The amyloidoses are protein-misfolding diseases caused by a precursor protein that undergoes a conformational change, which in turn triggers the formation of amyloid fibrils that damage different organs. Amyloidosis can be either localized or systemic. In systemic amyloidosis ( Table…
Definition Plasma cell disorders are neoplastic or potentially neoplastic diseases associated with the clonal proliferation of immunoglobulin-secreting plasma cells ( Table 173-1 ). These disorders are characterized by the secretion of electrophoretically and immunologically homogeneous (monoclonal) proteins that represent intact…
Definition Hodgkin lymphoma, one of the B-cell lymphomas, consists of two major types: classic Hodgkin lymphoma, with a characteristic neoplastic cell, the Hodgkin-Reed-Sternberg cell; and the much less common (~10% of cases) nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin lymphoma, with a characteristic predominance…
Definition Lymphomas are solid tumors of the immune system. Increasing knowledge of the biology of the immune system has led to a corresponding increase in the understanding of these malignancies. In addition to better systems of classification and clinical evaluation,…
Definition Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a hematopoietic stem cell disease caused by the reciprocal translocation of gene sequences from the breakpoint cluster region ( BCR ) gene on chromosome 22 with the tyrosine kinase sequences of the Abelson (…
Definition Chronic lymphocytic leukemia is a mature B-cell malignancy in which the neoplastic cells share an immunoglobulin gene rearrangement. The disease involves the blood, bone marrow, lymph nodes, spleen, liver, and often other organs at the time of presentation, but…
You’re Reading a Preview Become a Clinical Tree membership for Full access and enjoy Unlimited articles Become membership If you are a member. Log in here
You’re Reading a Preview Become a Clinical Tree membership for Full access and enjoy Unlimited articles Become membership If you are a member. Log in here
Introduction Cancer is a collection of many different diseases and is often not uniformly categorized by even the tissue of origin. For example, hormone receptor–positive breast cancers are distinct in biology, prognosis, and treatment compared with hormone receptor–negative breast malignancies.…
Cancer Burden and Trends Global Statistics Cancer is a major public health concern worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that cancer is the first or second leading cause of death before age 70 years in the majority of countries.…