EXAM 4 TEST BANK QUESTIONS 2026
COMPLETE ANSWERS GRADED A+
⩥ Characteristics of a cancer cell. Answer: 1) Large, variably-shaped
nuclei 2) Many dividing cells in a disorganized arrangement 3) Variation
in size and shape 4) Loss of normal features like a cell membrane,
nucleus
⩥ A major mechanism for inhibiting the cell cycling is a protein called
____ .. Answer: p53, the tumor suppressing protein. Activation of p53
due to damaged DNA will result in either cell cycle arrest and DNA
repair, or apoptosis.
⩥ Steps in Carcinogensis. Answer: Initiation, promotion, and
progression
⩥ Initiation. Answer: First step in carcinogenesis when a normal cell is
transformed into one that has dysregulated growth once it undergoes
DNA damage (from environment exposures, inherited mutations, or
epigenetic changes). Irreversible.
⩥ Promotion. Answer: Second step in carcinogenesis when factors in the
environment favor the growth of the initiated cell over the growth of
normal cells. Reversible.
, ⩥ Progression. Answer: Final step in carcinogenesis when factors turn a
preneoplastic lesion or benign tumor into a malignant tumor. Nongenetic
factors are reversible, but genetic factors are irreversible.
⩥ Cells that become malignant are characterized by their ability to
_____ .. Answer: metastasize
⩥ Metastatic cells are typically _____ and therefore less response to
chemotherapy than primary tumor cells.. Answer: dedifferentiated, or the
transformation of a terminally differentiated mature cell (like an
intestinal epithelial cell) into a more primitive, stem cell-like phenotype
⩥ Chemotherapy follows ______ effects, thereby eliminating a ______
of cells per round.. Answer: first-order; fixed log (not a fixed number of
cells)
⩥ The larger the tumor, the ______ it grows.. Answer: slower
⩥ What is the rationale for combination chemotherapy?. Answer: To
attack the cancer cells at different stages of the replication pathways, be
able to give maximally-tolerated doses of drugs with different toxicities,
and reduce the clinical effects of drug resistance.