Related topics: stem cells , cancer cells , tumor cells
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
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 ...
The future of personalized cancer treatment: An entirely new direction for RNAi delivery
May 17, 2009 |
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In technology that promises to one day allow drug delivery to be tailored to an individual patient and a particular cancer tumor, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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.
Compact cancer-therapy particle-delivery system patented
May 12, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- As part of an effort to make high-precision particle cancer therapy accessible to more patients, a physicist at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory has developed ...
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 ...
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 ...
Cholesterol-lowering drugs also may protect stem cell transplant patients from GVHD
Dec 04, 2009 |
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Cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins are among the most prescribed medicines in the U.S. Now a new study by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center indicates that statins may protect stem cell transplant ...
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 ...
Vaccine shows therapeutic promise against advanced melanoma
Jun 01, 2009 |
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A vaccine for one of the most lethal cancers, advanced melanoma, has shown improved response rates and progression-free survival for patients when combined with the immunotherapy drug, Interleukin-2, according to researchers ...
Cell biologists identify new tumor suppressor for lung cancer
Jan 05, 2009 |
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Cancer and cell biology experts at the University of Cincinnati (UC) have identified a new tumor suppressor that may help scientists develop more targeted drug therapies to combat lung cancer.
Scientists Identify Molecular Signature for Leukemia Stem Cells
Mar 10, 2009 |
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Scientists studying chronic myeloid leukemia, more commonly known as CML, are one step closer to decoding the “genetic signature” of stem cells in this disease. They’ve identified a marker in a tiny but powerful subset of ...
Lab-on-a-chip hones in on how cancer cells break free
Mar 18, 2009 |
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Johns Hopkins engineers have invented a method that could be used to help figure out how cancer cells break free from neighboring tissue, an "escape" that can spread the disease to other parts of the body. ...
