Lecture #1 | History of Cancer

Cancer

Uncontrolled growth and abnormal spread of previously normal cells

• excess growth: tumor

• abnormal spread: malignancy

  • So cancer is a malignant tumor

Is cancer curable?

Yes. Many cancers can be affectively treated and a patient can recover completely

How: We known how to kill rapidly growing cells

However, cancer cannot be eradicated from the whole population as we have done with polio or small pox because cancer comes from previously normal cells, and we cannot eradicate all of those

• So, cancer will always be with us and we must learn to mitigate its effect

Oncology

study of cancer

oncogenesis/carcinogenesis

the development of cancer

neoplasm

“new growth”, refers to any abnormal growth of cells= synomonous with tumor, benign or malignant

Neoplasia

general term for cancer

dysplasia

abnormal, atypical cellular proliferation, usually reversible, not a tumor but often a precursor

Hyperplasia

absolute increase in number of cells

metaplasia

change from one type of adult cell to another, adaptive response, often reversible

Tumor

a swelling of any type, but usually referred to a neoplasm

History of cancer

Cancer has been around for millions of years

• evidence of cancer in dinosaurs

  • cancer seen in Egyptian mummies, allow us to compare cancer in the past to cancer now

First recorded surgery

Atossa, queen of Persia cut of a lump on her breast

Hippocrates

Attributed to naming cancer

Theorized the balance of:

• blood

• fleme

• yellow bile

• black bile

  • theory that increased black bile increases cancer

Galen (200 AD)

Correlated neurological symptoms with cancer and determined that the more pungent black bile is, the more likely cancer is

Bernardo Ramazzini

Noted that nuns had a much higher rate (9%) of breast cancer

• first tie between reproduction and cancer

Chimney sweeps

Noted by Sir percivall pott determined an increase in scrotal cancer

• first indication of occupational cause of cancer

Johannes Muller

Scientist that determined that cancer is made up of cells

Rudolph Virchow

All cells arise from other cells

Xrays

Discovered by Wilhelm Roentgen and helped treat cancer

Marie Curie

Discovered radium

Francis Peyton Rous

Determined the connection between viruses and cancer through observing Rous Sarcoma Virus

Pap smear

Discovered by George Papnicolaou

• stained cells to detect abnormalities early on

Smoking

First awareness poster in 1932

First cancer registry 1935

Rachel Carson

First person to link pesticides will cancer development

Screening efforts

• Mammograms were seen in media

• colonoscopy