Question

Indicate whether each of the following cancers can be best classified as a carcinoma (C), sarcoma (S), or neither of the two (N). Your answer would be a four-letter string composed of letters C, S, and N only, e.g. SSNC. [4]

( ) Breast cancer
( ) Lung cancer
( ) Colorectal cancer
( ) Myeloma

Answer 1

Breast cancer, lung cancer, and colorectal cancer are all carcinomas as they arise from epithelial cells, while myeloma is neither a carcinoma nor a sarcoma as it is a blood cancer affecting plasma cells.

Step-by-step explanation:

Cancers are classified by the type of cell that resembles the tumor and therefore, the tissue presumed to be the origin of the tumor. The major classifications are carcinoma, which originates from epithelial cells, and sarcoma, which originates from connective tissue.

Based on this information:

• Breast cancer is a carcinoma (C) since it arises from epithelial cells of the mammary gland.
• Lung cancer is also a carcinoma (C) because it develops from the epithelial cells of the lungs.
• Colorectal cancer is a carcinoma (C) as well because it originates from the epithelial cells lining the colon or rectum.
• Myeloma is neither a carcinoma nor a sarcoma (N). It is a type of blood cancer that affects plasma cells in the bone marrow.

Thus, the four-letter string representing the classification of these cancers would be CCCN.