cells beyond the site of origin

what are the hallmarks of cancer?

stimulating their own growth

ignoring growth-inhibiting signals

avoiding death by apoptosis

developing a blood supply: angiogenesis

seeding from site of origin to invade other tissues: metastasis

constant replication to expand the tumor-cell population

evasion and outrunning the immune response

what are the cancers of the immune system/blood?

leukemia

lymphoma

myeloma

leukemia

a group of cancers that begin in the bone marrow and lead to overproduction of white blood cells

lymphoma

neoplasms of the lymphatic tissues; usually lymphocytes

myeloma

cancer of the plasma cells; they can accumulate in the bone marrow and then secrete abnormal antibodies

what are proto-oncogenes

genes that regulate control of cell growth and division; when mutated can contribute to malignant growth of cells

what are tumor-suppressor genes?

genes that encode proteins which normally function to prevent cells from becoming cancerous; may also include genes that control apoptosis

what are the four stages of malignant transformation?

initiation

promotion

progression

metastasis

what are the four types of environmental factors that can cause cancer?

chemicals

UV light

radiation

oncogenic viruses

what are tumor antigens?

cells are self cells that may express either unique or inappropriately expressed Ag that can be detected by the immune system

what are the four groups of tumor antigens that are recognized by the immune system?

Ag encoded by genes exclusively expressed by tumors

Ag encoded by variant forms of normal genes altered by mutation

Ag normally expressed only at certain stages of development

Ag overexposed in particular tumors

what are tumor-specific antigens?

antigens specific to tumor cells, not found in non-cancer cells

what are tumor-associated antigens?

normal cellular proteins; not unique to cells

what are the three phases of immunoediting?

elimination

equilibrium

escape

elimination

also known as immunosurvelliance; innate and adaptive immunity

equilibrium

at this stage, the tumor is considered to be dormant; it is decreased in terms of its immunogenicity. the immune system has a hard time recognizing the altered tumor

escape

tumor cells with low immunogenicity can evade immune system detection

how do tumor cells evade immune defenses?

subversion of MHC class I

sabotage of apoptotic signals

poor co-stimulation

T cell exhaustion of tolerance

what are the five types of immunity?

monoclonal antibodies

adaptively transferred DCs

adaptively transferred T cells

CAR T cells

checkpoint/blockade therapy

monoclonal antibodies

treatment of terminal B-cell lymphoma with anti-idiotype mAb

mAb against CD20 B-cell marker for non-hodgkin's lymphoma

immunotoxins, toxic molecules coupled to mAb

mAb against HER2 receptor in breast cancer

adaptively transferred DCs

isolate autologous DCs

co-culture DCs with antigen

re-infuse antigen loaded DCs into patient

patient has increased CD4+ and CD8+ T cell response against tumor antigens, stimulating a stronger CTL response

adaptively transferred T cells

cells obtained from tumors, tumor-draining nodes, or peripheral blood

once obtained, the cells are expanded ex vivo using IL-2 cytokine to overcome anergic states

patients are depleted of lymphocytes to create a niche for the new cells

the expanded cells are reinfused

what are CAR T cells?

chimeric antigen receptor

what are the types of CAR T cells?

truck

universal CAR

self-driving CAR

armored CAR
self-destruct CAR

conditional CAR

checkpoint/blockade therapy?

manipulation of costimulatory signals can improve cancer immunity