MD - Doctor of Medicine Hematology and Oncology Questions and Answers

Question 1

A 28-year-old woman of Mediterranean descent presents with lifelong mild fatigue.
A CBC reveals: Hgb 10.5 g/dL, MCV 65 fL, RBC 5.8 million/µL, and a normal RDW.
Iron studies show a serum ferritin of 80 ng/mL and a transferrin saturation of 30%.
Which of the following is the most likely diagnosis?

Accepted Answer

Beta-thalassemia trait

Answer

Sideroblastic anemia

Answer

Iron deficiency anemia

Answer

Anemia of chronic disease

Question 2

A 62-year-old male is undergoing surveillance after a curative resection for Stage III colon cancer one year ago. Which of the following tumor markers is most appropriate to monitor for disease recurrence in this patient?

Accepted Answer

Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA)

Answer

CA 19-9

Answer

Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP)

Answer

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA)

Question 3

A 10-year-old boy presents with recurrent episodes of painful, swollen joints (hemarthrosis), particularly in his knees and ankles, after minor trauma. His laboratory studies show a prolonged activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) that corrects with a mixing study, a normal prothrombin time (PT), and a normal platelet count. Which of the following is the most likely diagnosis?

Accepted Answer

Hemophilia A

Answer

Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC)

Answer

Von Willebrand disease (Type 1)

Answer

Vitamin K deficiency

Question 4

A 55-year-old woman is receiving combination chemotherapy for breast cancer. Which of the following agents is most notoriously associated with a dose-dependent, cumulative cardiotoxicity that can lead to congestive heart failure?

Accepted Answer

Doxorubicin

Answer

Vincristine

Answer

Cisplatin

Answer

Methotrexate

Question 5

A pathologist examining a lymph node biopsy from a 24-year-old male with painless cervical lymphadenopathy identifies large, binucleated cells with prominent eosinophilic nucleoli, described as having an 'owl's eye' appearance. These cells are scattered within a background of reactive lymphocytes, eosinophils, and plasma cells. This pathognomonic finding is diagnostic of which malignancy?

Accepted Answer

Classical Hodgkin lymphoma

Answer

Burkitt lymphoma

Answer

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)

Answer

Follicular lymphoma

Question 6

A 58-year-old male is diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML). Cytogenetic analysis confirms the presence of the Philadelphia chromosome. Which of the following best describes the molecular abnormality and the corresponding class of targeted therapy used as first-line treatment?

Accepted Answer

BCR-ABL fusion gene; Tyrosine kinase inhibitors

Answer

JAK2 mutation; JAK inhibitors

Answer

FLT3 mutation; FLT3 inhibitors

Answer

B-Raf V600E mutation; BRAF inhibitors