Cancer by the Numbers
2nd most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide
Breast cancer
How many 'hallmarks of cancer' were originally recognized?
6
What is the name of programmed cell death — the orderly process by which old or damaged healthy cells are normally eliminated?
Apoptosis
What is the name of the structural layer — made up of collagen, laminin, and proteoglycans — that separates epithelial cells from underlying connective tissue, and which invasive cancer cells must breach?
Basement membrane
Which stage indicates the cancer has spread to other parts of the body?
4
How many million new cancer cases are estimated worldwide?
About 20.0 million new cases
How many 'hallmarks of cancer' are officially recognized today?
8
Unlike apoptosis, this type of cell death causes the cell to swell until the plasma membrane ruptures, spilling contents and causing inflammation. What is it called?
Necrosis
What is the name of the process in which epithelial cancer cells downregulate E-Cadherin and upregulate N-Cadherin and Vimentin, gaining a more migratory, invasive, apoptosis-resistant phenotype?
EMT
Besides tumor size and depth of invasion, what other structures are checked during staging to determine whether cancer has begun to spread regionally?
Lymph nodes
How many millions new cancer deaths are projected for 2050?
18.5 million
What term describes cancer cells producing their own growth signals?
Sustained proliferative signaling
The 'elephant paradox' slide showed elephants have a much lower lifetime cancer risk than humans despite having far more cells. How many copies of the TP53 gene do elephants have, compared to about 2 in humans and dogs?
40
What is the specific term for cancer cells entering the bloodstream directly from the primary tumor site?
Intravasation
According to the 5-year relative survival chart, what is the overall survival rate across all stages of diagnosis combined?
66%
Name three of the five cancer types listed among the top 5 causes of cancer mortality worldwide
Lung, Colorectal, Stomach, Liver, Breast cancer
How do you call the formation of new blood vessels?
Angiogenesis
What are the protective DNA sequences at the ends of chromosomes that shorten with each cell division, eventually triggering p53-mediated cell death once they run out?
Telomeres
What is the specific term for circulating tumor cells exiting the bloodstream at a distant site, beginning to form a secondary tumor?
Extravasation
What is the 5-year relative survival rate for cancer that is still localized at the time of diagnosis?
91%
Colorectal cancer ranks 3rd in worldwide cancer incidence. What percentage of all new cancer cases does it represent?
10.2%
What type of cell death are cancer cells good at evading?
Apoptosis
What was the name of the first human cell line ever successfully 'immortalized' in a laboratory, taken from a patient in the 1950s?
HeLa
What is a cancer cell in the blood stream called?
CTC - circulating tumor cell
Beyond genetic factors, name at least three other categories of cancer causes/risk factors.
Age and Gender, Infections, Immune System, Emerging Research, Environmental Factors, Lifestyle Choices, Hormonal Factors