ONCOLOGY END OF COURSE EXAM QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS MARKED A+
✔✔List cancer's 7 warning signs. (Hint: CAUTION) - ✔✔Change in bowel or bladder
habits
A sore that does not heal
Unusual bleeding or discharge
Thickening or lump in breast or elsewhere
Indigestion or difficulty swallowing
Obvious change in wart or mole
Nagging cough or hoarseness
✔✔List the warning signs for cancer in children (Hint: CHILDREN) - ✔✔•Continued,
unexplained weight loss
•Headache with vomiting in the morning
•Increased swelling or persistent pain in bones and joints
•Lump or mass in abdomen, neck, or elsewhere
•Development of a whitish appearance in the pupil of the eye
•Recurrent fevers not caused by infections
•Excessive bruising or bleeding
•Noticeable paleness or prolonged tiredness
✔✔T/F: The warning signs of cancer are the same for adults and children - ✔✔False,
different
✔✔•In addition to tissue diagnosis, tumors should be ____________ to determine the
extent of disease before any definitive treatment is initiated - ✔✔staged
✔✔What is the purpose of staging cancer? - ✔✔Staging provides information on
prognosis and guides treatment selection
✔✔What may be included in a staging workup? - ✔✔•Radiographs
•Computed tomography (CT) scans
•Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
•Positron emission tomography (PET) scans
•Ultrasonograms
•Bone-marrow (BM) biopsies
•Bone scans
•Lumbar puncture
•Variety of laboratory test including appropriate tumor markers
✔✔What is the TMN classification? - ✔✔The most common applied staging system for
solid tumors
T = tumor
N = node
, M = metastases
✔✔List the ranges/rating for each part of the TMN classification. - ✔✔T: T1 - T4
N: N0 - N3
M: M1 (presence) M0 (absence)
✔✔Stage I - ✔✔indicates localized tumor
✔✔Stage II - ✔✔local extension of disease
✔✔Stage III - ✔✔regional extension of disease
✔✔Stage IV - ✔✔indicates presence of distant metastases
✔✔List the 3 primary modalities of cancer treatment - ✔✔- Surgery
- Radiation
- Systemic anticancer therapy (chemo, targeted therapy, immunotherapy)
✔✔What is the treatment of choice for solid tumors diagnosed in early stages? -
✔✔Surgery
✔✔T/F: Localized therapies often fail to completely eliminate the cancer - ✔✔True
✔✔IFNs and ILs are examples of agents used in... - ✔✔Immunotherapy
✔✔How does immunotherapy work? - ✔✔- involves stimulating host's immune system
to fight the cancer
- Agents used in immunotherapy are usually naturally occurring cytokines which have
been produced with recombinant DNA technology
✔✔Micrometastases - ✔✔spread of malignant cells not yet detectable
✔✔Adjuvant therapy - ✔✔use of systemic agents to eradicate micrometastatic disease
following localized modalities such as surgery or radiation or both
✔✔Neoadjuvant therapy - ✔✔defined as drug therapy given pre-operatively -> Goals in
this instance are to make other treatment modalities more effective by reducing tumor
burden and to destroy micrometastases
✔✔What drugs are the primary curative modality for hematological malignancies and
some solid tumors? - ✔✔Cytotoxic drugs
✔✔Gompertzian tumor growth curve - ✔✔- Describes relationship between age and
expected death
ANSWERS MARKED A+
✔✔List cancer's 7 warning signs. (Hint: CAUTION) - ✔✔Change in bowel or bladder
habits
A sore that does not heal
Unusual bleeding or discharge
Thickening or lump in breast or elsewhere
Indigestion or difficulty swallowing
Obvious change in wart or mole
Nagging cough or hoarseness
✔✔List the warning signs for cancer in children (Hint: CHILDREN) - ✔✔•Continued,
unexplained weight loss
•Headache with vomiting in the morning
•Increased swelling or persistent pain in bones and joints
•Lump or mass in abdomen, neck, or elsewhere
•Development of a whitish appearance in the pupil of the eye
•Recurrent fevers not caused by infections
•Excessive bruising or bleeding
•Noticeable paleness or prolonged tiredness
✔✔T/F: The warning signs of cancer are the same for adults and children - ✔✔False,
different
✔✔•In addition to tissue diagnosis, tumors should be ____________ to determine the
extent of disease before any definitive treatment is initiated - ✔✔staged
✔✔What is the purpose of staging cancer? - ✔✔Staging provides information on
prognosis and guides treatment selection
✔✔What may be included in a staging workup? - ✔✔•Radiographs
•Computed tomography (CT) scans
•Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
•Positron emission tomography (PET) scans
•Ultrasonograms
•Bone-marrow (BM) biopsies
•Bone scans
•Lumbar puncture
•Variety of laboratory test including appropriate tumor markers
✔✔What is the TMN classification? - ✔✔The most common applied staging system for
solid tumors
T = tumor
N = node
, M = metastases
✔✔List the ranges/rating for each part of the TMN classification. - ✔✔T: T1 - T4
N: N0 - N3
M: M1 (presence) M0 (absence)
✔✔Stage I - ✔✔indicates localized tumor
✔✔Stage II - ✔✔local extension of disease
✔✔Stage III - ✔✔regional extension of disease
✔✔Stage IV - ✔✔indicates presence of distant metastases
✔✔List the 3 primary modalities of cancer treatment - ✔✔- Surgery
- Radiation
- Systemic anticancer therapy (chemo, targeted therapy, immunotherapy)
✔✔What is the treatment of choice for solid tumors diagnosed in early stages? -
✔✔Surgery
✔✔T/F: Localized therapies often fail to completely eliminate the cancer - ✔✔True
✔✔IFNs and ILs are examples of agents used in... - ✔✔Immunotherapy
✔✔How does immunotherapy work? - ✔✔- involves stimulating host's immune system
to fight the cancer
- Agents used in immunotherapy are usually naturally occurring cytokines which have
been produced with recombinant DNA technology
✔✔Micrometastases - ✔✔spread of malignant cells not yet detectable
✔✔Adjuvant therapy - ✔✔use of systemic agents to eradicate micrometastatic disease
following localized modalities such as surgery or radiation or both
✔✔Neoadjuvant therapy - ✔✔defined as drug therapy given pre-operatively -> Goals in
this instance are to make other treatment modalities more effective by reducing tumor
burden and to destroy micrometastases
✔✔What drugs are the primary curative modality for hematological malignancies and
some solid tumors? - ✔✔Cytotoxic drugs
✔✔Gompertzian tumor growth curve - ✔✔- Describes relationship between age and
expected death
