Practice questions Tumor Biology and Clinical behavior
Questions:
1. Define neoplasia and explain how it differs from a tumor.
2. Explain the TNM staging system and the significance of each component in cancer staging.
3. Describe the difference between a benign and malignant tumor.
4. What are the three main metastatic pathways, and how do they differ?
5. Discuss the importance of prognostic and predictive biomarkers in cancer treatment.
6. Explain cancer epidemiology’s goal and its importance in understanding cancer risk factors.
7. What is a crude rate in epidemiology, and why is age-standardized rate often preferred?
8. Describe the purpose and limitations of a case-control study in cancer research.
9. What are some ethical or technical challenges that make randomized controlled trials (RCTs)
difficult in cancer research?
10. Identify common sources of tissue samples in cancer research and their potential
applications.
11. How do sequencing technologies like NGS contribute to personalized cancer treatment?
12. Explain the difference between somatic and germline mutations in cancer genomics.
13. What is a driver mutation, and how is it identified?
14. Discuss the role of clustering in genomics data analysis and its application in cancer research.
15. Define machine learning and give examples of its use in cancer research.
16. Explain the relevance of the Warburg effect in tumor metabolism and cancer cell survival.
17. Describe angiogenesis and the role of VEGF in tumor growth.
18. What are circulating tumor cells (CTCs), and how are they useful in liquid biopsies?
19. Discuss the utility of exosomes in cancer diagnosis and monitoring.
20. Explain how proteomics complements genomics in identifying cancer biomarkers.
21. What is the importance of the tumor microenvironment (TME) in cancer progression?
22. How does hypoxia contribute to tumor growth, and which signaling pathway is primarily
involved?
23. Describe the significance of CD markers in diagnosing hematological cancers.
24. The TME consists of non-cancerous cells, such as fibroblasts and immune cells, which can
support tumor growth and immune evasion, impacting cancer progression and therapy
response.
25. Discuss the relationship between colorectal cancer (CRC) and the gut microbiome.
26. Explain how liquid biopsies differ from traditional tissue biopsies and their advantages.
27. Describe the concept of tumor angiogenesis dormancy and its clinical significance.
28. What is the role of mass spectrometry in identifying cancer proteomes, and why is it
important?
29. Define tumor dormancy and outline its types.
30. Explain the role of fibroblasts in tumor stroma and cancer progression.
Questions:
1. Define neoplasia and explain how it differs from a tumor.
2. Explain the TNM staging system and the significance of each component in cancer staging.
3. Describe the difference between a benign and malignant tumor.
4. What are the three main metastatic pathways, and how do they differ?
5. Discuss the importance of prognostic and predictive biomarkers in cancer treatment.
6. Explain cancer epidemiology’s goal and its importance in understanding cancer risk factors.
7. What is a crude rate in epidemiology, and why is age-standardized rate often preferred?
8. Describe the purpose and limitations of a case-control study in cancer research.
9. What are some ethical or technical challenges that make randomized controlled trials (RCTs)
difficult in cancer research?
10. Identify common sources of tissue samples in cancer research and their potential
applications.
11. How do sequencing technologies like NGS contribute to personalized cancer treatment?
12. Explain the difference between somatic and germline mutations in cancer genomics.
13. What is a driver mutation, and how is it identified?
14. Discuss the role of clustering in genomics data analysis and its application in cancer research.
15. Define machine learning and give examples of its use in cancer research.
16. Explain the relevance of the Warburg effect in tumor metabolism and cancer cell survival.
17. Describe angiogenesis and the role of VEGF in tumor growth.
18. What are circulating tumor cells (CTCs), and how are they useful in liquid biopsies?
19. Discuss the utility of exosomes in cancer diagnosis and monitoring.
20. Explain how proteomics complements genomics in identifying cancer biomarkers.
21. What is the importance of the tumor microenvironment (TME) in cancer progression?
22. How does hypoxia contribute to tumor growth, and which signaling pathway is primarily
involved?
23. Describe the significance of CD markers in diagnosing hematological cancers.
24. The TME consists of non-cancerous cells, such as fibroblasts and immune cells, which can
support tumor growth and immune evasion, impacting cancer progression and therapy
response.
25. Discuss the relationship between colorectal cancer (CRC) and the gut microbiome.
26. Explain how liquid biopsies differ from traditional tissue biopsies and their advantages.
27. Describe the concept of tumor angiogenesis dormancy and its clinical significance.
28. What is the role of mass spectrometry in identifying cancer proteomes, and why is it
important?
29. Define tumor dormancy and outline its types.
30. Explain the role of fibroblasts in tumor stroma and cancer progression.
