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Question 418
Pathology → General
Classification
Question
SSBAQuestion Header
A patient with advanced malignancy develops progressive loss of body mass and systemic deterioration that cannot be explained solely by the local size of the tumour. Which recognised systemic effect of neoplasia best describes this?
Question Stem
Select the single best answer.
Options
A
Metaplasia
B
Cachexia
C
Hyperplasia
D
Organisation
E
Granulomatous inflammation
Explanation
Malignant neoplasms may produce systemic as well as local effects. Cachexia is a recognised systemic manifestation of malignancy.
Option Validity
A) Metaplasia is an adaptive replacement of one mature cell type by another.
C) Hyperplasia is an increase in cell number rather than the systemic wasting syndrome described.
D) Organisation is a possible fate of a thrombus and is unrelated to cancer-associated wasting.
E) Granulomatous inflammation is a form of chronic inflammatory response and does not describe this systemic tumour effect.
Further Reading
Saxena R. Textbook for MRCOG-1. Chapter 5: Pathology. General Pathology, pp.161–175.