A cancer-causing agent such as tobacco smoke, benzene or asbestos is called a carcinogen.
Missing Word
carcinogen
A carcinogen damages DNA and can lead to cancer. Some chemotherapy drugs are themselves carcinogens, which is why survivors are screened for secondary cancers.
Category: Cancer Basics
Question 2
The spread of cancer cells from the original tumor to distant parts of the body is called metastasis.
Missing Word
metastasis
Metastasis occurs by direct extension, by seeding, or through the lymphatic and blood vessels. Systemic drug therapy is used because it can reach cancer cells throughout the body.
Category: Cancer Basics
Question 3
A malignant tumor arising from bone or soft tissue such as muscle is called a sarcoma.
Missing Word
sarcoma
Sarcomas begin in connective tissues such as bone, muscle and fat, unlike carcinomas, which arise from epithelial tissue.
Category: Cancer Basics
Question 4
A cancer of the blood-forming tissue of the bone marrow that fills the blood with abnormal white cells is called leukemia.
Missing Word
leukemia
Leukemia is a hematologic, or liquid, cancer. Because its cells circulate through the body, it is treated with systemic drug therapy rather than surgery.
Category: Cancer Basics
Question 5
Induction chemotherapy aims to produce a remission, a period when signs of the cancer are reduced or absent.
Missing Word
remission
Remission can be partial or complete. Consolidation and maintenance phases follow to destroy remaining cells and keep the cancer from returning.
Category: Treatment Approaches
Question 6
Chemotherapy or radiation given to shrink a painful tumor when cure is no longer possible is called palliative treatment.
Missing Word
palliative
Palliative treatment focuses on quality of life, for example shrinking a tumor that causes pain or pressure, when cure is not the goal.
Category: Treatment Approaches
Question 7
Methotrexate can be injected into the spinal canal, a route called intrathecal, to reach cancer cells in the central nervous system.
Missing Word
intrathecal
The intrathecal route bypasses the blood-brain barrier so the drug reaches the cerebrospinal fluid directly. Only specific drugs are safe by this route.
Category: Treatment Approaches
Question 8
A drug that causes blistering and tissue death if it leaks out of the vein, such as doxorubicin, is called a vesicant.
Missing Word
vesicant
Vesicants can cause severe tissue necrosis that takes months to heal, so they are given slowly through a patent IV with close monitoring of the site.
Category: Chemotherapy Toxicity
Question 9
Hair loss caused by damage to hair follicles during chemotherapy is called alopecia.
Missing Word
alopecia
Alopecia occurs because hair follicle cells divide rapidly. It is usually temporary, but its effect on body image deserves nursing attention.
Category: Chemotherapy Toxicity
Question 10
A gene that has mutated so that it drives cell growth, like an accelerator pedal stuck down, is called an oncogene.
Missing Word
oncogene
An oncogene is a mutated form of a normal growth-promoting gene that pushes the cell to keep dividing. Tumor suppressor genes work as the brakes instead, so cancer can develop when oncogenes are activated or tumor suppressor genes are lost.
Category: Cancer Basics
Question 11
A low platelet count after chemotherapy, which raises the risk of bleeding gums and easy bruising, is called thrombocytopenia.
Missing Word
thrombocytopenia
Thrombocytopenia results from bone marrow suppression. Patients use bleeding precautions such as soft toothbrushes and avoid contact sports and aspirin.
Category: Chemotherapy Toxicity
Question 12
A low red blood cell count after chemotherapy, causing fatigue, dizziness and shortness of breath, is called anemia.
Missing Word
anemia
Anemia reduces oxygen delivery to tissues. It may be treated with red cell transfusion or erythropoiesis-stimulating agents, and patients plan activities around rest periods.
Category: Chemotherapy Toxicity
Question 13
Severe wasting of body weight and muscle that can develop in cancer, worsened by nausea and poor intake, is called cachexia.
Missing Word
cachexia
Cachexia is more than weight loss; it involves loss of muscle and fat driven by the cancer itself, and nutrition alone cannot fully reverse it. Controlling nausea and supporting nutrition help limit further loss.
Category: Chemotherapy Toxicity
Question 14
Ondansetron, given to prevent chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, is classed as an antiemetic.
Missing Word
antiemetic
Antiemetics prevent or relieve nausea and vomiting. Ondansetron blocks serotonin (5-HT3) receptors and causes less sedation than phenothiazines, and extrapyramidal effects are rare.
Category: Chemotherapy Toxicity
Question 15
Anastrozole blocks aromatase, the enzyme that converts other hormones into estrogen in fatty tissue.
Missing Word
aromatase
Aromatase produces most of the estrogen in postmenopausal women. Blocking it lowers estrogen levels and slows estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer.
Category: Hormonal Therapy