Susan's doctor has detected benign uterine fibroid tumors. Jane's doctor has detected early-stage malignant vaginal tumors. Sarah's doctor has detected late-stage malignant ovarian tumors. Which branch of the immune system would respond to these conditions? What would analysis of the nearby lymph nodes of these women reveal? What is the prognosis for each woman? Explain.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

(Note to instructor: Students must understand the difference between benign and malignant tumors, and that
staging of tumors is related to prognosis. This question may be better for a comprehensive final exam or as an
out-of-class assignment.) Uterine fibroid tumors are not cancer because they do not spread, hence the designation
"benign." Nearby lymph nodes will contain no sign of uterine fibroids, and prognosis is independent of this
condition because cancer is not indicated. No antigens are present, so there is no immune response. The other two
women have cancer, and the cell-mediated immune response would be stimulated. Early-stage cancers are often
completely treatable, and nearby lymph nodes may show no sign of the cancer; prognosis is good. Late-stage
ovarian cancer has likely spread, and lymph nodes would contain ovarian cancer cells. Prognosis is poor in this
case, because presence of cancer cells in lymph nodes often indicates that the cells have spread to other organs, as
well.