Cancer /ˈkænsər/, known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a broad group of various diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the body through the lymphatic system or bloodstream. Not all tumors are cancerous. Benign tumors
do not grow uncontrollably, do not invade neighboring tissues, and do
not spread throughout the body. There are over 200 different known
cancers that afflict humans.[1]
Determining what causes cancer is complex. Many things are known to increase the risk of cancer, including tobacco use, certain infections, radiation, lack of physical activity, obesity, and environmental pollutants.[2] These can directly damage genes or combine with existing genetic faults within cells to cause the disease.[3] Approximately five to ten percent of cancers are entirely hereditary.
Cancer can be detected in a number of ways, including the presence of certain signs and symptoms, screening tests, or medical imaging. Once a possible cancer is detected it is diagnosed by microscopic examination of a tissue sample. Cancer is usually treated with chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery.
The chances of surviving the disease vary greatly by the type and
location of the cancer and the extent of disease at the start of
treatment. While cancer can affect people of all ages, and a few types
of cancer are more common in children, the risk of developing cancer
generally increases with age. In 2007, cancer caused about 13% of all human deaths
worldwide (7.9 million). Rates are rising as more people live to an old
age and as mass lifestyle changes occur in the developing world.[4]
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Signs and symptoms
When cancer begins it invariably produces no symptoms with signs and symptoms only appearing as the mass continues to grow or ulcerates. The findings that result depends on the type and location of the cancer. Few symptoms are specific, with many of them also frequently occurring in individuals who have other conditions. Cancer is the new "great imitator".
Thus it is not uncommon for people diagnosed with cancer to have been
treated for other diseases to which it was assumed their symptoms were
due.Local effects
Local symptoms may occur due to the mass of the tumor or its ulceration. For example mass effects from lung cancer can cause blockage of the bronchus resulting in cough or pneumonia, esophageal cancer can cause narrowing of the esophagus making it difficult or painful to swallow, and colorectal cancer may lead to narrowing or blockages in the bowel resulting in changes in bowel habits. Masses of breast or testicles may be easily felt. Ulceration can cause bleeding which, if it occurs in the lung, will lead to coughing up blood, in the bowels to anemia or rectal bleeding, in the bladder to blood in the urine, and in the uterus to vaginal bleeding. Although localized pain may occurs in advanced cancer, the initial swelling is usually painless. Some cancers can cause build up of fluid within the chest or abdomen.Systemic symptoms
General symptoms occur due to distant effects of the cancer that are not related to direct or metastatic spread. These may include: unintentional weight loss, fever, being excessively tired, and changes to the skin. Hodgkin disease, leukemias, and cancers of the liver or kidney can cause a persistent fever of unknown origin.Specific constellations of systemic symptoms, termed paraneoplastic phenomena, may occur with some cancers. Examples include the appearance of myasthenia gravis in thymoma and clubbing in lung cancer.
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