Cancer

Translingual

Proper noun

Cancer

1. The genus containing crabs.

Cancer /ˈkænsər/ ( listen) (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 affects people at all ages with the risk for most types increasing with age. Cancer caused about 13% of all human deaths in 2007 (7.6 million).

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 randomly occur through errors in DNA replication, or are inherited, and thus present in all cells from birth. The heritability of cancers is usually affected by complex interactions between carcinogens and the host's genome.

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.

Definitive diagnosis requires the histologic examination of a biopsy specimen, although the initial indication of malignancy can be symptomatic or radiographic imaging abnormalities. Most cancers can be treated and some forced into remission, 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.

Cancer is a class of diseases in which a group of cells display uncontrolled growth.

Sourced

• Abortion opponents have attempted to link the procedure with breast cancer, but here again the scientific evidence undermines their claims....To believe otherwise is no more grounded in evidence that to believe that breast cancer is caused by power lines, or that the polio vaccine impedes virility, or that fluoridated drinking water triggers autism.
  • Jacob Appel, medical writer and columnist, Abortion: A Healthy Choice, Huffington Post October 11, 2009.

• We "need" cancer because, by the very fact of its incurability, it makes all other diseases, however virulent, not cancer.
  • Gilbert Adair, journalist and film critic, "Under the Sign of Cancer," Myths and Memories, 1986.

External links

• Cancer Research@ (27)
• Foundations@ (13)

• Cell Biology@ (339)
• Developmental Biology@ (86)
• Oncology@ (183)
• Physiology@ (167)
• Veterinary Cancer@ (34)

See also:

• Business: Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals: Pharmaceuticals: Cancer (36)
• Society: Issues: Health: Conditions and Diseases: Cancer (10)

• Cancer.Gov
  cancer.gov
  Informative site providing detailed information about genetics, causes, risk factors, and prevention of cancer. From the National Cancer Institute aimed at both patients and health professionals.
• Special Project Angiogenesis
  med.unibs.it
  Offers a look at angiostatic therapy, cancer, genes, publications, and lab news. Includes goals, tools, and participants at the First Interdisciplinary Scientific Project on Tumor Angiogenesis sponsored by Italian Association for Cancer Research.
• Cancer Genetics and Developmental Biology
  bccrc.ca
  Research focuses on identifying genomic changes, and signaling and metabolic pathways associated with tumour progression. Includes information on research groups, staff, and related resources.

• Usenet sci.med.diseases.cancer - news: - Google Groups