Cancer (not done)

Cancer defintion

A group of diseases occur in different parts of the body, characterized by cells that grow out of control and spread beyond the original site

Women are by defult have genes that more likely interfere with that growth

More than 200 types of cancers- that’s why it’s more logical to think of cancer as a group of similar diseases

Can occur anywhere in the body

Chronic disease with acute episodes

Chronic disease with acute episodes, every times it comes back is another acute episode

Risk factors for cancer

Genetics and heredity

• It’s multifactoral, have the genetic make up to allow cancer to grow and have a trigger for it

Age

Gender

• Slightly more common in men than women

Low income/under-insured

Stress

Siet

Occupation

• Lung cancer, head and neck cancer, and COPD because of industrial jobs

Immunosuppression

• A lot of very rare cancers they will immediately do an HIV test, transplant patient because your immune system can’t fight off disease infections

Infection

• HPV vaccine

Drugs

• Hormone replacement, fertility drugs, anabolic steroids, growth hormones

Tobacco and alcohol use

• 1 in 5 cancer deaths from tobacco

Recreational drug use

• Higher rate in testicular cancer

Obesity- growth factors in adipose tissue

• Helps cancer grow

Sun exposure

Chronic inflammation

Chemical exposure

Cigarette smoking and tobacco use

The single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the U.S.

1 in 5 cancer deaths is related to smoking

A genetic disease

All cancers are genetic

Most are not inherited but the result of accumulated genetic damage over a lifetime that contributes to cancer risk

Genetic damage can cause DNA mutations

When a cell divides, DNA can be copied incorrectly and a mutation occurs

• In normal circumstances, DNA repair genes repair the mutation before the cell starts to divide

• Cells devour the cell that’s not created correctly but with cancer they can’t do that because theres too many

If the DNA repair genes fail, the mutated cell will survive and continue to divide with out normal controls

Apoptosis is a term used to signify cell death, cancer grows out of control when the gene for apoptosis is turned off

If the cells can evade the immune system, it can become a malignant tumor with the ability to metastasize

Metastasized

Spread to other tissue

Move from one place to another and that’s how we stage cancer knowing how far it moved

Carcinogen

A substance or agent that can cause cells to become cancerous by altering their genetic structure

Carcinogenesis

Process whereby a normal cell transforms into a cancerous cell

Involves 3 steps

• Initiation- carcinogens cause cellular mutations

• Promotion- cells with mutations are stimulated to proliferate

• Progression- cells undergo further genetic changes leading the development of a malignant tumor

Neoplasm

A mass or collection of cells that grow independently of its surrounding structures and has no physiologic purpose

Benign neoplasm

Localized growth, well defined borders, frequently encapsulated. Cells are highly differentiated

Not going to kill you but can cause issues, mostly encapsulated, cells are very different from normal cells

Malignant neoplasm

Grows aggressively, invade other tissue and organs, spreads to other parts of the body- metastasis

Encapsulation isn’t always there so it can grow and expand however they want and make way to lymph nodes

Metastasis

Occurs by

Direct invasion (Seen between kidney and liver because they are right next to eachother)

• Blood vessels

• Lymphatic system

Carcinoma

Mostly skin tissue

Cancer that begins in the skin or in organ linings

Carcinoma subtypes include:

• Squamous cell carcinoma- cancers that begin in flat cells found in areas such as the skin or the lining of the trachea or esophagus

• Adenocarcinomas cancer that arises in the glands that line the inside of the organs

• Basal cell carcinoma- found in the bottom cells of epithelium (skin cancers when people get removed they leave unfortunate scars cause they have to go to bottom)

Sarcoma

Muscle tissue

Cancer the begins in the connective or supportive tissue such as bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, or blood vessels

Usual to see skeletal muscle cells, more often seen in cells that replicate quickly

Blood leukemia

Effects your WBCs

Cancer that starts in blood forming tissue such as the bone marrow and causes large numbers of abnormal blood cells to be produced

Lymphoma

Glands, lymphocytes in lymph nodes

Cancer the begin in the cells of the immune system

Lymphoma- lymphocytes

Myeloma- plasma cells

Myeloma

Multiple different types of multiple myeloma affects all cells in bone marrow

Characteristic of cancer

Undifferentiated cells which may bear little resemblance to the normal cells

• Similar to each other different from normal cells

Invade and infiltrate surrounding tissue

• Normal cells are not trying to move and want to stay in one area but cancer cells will

Rapid rate of growth

• Can be relative, bones does not grow quickly so a cancer

Spread or metastasized to other part of the body via blood vessels and lymphatic channels

Can cause extensive damage to the tissue/organas

Can secrete substances that cause cell damage (can actively destroy cells)

Evades growth suppressors

• Have cells that regulate growth but cancer cells don’t react to this

• Cancer cells can create it’s own blood to feed itself through angiogenesis

Resists cell death

Induce angiogenesis (need to eat)

Have altered metabolism to grow in challenging environments (will do things to stay alive think about stomach cancer)

Can evade the immune system destruction