Deck 16: Cancer

Question 1

Which cells below possess unlimited proliferation potential, have the capacity to produce more of themselves, and can give rise to all of the cells of the tissue?

A)stem cells
B)progenitor cells
C)differentiated end products of a tissue
D)endocardial cells

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Cancer results from the uncontrolled proliferation of a single wayward cell and is therefore considered to be _________.

A)polyclonal
B)biclonal
C)monoclonal
D)variant
E)obstreperous

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Another word for malignant transformation is ________.

A)oncologination
B)ontogenesis
C)cancerogenesis
D)tumorigenesis
E)oncogenation

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Chronic infection with which stomach-dwelling bacterium has been associated with certain gastric lymphomas?

A)Escherichia coli
B)Staphylococcus aureus
C)Helicobacter pylori
D)Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Question 5

Which statement below is a correct statement about the abilities of normal cells and cancer cells to grow and divide when cultured under conditions favorable for normal cell proliferation?

A)Malignant cells grow and divide at a faster rate than normal cells.
B)Normal cells grow and divide at a faster rate than malignant cells.
C)Malignant and normal cells grow and divide at similar rates.
D)Neither type of cell grows well.
E)Normal cells do not grow at all, while malignant cells grow very rapidly.

Question 6

What do all of the environmental agents that can cause cancer have in common?

A)They can all alter the genome.
B)They are all soluble in water.
C)They are all made of nucleic acids.
D)They are all made of amino acids.
E)They all can alter proteins present in the cell cytoplasm that are responsible for the onset of cancer.

Question 7

The fact that tumor cells depend, in many cases, on glycolysis may reflect ________.

A)the low metabolic requirements of cancer cells
B)the high oxygen levels the cancer cells usually encounter
C)an inadequate blood supply within the tumor
D)muations in glycolytic enzyme-encoding genes

Question 8

Which one of the following viruses does NOT appear to be linked to human cancers?

A)hepatitis B virus
B)Epstein-Barr virus
C)herpes virus HHV-8
D)SV40
E)rhinovirus

Question 9

Hypoxic conditions ___________.

A)cause cancer cells to activate a transcription factor called Hif
B)can cause cancer cells to induce the formation of new blood vessels
C)can promote the migratory properties of cancer cells
D)can cause the spread of a tumor
E)all of these are correct

Question 10

What is the most important property of a cancer cell, whether it is in the body or in vitro?

A)its chromosome complement
B)its loss of growth control
C)its size
D)its secretions
E)its inability to divide

Question 11

What enzymatic activity is possessed by telomerase?

A)It maintains centromeres at chromosome ends (telomeres).
B)It degrades centromeres at the telomeres of chromosomes.
C)It maintains telomeres at the ends of chromosomes.
D)It degrades telomeres at the ends of chromosomes.
E)It attaches telomeric regions of homologous chromosomes to each other.

Question 12

What generally happens if cells that have been transformed into cancer cells in culture by carcinogenic chemicals or viruses are introduced into a host animal?

A)Nothing happens; they do not survive the introduction process.
B)They are reconverted to normal cells in the host.
C)They generally cause tumors in the host animal.
D)The host animal's immune system destroys the transformed cancer cells.

Question 13

How can cancer cells proliferate in the absence of blood serum?

A)Their nuclei depend on these serum growth factors to maintain their structure.
B)The serum inhibits their growth, while it is necessary for normal cells.
C)The cell cycle of cancer cells does not depend on growth-factor from serum.
D)The cell cycle of cancer cells depends on signals transmitted from serum growth-factor receptors located in their cytoplasm.
E)Their mitochondria depend on serum growth factors for their activity.

Question 14

Why do tumor viruses transform normal cells into cancer cells?

A)They take over the normal cells and cause them to make progeny viruses.
B)They carry genes whose products interfere with the cell's normal growth-regulating activities.
C)They carry genes whose products interfere with the cell's normal bioenergetics pathways.
D)They carry genes whose products interfere with the cell's normal secretory activities.

Question 15

When resources are limited, normal cells in culture will exhibit decreased growth rates. Which statement does NOT describe how cancer cells will respond?

A)They continue to grow and divide.
B)They pile on top of one another forming clumps.
C)Their growth rate decreases.
D)They fail to respond to the types of signals that cause normal cells to cease growth and division.

Question 16

A single layer of cells that covers a culture dish is called _________.

A)a permalayer
B)an imperium
C)a monolayer
D)a unilayer

Question 17

Which cells generally lack the ability to divide?

A)stem cells
B)progenitor cells
C)differentiated end products of a tissue
D)endocardial cells

Question 18

What evidence suggests that while viruses may play a role in cancer development and increase a person's risk of developing cancer, they are rarely the sole determinant responsible for the disease?

A)Human papilloma virus (HPV)is transmitted by sexual intercourse.
B)Although HPV is found in ~90% of human cervical cancers, most women infected with the virus never develop the cancer.
C)HPV is found in ~90% of human cervical cancers, and women infected with the virus develop the cancer.
D)All women infected with HPV develop cervical cancer.

Question 19

Who made the first known correlation between environmental agents and cancer development?

A)Henry Potter
B)Percivall Pott
C)Percival Lowell
D)Charles Darwin
E)Archibald Garrod

Question 20

What is the component called "serum" that is added to culture media?

A)any sugary solution
B)the fluid fraction of blood
C)a particulate fraction of blood
D)a combination of the fluid and particulate fractions of blood
E)any blood that has been in a syringe

Question 21

What was the initial explanation for the sensitivity of cancer cells to radiation therapy and chemotherapy as compared to normal cells?

A)Cancer cells are sensitive to radiation and chemotherapy because they divide more rapidly.
B)Cancer cells are sensitive to radiation and chemotherapy because once they sustain genetic damage, they continue through the cell cycle while repair is incomplete and that triggers metastasis.
C)Cancer cells are sensitive to radiation and chemotherapy because they divide more slowly.
D)Cancer cells are sensitive to radiation and chemotherapy because they will not undergo apoptosis.

Question 22

____________ is a rare childhood cancer of the eye's retina.

A)Retinal carcinoma
B)Eye cancer
C)Retinal sarcoma
D)Retinoblastoma
E)Retinal epithelioma

Question 23

What observation suggested that the elevated sensitivity of cancer cells to radiation therapy and chemotherapy was NOT due to their more rapid division?

A)Cells that divide more quickly reproduce more effectively.
B)Some cancer cells were observed to divide more slowly than their normal counterparts, yet they are still more sensitive to drugs and radiation than are normal cells.
C)Cells that divide more quickly reproduced less effectively.
D)Some cancer cells divide more quickly than their normal counterparts, yet they are still more sensitive to drugs and radiation than are normal cells.
E)Normal cells dividing more slowly than tumor cells are more sensitive to drugs and radiation.

Question 24

Patients suffering from familial adenomatous polyposis coli have typically been found to have a small _________ on chromosome 5, which is the site of the _________.

A)deletion, RP tumor-suppressor gene
B)deletion, APC oncogene
C)duplication, APC tumor-suppressor gene
D)deletion, APC tumor-suppressor gene
E)duplication, RP tumor-suppressor gene

Question 25

What is unusual about the inheritance of retinoblastoma, given that it appears to be inherited as a dominant trait?

A)All children who inherit one copy of the RB deletion develop retinoblastoma.
B)Not all children who inherit the RB deletion develop retinoblastoma.
C)No children who inherit the RB deletion develop retinoblastoma.
D)Only boys appear to develop retinoblastoma.
E)Only girls appear to develop retinoblastoma.

Question 26

Under what circumstances are tumor cells likely to undergo apoptosis when they have sustained damage to DNA?

A)if they have a functioning RP gene.
B)if they have a functioning TP53 gene
C)if they have a non-functioning RP gene.
D)if they have a non-functioning TP53gene
E)if they have a non-functioning BAX gene

Question 27

What enzyme is responsible for maintaining the length of the DNA sequences on the ends of chromosomes?

A)tendrilase
B)telomerase
C)telomere synthase
D)telomere disruptase
E)telomere kinase

Question 28

You study two cell lines. In one, the MDM2 protein is overexpressed; in the other the p53 protein is absent. What difference would you expect in the behavior of these two cell lines?

A)In cells containing overexpressed MDM2, p53 levels will be low; in cells lacking the p53 protein, p53 levels are also low; thus there will be no difference in behavior.
B)In cells containing overexpressed MDM2, p53 levels will be high; in cells lacking the p53 protein, p53 levels are low; thus there will be a drastic difference in behavior.
C)In cells containing overexpressed MDM2, p53 levels will be high; in cells lacking the p53 protein, p53 levels are high; thus there will be no difference.
D)In cells containing overexpressed MDM2, p53 levels will be low; in cells lacking the p53 protein, p53 levels are high; thus there will be no difference in behavior.
E)None of these are correct.

Question 29

Using conventional nomenclature, which of the hypothetical genes named below would be a human gene?

A)ABC
B)Gef
C)par
D)Raf

Question 30

How have scientists historically identified oncogenes?

A)by introducing the DNA suspected of containing the oncogene into cultured cells and looking for altered growth properties
B)by fusing two normal cells together
C)by fusing two malignant cells together
D)by introducing the DNA suspected of containing the oncogene into cultured cells and looking for altered nuclear membranes

Question 31

What happens if a G₁ cell sustains genetic damage?

A)The p53 protein concentration rises very rapidly.
B)There is no increased expression of the p53 gene.
C)The p53 protein exhibits an increase in stability.
D)All choices are correct.

Question 32

Retinoblastoma is inherited as a ____________.

A)dominant trait
B)recessive trait
C)sex-linked recessive trait
D)sex-linked dominant trait
E)codominant trait

Question 33

What part of the cell cycle does the pRB protein help to regulate?

A)S to G₂ transition
B)G₁ to S transition
C)G₂ to M transition
D)G₀ to G₁ transition
E)M to G₂ transition

Question 34

Oncogenes are __________.

A)eukaryotic cellular genes that were incorporated into the viral genome during a previous infection
B)genes that originated in bacterial genomes
C)genes that originated in viral genomes but are found in eukaryotic genomes
D)genes that originated in bacterial genomes, moved to viral genomes and were eventually transferred to eukaryotes

Question 35

Cells from a retinoblastoma tumor are cultured and a wild-type copy of the gene is reintroduced into the cells. What is the result of this experiment?

A)The cancer phenotype remains.
B)The cancer phenotype is more extreme.
C)The cancer phenotype disappears.
D)The cells immediately die.

Question 36

When telomerase appears in a cell, it is not because the coding sequences of the gene have been mutated. Instead, the protein produced is essentially normal, but it is being produced at an abnormal time. A gene that is normally repressed has been activated for some reason. Such an alteration in DNA structure is referred to as _________ change.

A)an androgenous
B)a mutational
C)an epigenetic
D)a structural
E)an ancillary

Question 37

Using conventional nomenclature, which of the hypothetical genes named below would be a viral gene?

A)ABC
B)Gef
C)par
D)Raf

Question 38

Which of the following is true of healthy G₁ cells?

A)The p53 protein is found at very high levels.
B)The probability of apoptosis in these cells is very high.
C)The p53 protein is found at very low levels.
D)All choices are correct.

Question 39

Scientists in the late 1960's were studying two rodent cell lines, one malignant and one normal. In an experiment which fused malignant and normal cells, what happened?

A)All of the hybrid (fused)cells behaved like malignant cancer cells.
B)Some of the hybrid cells lost malignant traits.
C)Some of the hybrid cells gained more extreme malignant traits.
D)Most of the hybrids died shortly after fusion.
E)The hybrids began to fuse together spontaneously making giant multinucleate cells.

Question 40

_____________ is an inherited disease in which individuals develop many (hundreds or thousands)of premalignant polyps from epithelial cells lining the colon wall.

A)Familial adenomatous polyposis coli
B)Familial hypercholesterolemia
C)Inherited adenomitis
D)Familial polypsoidemia
E)Inherited polypoma intestines

Question 41

Because they act to _______ tumorigenesis, the miR-15a and miR-16 miRNAs can be thought of as _________.

A)enhance, tumor suppressors
B)inhibit, oncogenes
C)enhance, oncogenes
D)inhibit, tumor suppressors

Question 42

The avian erythroblastosis virus contains an oncogene called erbB that encodes ___________.

A)an altered EGF receptor that is missing part of the extracellular domain that binds to the growth factor
B)an altered insulin receptor that binds insulin with lower affinity
C)an altered transcription factor that turns on hemoglobin synthesis
D)an elongated auxiliary protein of the cytoskeleton
E)an underexpressed nuclear protein

Question 43

How does lipid phosphatase PTEN affect the balance between proapoptotic and antiapoptotic signals?

A)PTEN removes the phosphate group from the 3-position of PIP₃ converting it to PI(4,5)P₂, which cannot activate PKB (AKT)and thus throws the balance in an antiapoptotic direction.
B)PTEN removes the phosphate group from the 3-position of PIP₃ converting it to PI(4,5)P₂, which cannot activate PKB (AKT)and thus throws the balance in a proapoptotic direction.
C)PTEN cuts a phosphate group off of PKB, which throws the balance in a proapoptotic direction.
D)PTEN cuts a phosphate group off of PKB, which throws the balance in an antiapoptotic direction.
E)PTEN adds a phosphate group to PKB, which throws the balance in a proapoptotic direction.

Question 44

A well-known cell-survival pathway involves a kinase called _______ that is activated by the _______, leading to a larger chance that the cell will survive a stimulus that would normally lead to its destruction.

A)PKB, phosphoinositide PIP3
B)PKB, phosphoinositide PIP2
C)PRB, phosphoinositide PIP3
D)PKA, phosphoinositide PIP2

Question 45

What commonly happens to the number of EGF receptors in the plasma membranes of malignant cells as compared to normal cells?

A)Malignant cells usually have the same number of receptors in their plasma membranes as normal cells.
B)Malignant cells usually have a much larger number of plasma membrane receptors than normal cells.
C)Malignant cells usually have a much smaller number of plasma membrane receptors than normal cells.
D)Malignant cells usually have no plasma membrane receptors, while normal cells have them.

Question 46

Which of the following enzymes is known to be expressed at a high level in the cancer cells of patients suffering from acute myeloid leukemia and at low levels in the cancer cells of patients suffering from acute lymphoblastic leukemia?

A)cholesterase
B)catalase
C)adenylyl cyclase
D)phosphodiesterase
E)protein kinase A

Question 47

How are drug companies trying to combat the ability of the BCL-2 gene to lower the effectiveness of chemotherapy?

A)They are trying to develop drugs that stabilize cancer cells.
B)They are trying to develop drugs that make cancer cells more likely to undergo apoptosis.
C)They are trying to develop drugs that cause cancer cells to revert to normal embryonic cells.
D)They are trying to develop drugs that cause cancer cells to dedifferentiate.
E)They are trying to develop drugs that cause cancer cells to differentiate.

Question 48

What virus seems to be related to the development of Burkitt's lymphoma in African patients, while it is associated only with minor infections, like mononucleosis, in the Western world?

A)avian erythroblastosis virus
B)simian sarcoma virus
C)rhinovirus
D)Epstein-Barr virus
E)parvovirus

Question 49

The BCL-2 oncogene is most closely linked to _________; it encodes a membrane-bound protein that____________.

A)apoptosis, normally acts to activate apoptosis
B)apoptosis, normally acts to inhibit apoptosis
C)uncontrolled proliferation, normally acts to inhibit apoptosis
D)uncontrolled proliferation, normally acts to activate apoptosis
E)apoptosis, binds to the insulin receptor tyrosine kinase

Question 50

What effect does the altered erbB -encoded receptor that is the product of the avian erythroblastosis virus have on the cells infected with the virus?

A)The infected cells stop growing.
B)The infected cells proliferate in an uncontrolled manner.
C)The infected cells undergo apoptosis.
D)The infected cells hyperdifferentiate.

Question 51

What is the name for tiny regulatory RNAs that negatively regulate the expression of target mRNAs?

A)tRNAs
B)microRNAs
C)mtRNAs
D)macroRNAs
E)rRNAs

Question 52

The first oncogene discovered was _____, which codes for a _______.

A)MYC, tyrosine protein kinase
B)SRC, tyrosine protein kinase
C)SRC, serine/threonine protein kinase
D)MYC, serine/threonine protein kinase
E)SRC, intermediary metabolism regulatory protein

Question 53

What is the oncogene that is most often mutated in human tumors and what does it encode?

A)the RAS gene, a GTP-binding protein that serves as an on-off switch for a key cell signaling pathway that controls cell proliferation
B)the RAS gene, a DNA polymerase that replicates DNA for dividing cells
C)the MYC gene, an RNA polymerase that transcribes mRNA encoding proteins needed for cell division
D)the RB gene, a GTP-binding protein that serves as an on-off switch for a key cell signaling pathway that controls cell proliferation
E)the MYC gene, a protein kinase that enhances cell differentiation

Question 54

Raf is a ________ protein kinase at the top of the _______.

A)tyrosine, MAP kinase cascade
B)serine/threonine, MAP kinase cascade
C)tyrosine, glucagon cascade
D)serine/threonine. glucagon cascade
E)serine/threonine, apoptosis cascade

Question 55

You culture cells and selectively block MYC gene expression. What is the effect on the cells?

A)Cell progression through the cycle continues unabated.
B)Cell progression through G₁ is blocked.
C)The cells arrest in the middle of mitosis.
D)The cells arrest in the middle of meiosis.
E)The cells arrest in the middle of S phase.

Question 56

How does the behavior of the altered erbB -encoded receptor that is the product of the avian erythroblastosis virus differ from the wild type form of the receptor?

A)The altered receptor behaves in the same way as the wild-type receptor.
B)The altered receptor constitutively stimulates cell growth in the presence and absence of the growth factor.
C)The altered receptor stimulates cell growth in the presence of the growth factor, but not in its absence.
D)The altered receptor constitutively represses growth and cell proliferation in the presence and absence of the growth factor.
E)The altered receptor stimulates cell growth in the absence of the growth factor, but not in its presence.

Question 57

If Raf is mutated so that it is "on" constitutively, what is the effect on the cell?

A)The cell stops dividing.
B)The cell differentiates.
C)The cell dedifferentiates.
D)The cell loses growth control.
E)The cell increases in volume permanently.

Question 58

Whether a cell lives or dies after a particular genetic or epigenetic event depends to a large degree on ________ between ________ and _________ signals.

A)the differences, mitotic, cytokinetic
B)the balance, mitotic, apoptotic
C)the balance, proapoptotic, antiapoptotic
D)the differences, apoptotic, cytokinetic
E)the differences, mitotic, apoptotic

Question 59

The sis oncogene of the simian sarcoma virus was derived from what normal cellular gene?

A)the Ras gene
B)the gene for platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)
C)the gene for the insulin receptor
D)the gene for the glucagon receptor
E)the gene for epidermal growth factor

Question 60

If any of the proteins involved in mismatch repair are damaged, the mutation rate and cancer risk will rise; this is called the ___________.

A)stability phenotype
B)mutator phenotype
C)mutator genotype
D)alteration phenotype
E)alteration genotype

Question 61

For what disease has the bispecific monoclonal antibody Blincyto approved for treatment?

A)acute lymphocytic leukemia
B)chronic lymphocytic leukemia
C)ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease)
D)multiple sclerosis
E)glioblastoma

Question 62

Vinca alkaloids are responsible for all of the following EXCEPT:

A)destruction of white blood cells
B)microtubule binding
C)intermediate filament binding
D)arresting cell division
E)causing metaphase arrest

Question 63

What is a "humanized" monoclonal antibody, as used in passive immunotherapy?

A)An antibody that is derived from mouse lymphocytes and used in human cancer therapy
B)A human antibody that is produced by one cancer patient and administered to another
C)A mouse-produced engineered antibody with an antigen recognition surface of mouse origin
D)An antibody that is introduced for expression in humans by human researchers
E)An antibody against a tumor antigen that is produced by healthy people

Question 64

Which statement about therapeutic radiation is NOT correct?

A)radiation therapy can be used to reduce symptoms (palliatively)
B)radiation never cures cancer unless it is used in conjunction with chemotherapy
C)external beam radiation therapy produces high energy electron beams or X-rays
D)internal radiation therapy places a small amount of radioactive isotope at the tumor site

Question 65

__________ is an approach that tries to get the immune system more involved in the fight against cancer.

A)Active immunotherapy
B)Gene therapy
C)Inhibition of cancer-promoting proteins
D)Inhibition of angiogenesis
E)Passive immunotherapy

Question 66

What was the first radiation source that was discovered?

A)X-rays
B)radium
C)Gamma rays
D)ultra-violet light
E)uranium

Question 67

With respect to cancer genetics and the cancer genome, what are passenger genes?

A)genes that are subject to mutation but have no effect on the phenotype of a cancer cell
B)genes that are not subject to mutation and have no effect on the phenotype of a cancer cell
C)genes that are subject to mutation but have a large effect on the phenotype of a cancer cell
D)genes that are subject to mutation but have no effect on the genotype of a cancer cell
E)genes that are subject to mutation but have no effect on the phenotype of an egg cell

Question 68

The cancer vaccine Provenge utilizes which type of cells from the patient?

A)erythrocytes
B)fibroblasts
C)Schwann cells
D)white blood cells
E)prostate cells

Question 69

Twenty-first century drug research using computational methods hopes to identify new medications from which of the following sources?

A)plants
B)fungi
C)bacteria
D)all are correct choices

Question 70

Mutant forms of which of the following genes have been associated with melanomas and colorectal cancers, respectively?

A)APC and ZUNI
B)BRAF and CCMD
C)BRAF and APC
D)CCMD and APC
E)ZUNI and BRAF

Question 71

The genes involved in tumorigenesis constitute a specific subset of the genome whose products are involved in which of the following activities?

A)progression of a cell through the cell cycle
B)adhesion of a cell to its neighbors
C)apoptosis
D)repair of DNA damage
E)all of these are correct

Question 72

Which of these anti-cancer drugs acts to inhibit topoisomerase I?

A)vinblastine
B)taxol
C)camptothecin
D)podophyllotoxin
E)etoposide

Question 73

Which of the following is NOT a mechanism of action for a small-molecule targeted therapy?

A)stimulation of tyrosine kinase
B)inhibition of MAP kinase cascade
C)blocking cell-survival pathways
D)induction of apoptosis
E)inhibition of estrogen synthesis

Question 74

After the DNAs attached to the glass slide of a microarray are exposed to a probe, how are they usually visualized?

A)The cDNA probes are fluorescently labeled.
B)The mRNA probes are fluorescently labeled.
C)The cDNA probes are radioactively labeled.
D)The cDNA probes are labeled with ferritin.
E)The mRNA probes are labeled with ferritin.

Question 75

Which of the following is a biomarker that could reveal the presence of cancer through a blood test or screening?

A)mutant DNA
B)abnormal carbohydrates
C)distinctive metabolites
D)presence of cancer cells
E)all of these are correct

Question 76

William Coley, a New York physician in the late 1800s, studied spontaneous remissions of terminal cancer cases. He read that one man, who had an inoperable neck tumor, had gone into remission after what event?

A)after a cold
B)after changing his diet drastically
C)after a streptococcal infection beneath his skin
D)after a rigorous exercise regimen
E)after taking multiple vitamins

Question 77

How might blocking angiogenesis have a negative impact as a cancer treatment? (Select all correct choices)

A)by creating a higher oxygen tension in the tissue
B)by concentrating tumor cells at a particular location in the body
C)by creating a more O₂-deficient environment for the tumor cells
D)by driving tumor cells to seek out other sites in the body

Question 78

What is a xenograft?

A)transplanting cells in the presence of xenon
B)a transplant of cells from one organism to an organism of a different species
C)mixing cells from two different species in a culture dish
D)a transplant that does not have a good histocompatibility antigen match
E)a skin graft from one organism to another within the same species

Question 79

How is it believed that therapeutic radiation acts to kill tumor cells?

A)Double stranded breaks in DNA are introduced, disrupting chromosomal integrity.
B)Free radical damage is increased within cells which damages cytosolic and membrane components.
C)Free radical damage is increased within cells which damages DNA.
D)All are correct choices.

Question 80

Which of the following is presently being used as a screening procedure for cancer?

A)mammography for detecting breast cancer
B)Pap smears for detecting cervical cancer
C)PSA determinations for detecting prostate cancer
D)colonoscopy for detecting colorectal cancer
E)all of these are used to screen for cancer