What is Cancer? - Biotech, Pharma and Life Science Channel
Cancer is not just one disease but many diseases. There are more than 100 different types of cancer. Most cancers are named for the organ or type of cell in which they start - for example, cancer that begins in the colon is called colon cancer; cancer that begins in basal cells of the skin is called basal cell carcinoma.
Cancer is a term used for diseases in which abnormal cells divide without control and are able to invade other tissues. Cancer cells can spread to other parts of the body through the blood and lymph systems.
Cancer types can be grouped into broader categories. The main categories of cancer include:
- Central nervous system cancers - cancers that begin in the tissues of the brain and spinal cord.
- Carcinoma - cancer that begins in the skin or in tissues that line or cover internal organs.
- Leukemia - cancer that starts in blood-forming tissue such as the bone marrow and causes large numbers of abnormal blood cells to be produced and enter the blood.
- Lymphoma and myeloma - cancers that begin in the cells of the immune system.
- Sarcoma - cancer that begins in bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, blood vessels, or other connective or supportive tissue.
All cancers begin in cells, the body's basic unit of life. These cells grow and divide in a controlled way to produce more cells as they are needed to keep the body healthy. When cells become old or damaged, they die and are replaced with new cells. However, sometimes this orderly process goes wrong. The genetic material (DNA) of a cell can become damaged or changed, producing mutations that affect normal cell growth and division. When this happens, cells do not die when they should and new cells form when the body does not need them. The extra cells may form a mass of tissue called a tumor.
Not all tumors are cancerous; tumors can be benign or malignant.
- Benign tumors aren't cancerous. They can often be removed, and, in most cases, they do not come back. Cells in benign tumors do not spread to other parts of the body.
- Malignant tumors are cancerous. Cells in these tumors can invade nearby tissues and spread to other parts of the body. The spread of cancer from one part of the body to another is called metastasis.
Some cancers do not form tumors. For example, leukemia is a cancer of the bone marrow and blood.
Source: National Cancer Institute - http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/cancerlibrary/what-is-cancer
PubMed Articles
Clinical significance of tumor cavitation (TC) prior to and following first-line chemotherapy of lung cancer is unclear. An evaluation of the incidence and prognostic role of TC among treatment naive...
Prognostic value of TMPRSS4 expression in patients with breast cancer.
Transmembrane protease, serine 4 (TMPRSS4), is a novel type II transmembrane serine protease that is highly expressed on the cell surface in pancreatic, thyroid, lung, and other cancer tissues, althou...
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide. The disease remains a public health concern as recent evidence indicates that the breast cancer burden has increased mainly in developing an...
Expression and prognostic significance of GATA-binding protein 2 in colorectal cancer.
GATA-binding protein 2 (GATA2) is a nuclear transcription factor that plays a critical role in tumorigenesis. High levels of GATA2 expression are correlated with poor survival outcomes in many types o...
Clinical significance of serum adipokines levels in lung cancer.
Adipokines have a significant effect on metabolism, immunoinflammatory responses as well as on carcinogenesis; therefore, we aimed at evaluating their potential predictive and prognostic significance...
p73 gene shares structural and functional similarities to p53 and plays an important role in modulating cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. A common non-coding polymorphism of p73 G4C14-to-A4T14 (rs22739...
Prognostic value of proliferation markers expression in breast cancer.
In this study, immunohistochemical expression of five proliferation markers: Ki-67, aurora-A kinase, survivin, B-Myb and cyclin B1, was analyzed. Consecutive 215 tumor samples from breast cancer patie...
Clinical implications of CIP2A protein expression in breast cancer.
The aim of this work is to study the expression and regulatory effects of CIP2A protein in breast cancer and the correlation between CIP2A protein expression and the prognosis of breast cancer. The CI...
CYP2A6, CYP1A1, and CYP2D6 polymorphisms in lung cancer patients from Central South China.
Lung cancer is a common cause of cancer-related death. The link between risk of lung cancer susceptibility and genetic polymorphisms in metabolic enzymes is well documented. In this study, the relatio...
IL-32 expression is an independent prognostic marker for gastric cancer.
A strong link between inflammation and gastrointestinal cancer has been demonstrated. Interleukin (IL)-32 is a recently described pro-inflammatory cytokine characterized by the induction of nuclear fa...
News Articles
AGA Research Foundation grant furthers digestive cancer research
(American Gastroenterological Association) The AGA Research Foundation is honored to announce the first AGA-Caroline Craig Augustyn and Damian Augustyn Award in Digestive Cancer, which will support An...
Registration Open for Fifth Annual Step Up for Cancer Event
With an estimated 20,000 Coloradoans being diagnosed with cancer each year, Step Up for Cancer provides an entertaining, healthy and exciting way for participants to make a difference in the fight and...
Angelina Jolie â Scarless Breast Augmentation Surgery
(PRWEB) May 18, 2013 In a May 14, 2013 article entitled âAngelina Jolie Reveals She Had Preventive Double Mastectomy After Discovering Cancer Gene,â Fox News reported the movie star had o...
News digest – Angelina Jolie, clinical trial transparency, testicular cancer and more
Angelina Jolie’s decision to have a double mastectomy to reduce her risk of breast cancer, after she learnt she carried the BRCA1 gene, resulted in blanket coverage across the media this week. You c...
'Why would we wait?': 3 sisters face Jolie's cancer dilemma
Actress Angelina Jolie’s revelation this week that she’d had both breasts removed to lower her elevated risk of cancer came as a bombshell to many -- but not to three sisters from Berkeley...
ORLANDO, Fla. , May 18, 2013 /- Although colonoscopy exams prevent many colon cancer deaths 1 and are considered the most sensitive method for detecting colorectal cancers 2 , the procedure is not c...
Mobile, AL (PRWEB) May 18, 2013 Although obesity is associated with an increased risk for several malignant tumors, the association between obesity and esophageal adenocarcinoma, a type of esophage...
Share your story about living with cancer
Sharing your cancer stories can provide a ray of hope and reassurance to others. Make a difference.
Joseph A. Sparano, MD, Named Vice Chair of ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group
The ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group announced today that it has appointed Joseph A. Sparano, MD, as its Vice Chair. In his new role, Dr. Sparano will assist the Group leadership in defining research...
Events
Cancer Vaccines will provide attendees with a complete view of the cancer immunotherapy field. Focusing on the discovery of new vaccines, developments in target identification
Academic Screening Workshop 2013
Select Bio is pleased to present the 3rd Screening Asia conference, which will take place at the Biopolis, Singapore, on November 12th & 13th
3rd Annual Oncology Biomarkers Congress 2013
Over 150 oncology focused industry delegates Over 50 presentations/roundtables/panel discussions
3rd World Congress on Cancer Science & Therapy
3rd world congress on Cancer Science & Therapy serves as a reunion land for scientists in the area of cancer research.
Webinar - Oncology Clinical Trials in Eastern Europe
Main focus on Breast cancer, Prostate cancer, Ovarian cancer, Lung cancer, Colorectal cancer
Companies
Loma Linda University Medical Center
Loma Linda University Medical Center (LLUMC), a Seventh-Day Adventist institution, is among the largest private medical educational centers in the United States and the only one in inland Southern...
Bio-Path is developing a patented, liposomal drug delivery system and products developed at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, with two clinical cancer drug can...
Cancer Genetics, Inc. (CGI) is an emerging leader in the field of personalized medicine, offering products and services that enable cancer diagnostics as well as treatments that are tailored to the...
Foundation Medicine is dedicated to the development of comprehensive tests that will help physicians personalize cancer treatment for their patients. Foundation Medicineâs la...
Eutropics Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Eutropics is addressing the need for improving the treatment of aggressive forms of leukemia, myeloma, lymphoma, and other cancers. The company is developing a novel diagnostic te...
Tokai Pharmaceuticals is a U.S. biopharmaceutical company focused on developing new treatments for prostate cancer. The companyâs lead drug candidate, TOK-001, is the first i...
OncoMed Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage company that discovers and develops novel therapeutics targeting cancer stem cells, the cells believed to be capable of driving tumor growth, recurrence and...
Provectus Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Provectus Pharmaceuticals specializes in developing oncology and dermatology therapies. Its lead oncology agent, PV-10, is designed to selectively target and destroy cancer cells...
Onconova, based in Newtown, PA and Lawrenceville, NJ, discovers and develops novel patent- protected small molecule therapeutic agents for cancer, radiation protection and hematol...
Fry Construction Company, Inc., is a leader in the precision construction of medical facilities. Since completing Dallasâ first magnetic resonance imaging center in 1984, Fry...
Clinical Trials
Cell Lines From High-Risk Breast Tissue
Background: - Many risk factors for breast cancer have been identified, including family history, endocrine background, changes in breast tissue, cancer in one breast, radiation...
Phase 2A Study of NPC-1C Chimeric Monoclonal Antibody to Treat Pancreatic and Colorectal Cancer
The purpose of the phase 2A component of this study is to determine if giving the immune molecule NPC-1C to individuals who have cancer of the pancreas or gastrointestinal tract (colon or...
Exercise and Metformin in Colorectal and Breast Cancer Survivors
Metformin is a medication that is commonly used in the treatment of diabetes. Recently small studies in cancer patients without diabetes suggest that metformin may benefit in lowering ins...
This prospective, multi-center, non-interventional study will evaluate the efficacy and safety of Herceptin (trastuzumab) in routine clinical practice in Chinese patients with gastric or g...
Neoadjuvant Axitinib in Prostate Cancer
The goal of this clinical research study is learn if adding axitinib to hormonal therapy can help to control prostate cancer when given before surgery. The safety of this drug will also be...
Testing the Helpfulness of 2 Decision Aids for Prostate Cancer
The purpose of this study is to test different methods for communicating information about prostate cancer treatment to men. The investigators are studying how best to present information...
Collecting and Storing Tissue Samples From Women With or Without Breast Cancer
RATIONALE: Collecting and storing samples of tissue, blood, and urine from patients with or without breast cancer to study in the laboratory may help the study of cancer. PURPOSE: This re...
Vemurafenib, Cetuximab, and Irinotecan in Advanced Solid Cancers
The goal of this clinical research study is to find the highest tolerable dose of vemurafenib that can be given in combination with cetuximab and irinotecan to patients with advanced cance...
Goserelin and Anastrozole in Treating Men With Recurrent or Metastatic Breast Cancer
RATIONALE: Estrogen can cause the growth of breast cancer cells. Hormone therapy using goserelin and anastrozole may fight breast cancer by blocking the use of estrogen by the tumor cells....
Pelvic Exenteration in Treating Patients With Recurrent Cervical Cancer
RATIONALE: Pelvic exenteration may be effective in treating recurrent cervical cancer. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well pelvic exenteration works in treating patients wit...
Videos
Angelina Jolie's breast cancer decision
Brooke Baldwin talks to Miss DC Allyn Rose about her decision to undergo a double mastectomy to prevent breast cancer. For more CNN videos, visit our site at...
Medical and Biotech [MESH] Definitions
Ultrasound, High-intensity Focused, Transrectal
Tissue ablation of the PROSTATE performed by ultrasound from a transducer placed in the RECTUM. The procedure is used to treat prostate cancer (PROSTATIC NEOPLASMS) and benign prostatic hypertrophy (PROSTATIC HYPERPLASIA).
Enterocolitis, Neutropenic
A syndrome characterized by inflammation in the ILEUM, the CECUM, and the ASCENDING COLON. It is observed in cancer patients with CHEMOTHERAPY-induced NEUTROPENIA or in other immunocompromised individuals (IMMUNOCOMPROMISED HOST).
Positron-emission Tomography
An imaging technique using compounds labelled with short-lived positron-emitting radionuclides (such as carbon-11, nitrogen-13, oxygen-15 and fluorine-18) to measure cell metabolism. It has been useful in study of soft tissues such as CANCER; CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM; and brain. SINGLE-PHOTON EMISSION-COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY is closely related to positron emission tomography, but uses isotopes with longer half-lives and resolution is lower.
Nijmegen Breakage Syndrome
A chromosome instability syndrome resulting from a defective response to DNA double-strand breaks. In addition to characteristic FACIES and MICROCEPHALY, patients have a range of findings including RADIOSENSITIVITY, immunodeficiency, increased cancer risk, and growth retardation. Causative mutations occur in the NBS1 gene, located on human chromosome 8q21. NBS1 codes for nibrin, the key regulator protein of the R/M/N (RAD50/MRE11/NBS1) protein complex which senses and mediates cellular response to DNA DAMAGE caused by IONIZING RADIATION.
Oncolytic Virotherapy
Use of attenuated VIRUSES as ANTINEOPLASTIC AGENTS to selectively kill CANCER cells.
