Cancer
hideCancer (medical term: malignant neoplasm) is a class of diseases in which a group of cells display uncontrolled growth (division beyond the normal limits), invasion (intrusion on and destruction of adjacent tissues), and sometimes metastasis (spread to other locations in the body via lymph or blood). These three malignant properties of cancers differentiate them from benign tumors, which are self-limited, and do not invade or metastasize. Most cancers form a tumor but some, like leukemia, do not. The branch of medicine concerned with the study, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of cancer is oncology.
Cancer may affect people at all ages, even fetuses, but the risk for most varieties increases with age. Cancer causes about 13% of all human deaths. According to the American Cancer Society, 7.6 million people died from cancer in the world during 2007. Cancers can affect all animals.
Nearly all cancers are caused by abnormalities in the genetic material of the transformed cells. These abnormalities may be due to the effects of carcinogens, such as tobacco smoke, radiation, chemicals, or infectious agents. Other cancer-promoting genetic abnormalities may be randomly acquired through errors in DNA replication, or are inherited, and thus present in all cells from birth. The heritability of cancers are usually affected by complex interactions between carcinogens and the host's genome. New aspects of the genetics of cancer pathogenesis, such as DNA methylation, and microRNAs are increasingly recognized as important.
Genetic abnormalities found in cancer typically affect two general classes of genes. Cancer-promoting oncogenes are typically activated in cancer cells, giving those cells new properties, such as hyperactive growth and division, protection against programmed cell death, loss of respect for normal tissue boundaries, and the ability to become established in diverse tissue environments. Tumor suppressor genes are then inactivated in cancer cells, resulting in the loss of normal functions in those cells, such as accurate DNA replication, control over the cell cycle, orientation and adhesion within tissues, and interaction with protective cells of the immune system.
Diagnosis usually requires the histologic examination of a tissue biopsy specimen by a pathologist, although the initial indication of malignancy can be symptoms or radiographic imaging abnormalities. Most cancers can be treated and some cured, depending on the specific type, location, and stage. Once diagnosed, cancer is usually treated with a combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. As research develops, treatments are becoming more specific for different varieties of cancer. There has been significant progress in the development of targeted therapy drugs that act specifically on detectable molecular abnormalities in certain tumors, and which minimize damage to normal cells. The prognosis of cancer patients is most influenced by the type of cancer, as well as the stage, or extent of the disease. In addition, histologic grading and the presence of specific molecular markers can also be useful in establishing prognosis, as well as in determining individual treatments.
For more information about Cancer, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with cancer therapy
McGill researchers identify key genetic factors which can lead to cancer
Nov 03, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at McGill University have discovered a previously unknown series of interactions between genes that control whether cells become cancerous. The discovery may lead to a new generation of targeted ...
Anti-cancer agent could be used to prevent premature birth
Oct 23, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Trichostatin A, an agent initially investigated in the laboratory as a possible cancer therapy, has been shown to inhibit contractions in muscle from the uterus and could have a role in preventing premature ...
Biosensor to help enlist cancer resistance fighters?
Oct 23, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A powerful new biosensor developed by European researchers will help identify cells in the immune system that actively suppress tumour growth, then put them to use. Enlisting the patient?s ...
Study finds way to protect healthy cells from radiation damage
Oct 21, 2009 |
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Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, may be hot on the heels of a Holy Grail of cancer therapy: They have found ...
Texas begins $3 billion quest to cure cancer
Oct 02, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Texas gave birth to the modern oil industry, invented the handheld calculator and sent man to the moon. But can the Lone Star State cure cancer?
Toward a nanomedicine for brain cancer
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Sep 09, 2009 |
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In an advance toward better treatments for the most serious form of brain cancer, scientists in Illinois are reporting development of the first nanoparticles that seek out and destroy brain cancer cells without ...
Study supports DNA repair-blocker research in cancer therapy
Aug 17, 2009 |
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Scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have uncovered the mechanism behind a promising new approach to cancer treatment: damaging cancer cells' DNA with potent drugs while simultaneously preventing the cells from repairing ...
New method takes aim at aggressive cancer cells
Aug 13, 2009 |
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A multi-institutional team of Boston-area researchers has discovered a chemical that works in mice to kill the rare but aggressive cells within breast cancers that have the ability to seed new tumors.
STAT3 gene regulates cancer stem cells in brain cancer
Aug 10, 2009 |
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In a study published online in advance of print in Stem Cells, Tufts researchers report that the STAT3 gene regulates cancer stem cells in brain cancer. Cancer stem cells have many characteristics of stem c ...
Of cyclops and lilies: New strategy for the synthesis of cylcopamine, a potential cancer treatment
Aug 07, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- In 1957, shepherds in Idaho (USA) discovered that when pregnant sheep ate lilies of the species Veratrum californicum (corn lily, California false hellebore), their lambs were born with only one eye in the ...
Scientists find common trigger in cancer and normal stem cell reproduction
Aug 06, 2009 |
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Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine have discovered, for the first time, a common molecular pathway that is used by both normal stem cells and cancer stem cells when they reproduce themselves.
Novel epigenetic markers of melanoma may herald new treatments for patients
Jun 29, 2009 |
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Melanoma is the most serious form of skin cancer, diagnosed in more than 50,000 new patients in the United States annually. While the rate of incidences continues to rise, survival rate has not improved and the race is on ...
Novel light-sensitive compounds show promise for cancer therapy
Jun 16, 2009 |
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Chemists at the University of California, Santa Cruz, have developed novel compounds that show promise for photodynamic cancer therapy, which uses light-activated drugs to kill tumor cells.
Vaporized viral vector shows promise in anti-cancer gene therapy
Jun 08, 2009 |
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A new lung cancer therapy employing a vaporized viral vector to deliver a cancer-inhibiting molecule directly to lung tissue shows early promise in mouse trials, according to researchers at the Ministry of Education, Science ...
Link unraveled between chromosomal instability and centrosome defects in cancer cells
Jun 07, 2009 |
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In a new study, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists disprove a century-old theory about why cancer cells often have too many or too few chromosomes, and show that the actual reason may hold the key to a novel approach ...
