ONCOLOGY UPDATED FINAL EXAMS QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS MARKED A+
✔✔A patients most recent diagnostic imaging has revealed that his lung cancer has
metastasized to his bones and liver. What is the most likely mechanism by which the
patients cancer cells spread?
A)Hematologic spread
B)Lymphatic circulation
C)Invasion
D)Angiogenesis - ✔✔B - Lymph and blood are key mechanisms by which cancer cells
spread. Lymphatic spread (the transport of tumor cells through the lymphatic circulation)
is the most common mechanism of metastasis.
✔✔The nurse is describing some of the major characteristics of cancer to a patient who
has recently received a diagnosis of malignant melanoma. When differentiating between
benign and malignant cancer cells, the nurse should explain differences in which of the
following aspects? Select all that apply.
A)Rate of growth
B)Ability to cause death
C)Size of cells
D)Cell contents
E)Ability to spread - ✔✔A,B,E - Benign and malignant cells differ in many cellular
growth characteristics, including the method and rate of growth, ability to metastasize or
spread, general effects, destruction of tissue, and ability to cause death. Cells come in
many sizes, both benign and malignant. Cell contents are basically the same, but they
behave differently.
✔✔A 54-year-old has a diagnosis of breast cancer and is tearfully discussing her
diagnosis with the nurse. The patient states, They tell me my cancer is malignant, while
my coworkers breast tumor was benign. I just dont understand at all. When preparing a
response to this patient, the nurse should be cognizant of what characteristic that
distinguishes malignant cells from benign cells of the same tissue type?
A)Slow rate of mitosis of cancer cells
B)Different proteins in the cell membrane
C)Differing size of the cells
D)Different molecular structure in the cells - ✔✔B - The cell membrane of malignant
cells also contains proteins called tumor-specific antigens (e.g., carcinoembryonic
antigen [CEA] and prostate-specific antigen [PSA]), which develop over time as the cells
become less differentiated (mature). These proteins distinguish malignant cells from
benign cells of the same tissue type.
✔✔An oncology patient will begin a course of chemotherapy and radiation therapy for
the treatment of bone metastases. What is one means by which malignant disease
processes transfer cells from one place to another?
A)Adhering to primary tumor cells
,B)Inducing mutation of cells of another organ
C)Phagocytizing healthy cells
D)Invading healthy host tissues - ✔✔D- Invasion, which refers to the growth of the
primary tumor into the surrounding host tissues, occurs in several ways. Malignant cells
are less likely to adhere than are normal cells. Malignant cells do not cause healthy
cells to mutate. Malignant cells do not eat other cells.
✔✔The nurse is performing an initial assessment of an older adult resident who has just
relocated to the long-term care facility. During the nurses interview with the patient, she
admits that she drinks around 20 ounces of vodka every evening. What types of cancer
does this put her at risk for? Select all that apply.
A)Malignant melanoma
B)Brain cancer
C)Breast cancer
D)Esophageal cancer
E)Liver cancer - ✔✔C,D,E - Dietary substances that appear to increase the risk of
cancer include fats, alcohol, salt-cured or smoked meats, nitrate- and nitrite-containing
foods, and red and processed meats. Alcohol increases the risk of cancers of the
mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, liver, colorectum, and breast.
✔✔The clinic nurse is caring for a patient whose grandmother and sister have both had
breast cancer. She requested a screening test to determine her risk of developing
breast cancer and it has come back positive. The patient asks you what she can do to
help prevent breast cancer from occurring. What would be your best response?
A)Research has shown that eating a healthy diet can provide all the protection you need
against breast cancer.
B)Research has shown that taking the drug tamoxifen can reduce your chance of breast
cancer.
C)Research has shown that exercising at least 30 minutes every day can reduce your
chance of breast cancer.
D)Research has shown that there is little you can do to reduce your risk of breast
cancer if you have a genetic predisposition. - ✔✔B - Large-scale breast cancer
prevention studies supported by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) indicated that
chemoprevention with the medication tamoxifen can reduce the incidence of breast
cancer by 50% in women at high risk for breast cancer. A healthy diet and regular
exercise are important, but not wholly sufficient preventive measures.
✔✔A public health nurse has formed an interdisciplinary team that is developing an
educational program entitled Cancer: The Risks and What You Can Do About Them.
Participants will receive information, but the major focus will be screening for relevant
cancers. This program is an example of what type of health promotion activity?
A)Disease prophylaxis
B)Risk reduction
C)Secondary prevention
, D)Tertiary prevention - ✔✔C - Secondary prevention involves screening and early
detection activities that seek to identify early stage cancer in individuals who lack signs
and symptoms suggestive of cancer. Primary prevention is concerned with reducing the
risks of disease through health promotion strategies. Tertiary prevention is the care and
rehabilitation of the patient after having been diagnosed with cancer.
✔✔A 62-year-old woman diagnosed with breast cancer is scheduled for a partial
mastectomy. The oncology nurse explained that the surgeon will want to take tissue
samples to ensure the disease has not spread to adjacent axillary lymph nodes. The
patient has asked if she will have her lymph nodes dissected, like her mother did
several years ago. What alternative to lymph node dissection will this patient most likely
undergo?
A)Lymphadenectomy
B)Needle biopsy
C)Open biopsy
D)Sentinel node biopsy - ✔✔D - Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB), also known as
sentinel lymph node mapping, is a minimally invasive surgical approach that, in some
instances, has replaced more invasive lymph node dissections (lymphadenectomy) and
their associated complications such as lymphedema and delayed healing. SLNB has
been widely adopted for regional lymph node staging in selected cases of melanoma
and breast cancer.
✔✔You are caring for a patient who has just been told that her stage IV colon cancer
has recurred and metastasized to the liver. The oncologist offers the patient the option
of surgery to treat the progression of this disease. What type of surgery does the
oncologist offer?
A)Palliative
B)Reconstructive
C)Salvage
D)Prophylactic - ✔✔A - When cure is not possible, the goals of treatment are to make
the patient as comfortable as possible and to promote quality of life as defined by the
patient and his or her family. Palliative surgery is performed in an attempt to relieve
complications of cancer, such as ulceration, obstruction, hemorrhage, pain, and
malignant effusion. Reconstructive surgery may follow curative or radical surgery in an
attempt to improve function or obtain a more desirable cosmetic effect. Salvage surgery
is an additional treatment option that uses an extensive surgical approach to treat the
local recurrence of a cancer after the use of a less extensive primary approach.
Prophylactic surgery involves removing nonvital tissues or organs that are at increased
risk to develop cancer.
✔✔The nurse is caring for a patient with an advanced stage of breast cancer and the
patient has recently learned that her cancer has metastasized. The nurse enters the
room and finds the patient struggling to breath and the nurses rapid assessment reveals
that the patients jugular veins are distended. The nurse should suspect the
development of what oncologic emergency?
A)Increased intracranial pressure
ANSWERS MARKED A+
✔✔A patients most recent diagnostic imaging has revealed that his lung cancer has
metastasized to his bones and liver. What is the most likely mechanism by which the
patients cancer cells spread?
A)Hematologic spread
B)Lymphatic circulation
C)Invasion
D)Angiogenesis - ✔✔B - Lymph and blood are key mechanisms by which cancer cells
spread. Lymphatic spread (the transport of tumor cells through the lymphatic circulation)
is the most common mechanism of metastasis.
✔✔The nurse is describing some of the major characteristics of cancer to a patient who
has recently received a diagnosis of malignant melanoma. When differentiating between
benign and malignant cancer cells, the nurse should explain differences in which of the
following aspects? Select all that apply.
A)Rate of growth
B)Ability to cause death
C)Size of cells
D)Cell contents
E)Ability to spread - ✔✔A,B,E - Benign and malignant cells differ in many cellular
growth characteristics, including the method and rate of growth, ability to metastasize or
spread, general effects, destruction of tissue, and ability to cause death. Cells come in
many sizes, both benign and malignant. Cell contents are basically the same, but they
behave differently.
✔✔A 54-year-old has a diagnosis of breast cancer and is tearfully discussing her
diagnosis with the nurse. The patient states, They tell me my cancer is malignant, while
my coworkers breast tumor was benign. I just dont understand at all. When preparing a
response to this patient, the nurse should be cognizant of what characteristic that
distinguishes malignant cells from benign cells of the same tissue type?
A)Slow rate of mitosis of cancer cells
B)Different proteins in the cell membrane
C)Differing size of the cells
D)Different molecular structure in the cells - ✔✔B - The cell membrane of malignant
cells also contains proteins called tumor-specific antigens (e.g., carcinoembryonic
antigen [CEA] and prostate-specific antigen [PSA]), which develop over time as the cells
become less differentiated (mature). These proteins distinguish malignant cells from
benign cells of the same tissue type.
✔✔An oncology patient will begin a course of chemotherapy and radiation therapy for
the treatment of bone metastases. What is one means by which malignant disease
processes transfer cells from one place to another?
A)Adhering to primary tumor cells
,B)Inducing mutation of cells of another organ
C)Phagocytizing healthy cells
D)Invading healthy host tissues - ✔✔D- Invasion, which refers to the growth of the
primary tumor into the surrounding host tissues, occurs in several ways. Malignant cells
are less likely to adhere than are normal cells. Malignant cells do not cause healthy
cells to mutate. Malignant cells do not eat other cells.
✔✔The nurse is performing an initial assessment of an older adult resident who has just
relocated to the long-term care facility. During the nurses interview with the patient, she
admits that she drinks around 20 ounces of vodka every evening. What types of cancer
does this put her at risk for? Select all that apply.
A)Malignant melanoma
B)Brain cancer
C)Breast cancer
D)Esophageal cancer
E)Liver cancer - ✔✔C,D,E - Dietary substances that appear to increase the risk of
cancer include fats, alcohol, salt-cured or smoked meats, nitrate- and nitrite-containing
foods, and red and processed meats. Alcohol increases the risk of cancers of the
mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, liver, colorectum, and breast.
✔✔The clinic nurse is caring for a patient whose grandmother and sister have both had
breast cancer. She requested a screening test to determine her risk of developing
breast cancer and it has come back positive. The patient asks you what she can do to
help prevent breast cancer from occurring. What would be your best response?
A)Research has shown that eating a healthy diet can provide all the protection you need
against breast cancer.
B)Research has shown that taking the drug tamoxifen can reduce your chance of breast
cancer.
C)Research has shown that exercising at least 30 minutes every day can reduce your
chance of breast cancer.
D)Research has shown that there is little you can do to reduce your risk of breast
cancer if you have a genetic predisposition. - ✔✔B - Large-scale breast cancer
prevention studies supported by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) indicated that
chemoprevention with the medication tamoxifen can reduce the incidence of breast
cancer by 50% in women at high risk for breast cancer. A healthy diet and regular
exercise are important, but not wholly sufficient preventive measures.
✔✔A public health nurse has formed an interdisciplinary team that is developing an
educational program entitled Cancer: The Risks and What You Can Do About Them.
Participants will receive information, but the major focus will be screening for relevant
cancers. This program is an example of what type of health promotion activity?
A)Disease prophylaxis
B)Risk reduction
C)Secondary prevention
, D)Tertiary prevention - ✔✔C - Secondary prevention involves screening and early
detection activities that seek to identify early stage cancer in individuals who lack signs
and symptoms suggestive of cancer. Primary prevention is concerned with reducing the
risks of disease through health promotion strategies. Tertiary prevention is the care and
rehabilitation of the patient after having been diagnosed with cancer.
✔✔A 62-year-old woman diagnosed with breast cancer is scheduled for a partial
mastectomy. The oncology nurse explained that the surgeon will want to take tissue
samples to ensure the disease has not spread to adjacent axillary lymph nodes. The
patient has asked if she will have her lymph nodes dissected, like her mother did
several years ago. What alternative to lymph node dissection will this patient most likely
undergo?
A)Lymphadenectomy
B)Needle biopsy
C)Open biopsy
D)Sentinel node biopsy - ✔✔D - Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB), also known as
sentinel lymph node mapping, is a minimally invasive surgical approach that, in some
instances, has replaced more invasive lymph node dissections (lymphadenectomy) and
their associated complications such as lymphedema and delayed healing. SLNB has
been widely adopted for regional lymph node staging in selected cases of melanoma
and breast cancer.
✔✔You are caring for a patient who has just been told that her stage IV colon cancer
has recurred and metastasized to the liver. The oncologist offers the patient the option
of surgery to treat the progression of this disease. What type of surgery does the
oncologist offer?
A)Palliative
B)Reconstructive
C)Salvage
D)Prophylactic - ✔✔A - When cure is not possible, the goals of treatment are to make
the patient as comfortable as possible and to promote quality of life as defined by the
patient and his or her family. Palliative surgery is performed in an attempt to relieve
complications of cancer, such as ulceration, obstruction, hemorrhage, pain, and
malignant effusion. Reconstructive surgery may follow curative or radical surgery in an
attempt to improve function or obtain a more desirable cosmetic effect. Salvage surgery
is an additional treatment option that uses an extensive surgical approach to treat the
local recurrence of a cancer after the use of a less extensive primary approach.
Prophylactic surgery involves removing nonvital tissues or organs that are at increased
risk to develop cancer.
✔✔The nurse is caring for a patient with an advanced stage of breast cancer and the
patient has recently learned that her cancer has metastasized. The nurse enters the
room and finds the patient struggling to breath and the nurses rapid assessment reveals
that the patients jugular veins are distended. The nurse should suspect the
development of what oncologic emergency?
A)Increased intracranial pressure
