1) Which of the following diagnoses IS a differential diagnosis that should be evaluated for when determining if a patient has breast cancer?
B [Fibroadenoma] – Fibroadenoma is the only diagnosis out of the options presented that is considered to be a differential diagnosis in determining if a patient has breast cancer. Fibroadenoma may present as a hard, painless mass in the breast. The other conditions are not conditions that are considered to be possible differential diagnoses for breast cancer.
2) If A.Z. had reported changes in the size of the mass in her breast throughout her menstrual cycle (while on birth control), this finding would support which differential diagnosis?
C [Fibroadenoma] – It is common for a mass to change size throughout a woman’s menstrual cycle (while on birth control) if the pathology is fibroadenoma. It is not common for a mass to change size throughout a woman’s menstrual cycle with the other listed conditions.
3) (TRUE/FALSE) Normally, every single person has both the BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 genes.
TRUE – Normally, both of these genes are present in any individual.
4) What is the earliest stage of breast cancer that involves metastasis to the axillary lymph nodes?
D [2A] – At this stage, the cancer is larger than 2 millimeters and is typically found in 1-3 axillary lymph nodes. Metastasis to axillary lymph nodes is present in all of the other answer choices, but the question asks for the earliest stage that this metastasis may occur.
5) Which combination of hormones leads to the most accelerated tumor growth in breast cancer?
B [Estrogen and progesterone] – Hormone receptor status has become a new classification system for breast cancer, and it recently has been found that the combination of estrogen and progesterone leads to accelerated tumor growth. The other combinations have not presented themselves–in research thus far–to be combinations that cause accelerated tumor growth.