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| Name = Cancer
| Name = Cancer
| Image = Tumor_Mesothelioma2_legend.jpg
| Image = Tumor_Mesothelioma2_legend.jpg
| Caption = A coronal [[CT scan]] showing [[malignant]] [[mesothelioma|cancer of the lung sac]].<br/>Legend: →&nbsp;[[tumor]]&nbsp;←, ★&nbsp;central [[pleural effusion]], 1 & 3&nbsp;[[lungs]], 2&nbsp;[[spine]], 4&nbsp;[[ribs]], 5&nbsp;[[aorta]], 6&nbsp;[[spleen]], 7 & 8&nbsp;[[kidneys]], 9&nbsp;[[liver]].
| Caption = A coronal [[CT scan]] showing a cancer of right [[Pleural cavity|pleural membranes]], the outer surface of the lung and inner surface of the chest wall, '''malignant [[mesothelioma]]'''.<br/>Legend: →&nbsp;[[tumor]]&nbsp;←, ★&nbsp;central [[pleural effusion]], 1 & 3&nbsp;[[lungs]], 2&nbsp;[[Vertebral column|spine]], 4&nbsp;[[ribs]], 5&nbsp;[[aorta]], 6&nbsp;[[spleen]], 7 & 8&nbsp;[[kidneys]], 9&nbsp;[[liver]].
| DiseasesDB = 28843
| DiseasesDB = 28843
| ICD10 ={{ICD10|D|00||d|00}}
| ICD10 ={{ICD10|D|00||d|00}}
| ICD9 = {{ICD9|140}}—{{ICD9|239}}
| ICD9 = {{ICD9|140}}—{{ICD9|239}}
| ICDO =
| ICDO =
| OMIM =
| MedlinePlus = 001289
| MedlinePlus = 001289
| eMedicineSubj =
| eMedicineSubj =
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}}


'''Cancer''' {{IPA-en|ˈkænsər||en-us-cancer.ogg}} (medical term: [[malignancy|malignant]] [[neoplasm]]) is a class of [[disease]] in which a group of [[cell (biology)|cell]]s display ''uncontrolled growth'' through [[cell division|division]] beyond normal limits, ''invasion'' that intrudes upon and destroys adjacent tissues, and sometimes ''[[metastasis]]'', in which cancer cells spread to other locations in the body via [[lymph]] or [[blood]]. These three malignant properties of cancers differentiate them from [[benign tumor]]s, which are self-limited, and do not invade or metastasize.
'''Cancer''' {{IPA-en|ˈkænsər||en-us-cancer.ogg}} (medical term: [[malignancy|malignant]] [[neoplasm]]) is a class of [[disease]]s in which a group of [[cell (biology)|cell]]s display uncontrolled growth, invasion that intrudes upon and destroys adjacent tissues, and sometimes [[metastasis]], or spreading to other locations in the body via [[lymph]] or [[blood]]. These three malignant properties of cancers differentiate them from [[benign tumor]]s, which do not invade or metastasize.


<!--Cause, Pathophysiology -->
<!--Cause, Pathophysiology -->
Cancers are primarily an environmental disease with 90-95% of cases due environmental factors such as lifestyle, and 5-10% directly due to [[heredity]].<ref name=Enviro2008>{{cite journal |author=Anand P, Kunnumakkara AB, Kunnumakara AB, ''et al.'' |title=Cancer is a preventable disease that requires major lifestyle changes |journal=Pharm. Res. |volume=25 |issue=9 |pages=2097–116 |year=2008 |month=September |pmid=18626751 |pmc=2515569 |doi=10.1007/s11095-008-9661-9 |url=}}</ref> Common environmental factors leading to cancer include: [[tobacco]] (25-30%), diet and [[obesity]] (30-35%), [[infections]] (15-20%), radiation, stress, lack of physical activity, and environmental pollutants.<ref name=Enviro2008/> These environmental factors cause or enhance abnormalities in the [[genome|genetic material]] of cells.<ref name="Kinz">{{cite book | author = Kinzler, Kenneth W.; Vogelstein, Bert | title = The genetic basis of human cancer | edition = 2nd, illustrated, revised| language = | publisher = McGraw-Hill, Medical Pub. Division | location = New York | year = 2002 | page = 5| isbn = 978-0-07-137050-9 | url = http://books.google.com/?id=pYG09OPbXp0C| chapter=Introduction |chapterurl=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=pYG09OPbXp0C&pg=PA5&dq=%22from+defects+in+oncogenes%22&lr=&ei=EJ8pSujtDYWKygSqj8ikBw#PPA6,M1}}</ref> Cell reproduction is an extremely complex process, which is normally tightly regulated by several classes of genes including ''[[oncogene]]s'' and ''[[tumor suppressor gene]]s''. Hereditary or aquired abnormalities in these regulatory genes can lead to ''uncontrolled'' cell growth, and the development of cancer.
Researchers divide the causes of cancer into two groups: those with an environmental cause and those with a [[hereditary]] genetic cause. Cancers are primarily an [[environmental disease]] with 90-95% of cases due to environmental factors such as lifestyle, and 5-10% directly due to [[heredity]].<ref name=Enviro2008>{{cite journal |author=Anand P, Kunnumakkara AB, Kunnumakara AB, ''et al.'' |title=Cancer is a preventable disease that requires major lifestyle changes |journal=Pharm. Res. |volume=25 |issue=9 |pages=2097–116 |year=2008 |month=September |pmid=18626751 |pmc=2515569 |doi=10.1007/s11095-008-9661-9 |url=}}</ref> Common environmental factors leading to cancer include: [[tobacco]], diet and [[obesity]], [[infections]], [[radiation]], lack of physical activity, and environmental pollutants.<ref name=Enviro2008/> These environmental factors cause or enhance abnormalities in the [[genome|genetic material]] of cells.<ref name="Kinz">{{cite book | author = Kinzler, Kenneth W.; Vogelstein, Bert | title = The genetic basis of human cancer | edition = 2nd, illustrated, revised| language = | publisher = McGraw-Hill, Medical Pub. Division | location = New York | year = 2002 | page = 5| isbn = 978-0-07-137050-9 | url = http://books.google.com/?id=pYG09OPbXp0C| chapter=Introduction |chapterurl=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=pYG09OPbXp0C&pg=PA5&dq=%22from+defects+in+oncogenes%22&lr=&ei=EJ8pSujtDYWKygSqj8ikBw#PPA6,M1}}</ref> Cell reproduction is an extremely complex process that is normally tightly regulated by several classes of genes, including [[oncogene]]s and [[tumor suppressor gene]]s. Hereditary or acquired abnormalities in these regulatory genes can lead to the development of cancer.


<!--Diagnosis,Treatment,Epidemiology -->
<!--Diagnosis, Treatment, Epidemiology -->
The presence of cancer can be suspected on the basis of symptoms, or findings on [[radiology]]. Definitive diagnosis of cancer, however, requires the [[histology|microscopic examination]] of a [[biopsy]] specimen. Most cancers can be treated. Possible treatments include [[chemotherapy]], [[radiation therapy|radiotherapy]] and [[surgery]]. The [[prognosis]] is influenced by the type of cancer and the extent of disease. While cancer can affect people of all ages the risk typically increases with age.<ref name="Cancer Research UK">{{cite web | last =Cancer Research UK | title =UK cancer incidence statistics by age | month=January | year=2007 | url =http://info.cancerresearchuk.org/cancerstats/incidence/age/ | accessdate =2007-06-25 }}</ref> In 2004 cancer caused about 13% of [[causes of death|all human deaths]]<ref name="WHO">{{cite web | last =WHO | authorlink =World Health Organization | title =Cancer | publisher =World Health Organization |month=February | year=2006 | url =http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs297/en/ | accessdate =2007-06-25 }}</ref> (7.6&nbsp;million).<ref name="American Cancer Society">{{cite web | last =American Cancer Society | authorlink =Reuters | title =Report sees 7.6&nbsp;million global 2007 cancer deaths | publisher =Reuters |month=December | year=2007 | url =http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSN1633064920071217 | accessdate =2008-08-07 }}</ref>
The presence of cancer can be suspected on the basis of symptoms, or findings on [[radiology]]. Definitive diagnosis of cancer, however, requires the [[histology|microscopic examination]] of a [[biopsy]] specimen. Most cancers can be treated. Possible treatments include [[chemotherapy]], [[radiation therapy|radiotherapy]] and [[surgery]]. The [[prognosis]] is influenced by the type of cancer and the extent of disease. While cancer can affect people of all ages, and a few types of cancer are more common in children, the overall risk of developing cancer increases with age. In 2007 cancer caused about 13% of [[causes of death|all human deaths]] worldwide (7.9&nbsp;million), and the number of cases is rising as more people live to old age.<ref name="WHOen">{{cite web |url=http://www.who.int/cancer/en/ |title=WHO &#124;|work= World Health Organization |accessdate=2011-01-08}}</ref>


== Classification ==
== Classification ==
{{further|[[List of cancer types]]|[[List of oncology-related terms]]}}
{{further|[[List of cancer types]]|[[List of oncology-related terms]]}}
Cancers are classified by the [[List of distinct cell types in the adult human body|type of cell]] that resembles the tumor and, therefore, the tissue presumed to be the origin of the tumor. These are the histology and the location, respectively. Examples of general categories include:
Cancers are classified by the [[List of distinct cell types in the adult human body|type of cell]] that the tumor resembles and is therefore presumed to be the origin of the tumor. These types include:
*[[Carcinoma]]: Malignant tumors derived from [[epithelium|epithelial]] cells. This group represents the most common cancers, including the common forms of [[breast cancer|breast]], [[prostate cancer|prostate]], [[lung cancer|lung]] and [[Colorectal cancer|colon cancer]].
* [[Carcinoma]]: Cancer derived from [[epithelium|epithelial]] cells. This group includes many of the most common cancers, including those of the [[breast cancer|breast]], [[prostate cancer|prostate]], [[lung cancer|lung]] and [[Colorectal cancer|colon]].
*[[Sarcoma]]: Malignant tumors derived from [[connective tissue]], or [[mesenchyme|mesenchymal]] cells.
* [[Sarcoma]]: Cancer derived from [[connective tissue]], or [[mesenchyme|mesenchymal]] cells.
*[[Lymphoma]] and [[leukemia]]: Malignancies derived from hematopoietic ([[blood]]-forming) cells
* [[Lymphoma]] and [[leukemia]]: Cancer derived from hematopoietic ([[blood]]-forming) cells
*[[Germ cell tumor]]: Tumors derived from [[totipotent]] cells. In adults most often found in the [[testicle]] and [[ovary]]; in fetuses, babies, and young children most often found on the body midline, particularly at the tip of the tailbone; in horses most often found at the poll (base of the skull).
* [[Germ cell tumor]]: Cancer derived from [[pluripotent]] cells. In adults these are most often found in the [[testicular cancer|testicle]] and [[ovarian cancer|ovary]], but are more common in babies and young children.
*Blastic tumor or [[blastoma]]: A tumor (usually malignant) which resembles an immature or embryonic tissue. Many of these tumors are most common in children.
* [[Blastoma]]: Cancer derived from immature "precursor" or embryonic tissue. These are also commonest in children.


Malignant tumors (cancers) are usually named using -carcinoma, -sarcoma or -blastoma as a suffix, with the Latin or Greek word for the organ of origin as the root. For instance, a cancer of the liver is called ''[[hepatocarcinoma]]''; a cancer of the fat cells is called ''liposarcoma''. For common cancers, the English organ name is used. For instance, the most common type of [[breast cancer]] is called ''ductal carcinoma of the breast'' or ''mammary ductal carcinoma''. Here, the adjective ''ductal'' refers to the appearance of the cancer under the microscope, resembling normal breast ducts.
Cancers are usually named using -carcinoma, -sarcoma or -blastoma as a suffix, with the Latin or Greek word for the [[organ (anatomy)|organ]] or tissue of origin as the root. For example, a cancer of the liver is called ''[[hepatocarcinoma]]''; a cancer of fat cells is called a ''[[liposarcoma]]''. For some common cancers, the English organ name is used. For example, the most common type of [[breast cancer]] is called ''[[mammary ductal carcinoma|ductal carcinoma of the breast]]''. Here, the adjective ''ductal'' refers to the appearance of the cancer under the microscope, which suggests that it has originated in the milk ducts.


[[Benign tumor]]s (which are not cancers) are named using -oma as a suffix with the organ name as the root. For instance, a benign tumor of the smooth muscle of the uterus is called ''leiomyoma'' (the common name of this frequent tumor is ''fibroid''). Unfortunately, some cancers also use the -oma suffix, examples being [[melanoma]] and [[seminoma]].
[[Benign tumor]]s (which are not cancers) are named using -oma as a suffix with the organ name as the root. For example, a benign tumor of smooth muscle cells is called a ''[[leiomyoma]]'' (the common name of this frequently occurring benign tumor in the uterus is ''[[uterine fibroid|fibroid]]''). Confusingly, some types of cancer also use the -oma suffix, examples including [[melanoma]] and [[seminoma]].


== Signs and symptoms ==
== Signs and symptoms ==
[[Image:Symptoms of cancer metastasis.svg|thumb|right|Symptoms of cancer metastasis depend on the location of the tumor.]]
[[Image:Symptoms of cancer metastasis.svg|thumb|right|Symptoms of cancer metastasis depend on the location of the tumor.]]
Roughly, cancer symptoms can be divided into three groups:
Cancer symptoms can be divided into three groups:
* ''Local symptoms'': unusual lumps or swelling (''[[tumor]]''), [[hemorrhage]] (bleeding), [[pain]] and/or [[ulcer (dermatology)|ulceration]]. Compression of surrounding tissues may cause symptoms such as [[jaundice]] (yellowing the eyes and skin).
* ''Local symptoms'': are restricted to the site of the primary cancer. They can include lumps or swelling ([[tumor]]), [[hemorrhage]] (bleeding from the skin, mouth or anus), [[ulcer (dermatology)|ulceration]] and [[pain]]. Although local pain commonly occurs in advanced cancer, the initial swelling is often painless.
* ''[[Symptoms of metastasis]] (spreading)'': enlarged [[lymph node]]s, [[cough]] and [[hemoptysis]], [[hepatomegaly]] (enlarged [[liver]]), bone pain, [[fracture]] of affected bones and [[neurology|neurological]] symptoms. Although advanced cancer may cause [[pain]], it is often not the first symptom.
* ''[[Symptoms of metastasis|Metastatic symptoms]]'': are due to the spread of cancer to other locations in the body. They can include enlarged [[lymph node]]s (which can be felt or sometimes seen under the skin), [[hepatomegaly]] (enlarged liver) or [[splenomegaly]] (enlarged spleen) which can be felt in the [[abdomen]], pain or [[fracture]] of affected bones, and [[neurology|neurological]] symptoms.
* ''Systemic symptoms'': [[weight loss]], [[anorexia (symptom)|poor appetite]], [[fatigue (medical)|fatigue]] and [[cachexia]] ([[wasting]]), excessive [[sweating]] ([[sleep hyperhidrosis|night sweats]]), [[anemia]] and specific [[paraneoplastic phenomenon|paraneoplastic phenomena]], i.e. specific conditions that are due to an active cancer, such as [[thrombosis]] or hormonal changes.
* ''Systemic symptoms'': occur due to distant effects of the cancer that are not related to direct or metastatic spread. Some of these effects can include [[weight loss]] ([[anorexia (symptom)|poor appetite]] and [[cachexia]]), [[fatigue (medical)|fatigue]], excessive [[sweating]] (especially [[sleep hyperhidrosis|night sweats]]), [[anemia]] (low blood count) and other specific conditions termed [[paraneoplastic phenomenon|paraneoplastic phenomena]]. These may be mediated by [[immunology|immunological]] or [[hormone|hormonal]] signals from the cancer cells.


None of these are diagnostic, as many of these symptoms commonly occur in patients who do ''not'' have cancer.
Every symptom in the above list can be caused by a variety of conditions (a list of which is referred to as the [[differential diagnosis]]). Cancer may be a common or uncommon cause of each item.


== Causes ==
== Causes ==
Cancers are primarily an environmental disease with 90-95% of cases due to environmental factors and 5-10% due to genetics.<ref name=Enviro2008/> "Environmental", as used by cancer researchers, means any cause that is not [[genetic]], and includes everything from natural sunlight to industrial pollution to viruses to behavioral choices to old age. Most environmental causes, such as naturally occurring [[background radiation]], are not modifiable or controllable. Common environmental factors that lead to cancer death include: [[tobacco]] (25-30% of deaths), diet and [[obesity]] (30-35%), [[infections]] (15-20%), [[radiation]], stress, lack of [[physical activity]], and [[environmental pollutants]].<ref name=Enviro2008/>
Cancers are primarily an environmental disease with 90-95% of cases in the United States attributed to environmental factors and 5-10% due to genetics.<ref name=Enviro2008/> Environmental, as used by cancer researchers, means any cause that is not [[Heredity|genetic]]. Common environmental factors that contribute to cancer death include: [[tobacco]] (25-30%), diet and [[obesity]] (30-35%), [[infections]] (15-20%), [[radiation]] (both ionizing and non ionizing, up to 10%), stress, lack of [[physical activity]], and [[environmental pollutants]].<ref name=Enviro2008/>


=== Chemicals ===
=== Chemicals ===
{{See|Carcinogen}}
{{See|Carcinogen}}
[[Image:Cancer smoking lung cancer correlation from NIH.svg|thumb|right|The incidence of lung cancer is highly correlated with smoking. Source:NIH.]]
[[Image:Cancer smoking lung cancer correlation from NIH.svg|thumb|right|The incidence of lung cancer is highly correlated with smoking. Source:NIH.]]
Cancer pathogenesis is traceable back to [[DNA mutations]] that impact cell growth and metastasis. Substances that cause [[DNA mutations]] are known as mutagens, and mutagens that cause cancers are known as carcinogens. Particular substances have been linked to specific types of cancer. [[Tobacco smoking]] is associated with many forms of cancer,<ref name=Sasco>{{cite journal |author=Sasco AJ, Secretan MB, Straif K |title=Tobacco smoking and cancer: a brief review of recent epidemiological evidence |journal=Lung cancer (Amsterdam, Netherlands) |volume=45 Suppl 2 |issue= |pages=S3–9 |year=2004 |month=August |pmid=15552776 |doi=10.1016/j.lungcan.2004.07.998}}</ref> and causes 90% of [[lung cancer]].<ref>{{cite journal |author= Biesalski HK, Bueno de Mesquita B, Chesson A, ''et al.'' |title=European Consensus Statement on Lung Cancer: risk factors and prevention. Lung Cancer Panel |journal=CA: a cancer journal for clinicians |volume=48 |issue=3 |pages=167–76; discussion 164–6 |year=1998 |pmid=9594919 |doi=10.3322/canjclin.48.3.167 |url=http://caonline.amcancersoc.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=9594919}}</ref> Prolonged exposure to [[asbestos]] fibers is associated with [[mesothelioma]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=O'Reilly KM, Mclaughlin AM, Beckett WS, Sime PJ |title=Asbestos-related lung disease |journal=American Family Physician |volume=75 |issue=5 |pages=683–8 |year=2007 |month=March |pmid=17375514 |doi= |url=http://www.aafp.org/afp/20070301/683.html}}</ref><ref name="urlAsbestos-related lung diseases">{{cite web |url=http://www.european-lung-foundation.org/index.php?id=9206 |title=Asbestos-related lung diseases |author= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |format= |work= |publisher= |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= |accessdate=}}</ref>
Cancer pathogenesis is traceable back to [[DNA mutations]] that impact cell growth and metastasis. Substances that cause [[DNA mutations]] are known as mutagens, and mutagens that cause cancers are known as carcinogens. Particular substances have been linked to specific types of cancer. [[Tobacco smoking]] is associated with many forms of cancer,<ref name=Sasco>{{cite journal |author=Sasco AJ, Secretan MB, Straif K |title=Tobacco smoking and cancer: a brief review of recent epidemiological evidence |journal=Lung cancer (Amsterdam, Netherlands) |volume=45 Suppl 2 |issue= |pages=S3–9 |year=2004 |month=August |pmid=15552776 |doi=10.1016/j.lungcan.2004.07.998}}</ref> and causes 90% of [[lung cancer]].<ref>{{cite journal |author= Biesalski HK, Bueno de Mesquita B, Chesson A, ''et al.'' |title=European Consensus Statement on Lung Cancer: risk factors and prevention. Lung Cancer Panel |journal=CA: a cancer journal for clinicians |volume=48 |issue=3 |pages=167–76; discussion 164–6 |year=1998 |pmid=9594919 |doi=10.3322/canjclin.48.3.167 |url=http://caonline.amcancersoc.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=9594919}}</ref>


Many [[mutagen]]s are also [[carcinogen]]s, but some carcinogens are not mutagens. [[Alcohol]] is an example of a chemical carcinogen that is not a mutagen.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Seitz HK, Pöschl G, Simanowski UA |title=Alcohol and cancer |journal=Recent developments in alcoholism : an official publication of the American Medical Society on Alcoholism, the Research Society on Alcoholism, and the National Council on Alcoholism |volume=14 |pages=67–95 |year=1998 |pmid=9751943}}</ref> Such chemicals may promote cancers through stimulating the rate of cell division. Faster rates of replication leaves less time for repair enzymes to repair damaged DNA during [[DNA replication]], increasing the likelihood of a mutation.
Many [[mutagen]]s are also [[carcinogen]]s, but some carcinogens are not mutagens. [[Alcohol]] is an example of a chemical carcinogen that is not a mutagen.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Seitz HK, Pöschl G, Simanowski UA |title=Alcohol and cancer |journal=Recent developments in alcoholism : an official publication of the American Medical Society on Alcoholism, the Research Society on Alcoholism, and the National Council on Alcoholism |volume=14 |pages=67–95 |year=1998 |pmid=9751943}}</ref> Such chemicals may promote cancers through stimulating the rate of cell division. Faster rates of replication leaves less time for repair enzymes to repair damaged DNA during [[DNA replication]], increasing the likelihood of a mutation.


Decades of research has demonstrated the link between [[tobacco]] use and cancer in the [[lung cancer|lung]], [[larynx]], head, neck, stomach, bladder, kidney, [[oesophagus]] and [[pancreas]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=Kuper H, Boffetta P, Adami HO |title=Tobacco use and cancer causation: association by tumour type |journal=Journal of internal medicine |volume=252 |issue=3 |pages=206–24 |year=2002 |month=September |doi=10.1046/j.1365-2796.2002.01022.x |pmid=12270001}}</ref> Tobacco smoke contains over fifty known carcinogens, including [[nitrosamine]]s and [[polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon]]s.<ref name=Kuper/> Tobacco is responsible for about one in three of all cancer deaths in the developed world,<ref name=Sasco/> and about one in five worldwide.<ref name=Kuper>{{cite journal |author=Kuper H, Adami HO, Boffetta P |title=Tobacco use, cancer causation and public health impact |journal=Journal of internal medicine |volume=251 |issue=6 |pages=455–66 |year=2002 |month=June |doi=10.1046/j.1365-2796.2002.00993.x |pmid=12028500}}</ref> Indeed, [[lung cancer]] death rates in the United States have mirrored [[tobacco smoking|smoking]] patterns, with increases in smoking followed by dramatic increases in lung cancer death rates and, more recently{{When|date=May 2010}}, decreases in smoking followed by decreases in lung cancer death rates in men. However, the numbers of smokers worldwide is still rising, leading to what some organizations have described as the ''tobacco epidemic''.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Proctor RN |title=The global smoking epidemic: a history and status report |journal=Clinical lung cancer |volume=5 |issue=6 |pages=371–6 |year=2004 |month=May |doi=10.3816/CLC.2004.n.016 |pmid=15217537}}</ref>
Decades of research has demonstrated the link between [[tobacco]] use and cancer in the [[lung cancer|lung]], [[larynx]], head, neck, stomach, bladder, kidney, [[oesophagus]] and [[pancreas]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=Kuper H, Boffetta P, Adami HO |title=Tobacco use and cancer causation: association by tumour type |journal=Journal of internal medicine |volume=252 |issue=3 |pages=206–24 |year=2002 |month=September |doi=10.1046/j.1365-2796.2002.01022.x |pmid=12270001}}</ref> Tobacco smoke contains over fifty known carcinogens, including [[nitrosamine]]s and [[polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon]]s.<ref name=Kuper/> Tobacco is responsible for about one in three of all cancer deaths in the developed world,<ref name=Sasco/> and about one in five worldwide.<ref name=Kuper>{{cite journal |author=Kuper H, Adami HO, Boffetta P |title=Tobacco use, cancer causation and public health impact |journal=Journal of internal medicine |volume=251 |issue=6 |pages=455–66 |year=2002 |month=June |doi=10.1046/j.1365-2796.2002.00993.x |pmid=12028500}}</ref> [[Lung cancer]] death rates in the United States have mirrored [[tobacco smoking|smoking]] patterns, with increases in smoking followed by dramatic increases in lung cancer death rates and, more recently{{When|date=May 2010}}, decreases in smoking followed by decreases in lung cancer death rates in men. However, the numbers of smokers worldwide is still rising, leading to what some organizations have described as the ''tobacco epidemic''.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Proctor RN |title=The global smoking epidemic: a history and status report |journal=Clinical lung cancer |volume=5 |issue=6 |pages=371–6 |year=2004 |month=May |doi=10.3816/CLC.2004.n.016 |pmid=15217537}}</ref>


Cancer related to ones occupation is believed to represent between 2-20% of all cases.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Irigaray P, Newby JA, Clapp R, ''et al.'' |title=Lifestyle-related factors and environmental agents causing cancer: an overview |journal=Biomed. Pharmacother. |volume=61 |issue=10 |pages=640–58 |year=2007 |month=December |pmid=18055160 |doi=10.1016/j.biopha.2007.10.006 |url=}}</ref> Every year, at least 200,000 people die worldwide from cancer related to their workplace.<ref name=WHO_occup>{{cite press release |title=WHO calls for prevention of cancer through healthy workplaces |publisher=World Health Organization |date=2007-04-27 |url=http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/notes/2007/np19/en/index.html |accessdate=2007-10-13}}</ref> Millions of workers run the risk of developing cancers such as [[lung cancer]] and [[mesothelioma]] from inhaling [[asbestos]] fibers and tobacco smoke, or [[leukemia]] from exposure to [[benzene]] at their workplaces.<ref name=WHO_occup/> Currently, most cancer deaths caused by occupational risk factors occur in the developed world.<ref name=WHO_occup/> It is estimated that approximately 20,000 cancer deaths and 40,000 new cases of cancer each year in the U.S. are attributable to occupation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/cancer/|title=National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health- Occupational Cancer |accessdate=2007-10-13|publisher=United States National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health}}</ref>
Cancer related to one's occupation is believed to represent between 2-20% of all cases.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Irigaray P, Newby JA, Clapp R, ''et al.'' |title=Lifestyle-related factors and environmental agents causing cancer: an overview |journal=Biomed. Pharmacother. |volume=61 |issue=10 |pages=640–58 |year=2007 |month=December |pmid=18055160 |doi=10.1016/j.biopha.2007.10.006 |url=}}</ref> Every year, at least 200,000 people die worldwide from cancer related to their workplace.<ref name=WHO_occup>{{cite press release |title=WHO calls for prevention of cancer through healthy workplaces |publisher=World Health Organization |date=2007-04-27 |url=http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/notes/2007/np19/en/index.html |accessdate=2007-10-13}}</ref> Currently, most cancer deaths caused by occupational risk factors occur in the developed world.<ref name=WHO_occup/> It is estimated that approximately 20,000 cancer deaths and 40,000 new cases of cancer each year in the U.S. are attributable to occupation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/cancer/|title=National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health- Occupational Cancer |accessdate=2007-10-13|publisher=United States National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health}}</ref> Millions of workers run the risk of developing cancers such as [[lung cancer]] and [[mesothelioma]] from inhaling [[asbestos]] fibers and tobacco smoke, or [[leukemia]] from exposure to [[benzene]] at their workplaces.<ref name=WHO_occup/>


=== Radiation ===
=== Radiation ===
Up to 10% of cancers are related to radiation exposure either ionizing or nonionizing.<ref name=Enviro2008/> Sources of [[ionizing radiation]], include [[medical imaging]], and [[radon]] gas. Radiation can cause cancer in most parts of the body, in all animals, and at any age, although radiation-induced solid tumors usually take 10–15 years, and up to 40 years, to become clinically manifest, and radiation-induced leukemias typically require 2–10 years to appear.<ref name=Little /> Some people, such as those with [[nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome]] or [[retinoblastoma]], are more susceptible than average to developing cancer from radiation exposure.<ref name=Little /> Children and adolescents are twice as likely to develop radiation-induced leukemia as adults; radiation exposure before birth has ten times the effect.<ref name=Little /> Ionizing radiation is not a particularly strong mutagen.<ref name=Little /> Residential exposure to radon gas, for example, has similar cancer risks as [[passive smoking]].<ref name=Little /> Low-dose exposures, such as living near a [[nuclear power plant]], are generally believed to have no or very little effect on cancer development.<ref name=Little /> Radiation is a more potent source of cancer when it is combined with other cancer-causing agents, such as radon gas exposure plus smoking tobacco.<ref name=Little />
Sources of [[ionizing radiation]], such as [[radon]] gas, can cause cancer. Prolonged exposure to [[ultraviolet radiation]] from the [[sun]] can lead to [[melanoma]] and other skin malignancies.<ref>{{cite journal |author=English DR, Armstrong BK, Kricker A, Fleming C |title=Sunlight and cancer |journal=Cancer causes & control : CCC |volume=8 |issue=3 |pages=271–83 |year=1997 |month=May |doi=10.1023/A:1018440801577 |pmid=9498892}}</ref> One report estimates that approximately 29 000 future cancers could be related to the approximately 70 million [[CT scan]]s performed in the US in 2007.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Berrington de González A, Mahesh M, Kim KP, ''et al.'' |title=Projected cancer risks from computed tomographic scans performed in the United States in 2007 |journal=Arch. Intern. Med. |volume=169 |issue=22 |pages=2071–7 |year=2009 |month=December |pmid=20008689 |doi=10.1001/archinternmed.2009.440 |url=}}</ref> It is estimated that 0.4% of current cancers in the United States are due to CTs performed in the past and that this may increase to as high as 1.5-2% with 2007 rates of CT usage.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Brenner DJ, Hall EJ |title=Computed tomography--an increasing source of radiation exposure |journal=N. Engl. J. Med. |volume=357 |issue=22 |pages=2277–84 |year=2007 |month=November |pmid=18046031 |doi=10.1056/NEJMra072149 |url=}}</ref>


Unlike chemical or physical triggers for cancer, ionizing radiation hits molecules within cells randomly. If it happens to strike a [[chromosome]], it can break the chromosome, result in an [[aneuploidy|abnormal number of chromosomes]], inactivate one or more genes in the part of the chromosome that it hit, delete parts of the DNA sequence, cause [[chromosome translocation]]s, or cause other types of [[chromosome abnormalities]].<ref name=Little /> Major damage normally results in the cell dying, but smaller damage may leave a stable, partly functional cell that may be capable of proliferating and developing into cancer, especially if [[tumor suppressor gene]]s were damaged by the radiation.<ref name=Little>{{cite book
Non-ionizing radio frequency radiation from [[mobile phone]]s and other similar [[Radio frequency|RF]] sources has also been proposed as a cause of cancer, but there is currently little established evidence of such a link.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Feychting M, Ahlbom A, Kheifets L |title=EMF and health |journal=Annual review of public health |volume=26 |issue= |pages=165–89 |year=2005 |pmid=15760285 |doi=10.1146/annurev.publhealth.26.021304.144445}}</ref>
|author=Little, John B
|editor=Bast RC, Kufe DW, Pollock RE, et al.
|title=Cancer Medicine
|edition=e.5
|publisher=B.C. Decker
|location=Hamilton, Ontario
|year=2000
|chapter=14
|isbn=1-55009-113-1
|oclc=
|url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK20770/
|accessdate=31 January 2011 }}</ref> Three independent stages appear to be involved in the creation of cancer with ionizing radiation: morphological changes to the cell, acquiring [[cellular immortality]] (losing normal, life-limiting cell regulatory processes), and adaptations that favor formation of a tumor.<ref name=Little /> Even if the radiation particle does not strike the DNA directly, it triggers responses from cells that indirectly increase the likelihood of mutations.<ref name=Little />

Medical use of ionizing radiation is a growing source of radiation-induced cancers. Ionizing radiation may be used to treat other cancers, but this may, in some cases, induce a second form of cancer.<ref name=Little /> It is also used in some kinds of [[medical imaging]]. One report estimates that approximately 29,000 future cancers could be related to the approximately 70 million [[CT scan]]s performed in the US in 2007.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Berrington de González A, Mahesh M, Kim KP, ''et al.'' |title=Projected cancer risks from computed tomographic scans performed in the United States in 2007 |journal=Arch. Intern. Med. |volume=169 |issue=22 |pages=2071–7 |year=2009 |month=December |pmid=20008689 |doi=10.1001/archinternmed.2009.440 |url=}}</ref> It is estimated that 0.4% of current cancers in the United States are due to CTs performed in the past and that this may increase to as high as 1.5-2% with 2007 rates of CT usage.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Brenner DJ, Hall EJ |title=Computed tomography--an increasing source of radiation exposure |journal=N. Engl. J. Med. |volume=357 |issue=22 |pages=2277–84 |year=2007 |month=November |pmid=18046031 |doi=10.1056/NEJMra072149 |url=}}</ref>

Prolonged exposure to [[ultraviolet radiation]] from the [[sun]] can lead to [[melanoma]] and other skin malignancies.<ref name=Cleaver>{{cite book
|author=Cleaver, James E and David L Mitchell
|editor=Bast RC, Kufe DW, Pollock RE, et al.
|title=Cancer Medicine
|edition=e.5
|publisher=B.C. Decker
|location=Hamilton, Ontario
|year=2000
|chapter=17
|isbn=1-55009-113-1
|oclc=
|url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK20770/
|accessdate=31 January 2011 }}</ref> Clear evidence establishes ultraviolet radiation, especially the medium wave [[UVB]], as the cause of most non-melanoma [[skin cancer]]s, which are the most common forms of cancer in the world.<ref name=Cleaver />

Non-ionizing [[radio frequency]] radiation from [[mobile phone]]s, [[electric power transmission]], and other similar sources has also been proposed as a cause of cancer, but there is currently little established evidence of such a link.<ref name=Maltoni /><ref>{{cite journal |author=Feychting M, Ahlbom A, Kheifets L |title=EMF and health |journal=Annual review of public health |volume=26 |issue= |pages=165–89 |year=2005 |pmid=15760285 |doi=10.1146/annurev.publhealth.26.021304.144445}}</ref>


=== Infection ===
=== Infection ===
{{Main|Infectious causes of cancer}}
Some cancers can be caused by [[infection]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=Pagano JS, Blaser M, Buendia MA, ''et al.'' |title=Infectious agents and cancer: criteria for a causal relation |journal=Semin. Cancer Biol. |volume=14 |issue=6 |pages=453–71 |year=2004 |month=December |pmid=15489139 |doi=10.1016/j.semcancer.2004.06.009}}</ref> This is especially true in animals such as [[bird]]s, but also in [[human]]s, with viruses responsible for up to 20% of human cancers worldwide.<ref name=Viral04>{{cite journal |author=Pagano JS, Blaser M, Buendia MA, ''et al.'' |title=Infectious agents and cancer: criteria for a causal relation |journal=Semin. Cancer Biol. |volume=14 |issue=6 |pages=453–71 |year=2004 |month=December |pmid=15489139 |doi=10.1016/j.semcancer.2004.06.009 |url=}}</ref> These include [[human papillomavirus]] ([[cervical carcinoma]]), [[human polyomaviruses]] ([[mesothelioma]], brain tumors), [[Epstein-Barr virus]] ([[B-cell lymphoproliferative disease]] and [[nasopharyngeal carcinoma]]), [[Kaposi's sarcoma herpesvirus]] ([[Kaposi's Sarcoma]] and primary effusion lymphomas), [[hepatitis B]] and [[hepatitis C]] viruses ([[hepatocellular carcinoma]]), and [[Human T-cell leukemia virus-1]] (T-cell leukemias). Bacterial infection may also increase the risk of cancer, as seen in [[Helicobacter pylori]] induced [[gastric carcinoma]].<ref name=Viral04/>
Worldwide approximately 18% of cancers are related to [[infectious diseases]].<ref name=Enviro2008/> This proportion varies in different regions of the world from high of 25% in Africa to less than 10% in the developed world.<ref name=Enviro2008/> [[Virus]]es are usual infectious agents that cause cancer but [[bacteria]] and [[parasites]] may also have an effect.


A virus that can cause cancer is called an ''[[oncovirus]]''. These include [[human papillomavirus]] ([[cervical carcinoma]]), [[Epstein-Barr virus]] ([[B-cell lymphoproliferative disease]] and [[nasopharyngeal carcinoma]]), [[Kaposi's sarcoma herpesvirus]] ([[Kaposi's Sarcoma]] and primary effusion lymphomas), [[hepatitis B]] and [[hepatitis C]] viruses ([[hepatocellular carcinoma]]), and [[Human T-cell leukemia virus-1]] (T-cell leukemias). Bacterial infection may also increase the risk of cancer, as seen in [[Helicobacter pylori]]-induced [[gastric carcinoma]].<ref name=Viral04>{{cite journal |author=Pagano JS, Blaser M, Buendia MA, ''et al.'' |title=Infectious agents and cancer: criteria for a causal relation |journal=Semin. Cancer Biol. |volume=14 |issue=6 |pages=453–71 |year=2004 |month=December |pmid=15489139 |doi=10.1016/j.semcancer.2004.06.009 |url=}}</ref> Parasitic infections strongly associated with cancer include ''[[Schistosoma haematobium]]'' ([[Bladder cancer|squamous cell carcinoma of the bladder]]) and the [[liver fluke]]s, ''[[Opisthorchis viverrini]]'' and ''[[Clonorchis sinensis]]'' ([[cholangiocarcinoma]]).<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Samaras |first1= Vassilis |last2= Rafailidis |first2= Petros I. |last3= Mourtzoukou |first3= Eleni G. |last4= Peppas |first4= George |last5= Falagas |first5= Matthew E. |year= 2010 |month= May |title= Chronic bacterial and parasitic infections and cancer: a review |journal= The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries |volume= 4 |issue= 5 |pages= 267–281 |issn= 1972-2680 |pmid= 20539059 |url= http://www.jidc.org/index.php/journal/article/view/20539059 }}</ref>
Experimental and epidemiological data imply a causative role for viruses and they appear to be the second most important risk factor for cancer development in humans, exceeded only by tobacco usage.<ref name="zur Hausen-viruses">{{cite journal | author = zur Hausen H | title = Viruses in human cancers | journal = Science | volume = 254 | issue = 5035 | pages = 1167–73 | year = 1991 | pmid = 1659743| doi = 10.1126/science.1659743}}</ref> The mode of virally induced tumors can be divided into two, ''acutely transforming'' or ''slowly transforming''. In acutely transforming viruses, the virus carries an overactive oncogene called viral-oncogene (v-onc), and the infected cell is transformed as soon as v-onc is expressed. In contrast, in slowly transforming viruses, the virus genome is inserted near a proto-oncogene in the host genome. The viral [[Promoter (biology)|promoter]] or other transcription regulation elements then cause overexpression of that proto-oncogene. This induces uncontrolled cell division. Because the site of insertion is not specific to proto-oncogenes and the chance of insertion near any proto-oncogene is low, slowly transforming viruses will cause tumors much longer after infection than the acutely transforming viruses.


===Physical agents===
Hepatitis viruses, including [[hepatitis B]] and [[hepatitis C]], can induce a chronic viral infection that leads to [[Hepatocellular carcinoma|liver cancer]] in 0.47% of [[hepatitis B]] patients per year (especially in Asia, less so in North America), and in 1.4% of [[hepatitis C]] carriers per year. Liver cirrhosis, whether from chronic viral hepatitis infection or alcoholism, is associated with the development of [[Hepatocellular carcinoma|liver cancer]], and the combination of cirrhosis and viral hepatitis presents the highest risk of [[Hepatocellular carcinoma|liver cancer]] development. Worldwide, [[Hepatocellular carcinoma|liver cancer]] is one of the most common, and most deadly, cancers due to a huge burden of [[viral hepatitis]] transmission and disease.
Some substances cause cancer primarily through their physical, rather than chemical, effects on cells.<ref name=Maltoni>{{cite book
|author=Maltoni, Cesare Franco Minardi, and James F Holland
|editor=Bast RC, Kufe DW, Pollock RE, et al.
|title=Cancer Medicine
|edition=e.5
|publisher=B.C. Decker
|location=Hamilton, Ontario
|year=2000
|chapter=17
|isbn=1-55009-113-1
|oclc=
|url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK20770/
|accessdate=31 January 2011 }}</ref>


A prominent example of this is prolonged exposure to [[asbestos]] fibers. Asbestos is a naturally occurring, fibrous rock that causes [[mesothelioma]], a type of lung cancer.<ref name=Maltoni /> Other substances in this category include both naturally occurring and synthetic asbestos-like fibers, such as [[wollastonite]], [[attapulgite]], [[glass wool]], and [[rock wool]], are believed to have similar effects.<ref name=Maltoni />
Advances in cancer research have made a vaccine designed to prevent cancers available. In 2006, the [[U.S. Food and Drug Administration]] approved a [[human papilloma virus]] vaccine, called [[Gardasil]]. The vaccine protects against 6,11,16,18 strains of HPV, which together cause 70% of cervical cancers and 90% of genital warts. It also lists vaginal and vulvar cancers as being protected. In March 2007, the US [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] (CDC) [[Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices]] (ACIP) officially recommended that females aged 11–12 receive the vaccine, and indicated that females as young as age 9 and as old as age 26 are also candidates for immunization. There is a second vaccine from [[Cervarix]] which protects against the more dangerous HPV 16,18 strains only. In 2009, Gardasil was approved for protection against genital warts. In 2010, the Gardasil vaccine was approved for protection against anal cancer for males and reviewers stated there was no anatomical, histological or physiological anal differences between the genders so females would also be protected.


Nonfibrous particulate materials that cause cancer include powdered metallic [[cobalt]] and [[nickel]], and [[crystalline silica]] ([[quartz]], [[cristobalite]], and [[tridymite]]).<ref name=Maltoni />
In addition to viruses, researchers have noted a connection between [[cancer bacteria|bacteria and certain cancers]]. The most prominent example is the link between chronic infection of the wall of the stomach with ''[[Helicobacter pylori]]'' and [[gastric cancer]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=Peter S, Beglinger C |title=Helicobacter pylori and gastric cancer: the causal relationship |journal=Digestion |volume=75 |issue=1 |pages=25–35 |year=2007 |pmid=17429205 |doi=10.1159/000101564}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Wang C, Yuan Y, Hunt RH |title=The association between Helicobacter pylori infection and early gastric cancer: a meta-analysis |journal=Am. J. Gastroenterol. |volume=102 |issue=8 |pages=1789–98 |year=2007 |month=August |pmid=17521398 |doi=10.1111/j.1572-0241.2007.01335.x}}</ref> Although only a minority of those infected with ''Helicobacter'' go on to develop cancer, since this pathogen is quite common it is probably responsible for most of these cancers.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Cheung TK, Xia HH, Wong BC |title=Helicobacter pylori eradication for gastric cancer prevention |journal=J. Gastroenterol. |volume=42 Suppl 17 |issue= |pages=10–5 |year=2007 |month=January |pmid=17238019 |doi=10.1007/s00535-006-1939-2}}</ref>


Usually, physical carcinogens must get inside the body (such as through inhaling tiny pieces) and require years of exposure to develop cancer.<ref name=Maltoni />
[[HIV]] is associated with a number of malignancies, including [[Kaposi's sarcoma]], [[non-Hodgkin's lymphoma]], and [[HPV]]-associated malignancies such as [[anal cancer]] and [[cervical cancer]]. [[AIDS]]-defining illnesses have long included these diagnoses. The increased incidence of malignancies in HIV patients points to the breakdown of immune surveillance as a possible etiology of cancer.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Wood C, Harrington W |title=AIDS and associated malignancies |journal=Cell Res. |volume=15 |issue=11-12 |pages=947–52 |year=2005 |pmid=16354573 |doi=10.1038/sj.cr.7290372}}</ref> Certain other immune deficiency states (e.g. [[common variable immunodeficiency]] and [[IgA deficiency]]) are also associated with increased risk of malignancy.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Mellemkjaer L, Hammarstrom L, Andersen V, ''et al.'' |title=Cancer risk among patients with IgA deficiency or common variable immunodeficiency and their relatives: a combined Danish and Swedish study |journal=Clin. Exp. Immunol. |volume=130 |issue=3 |pages=495–500 |year=2002 |pmid=12452841|doi=10.1046/j.1365-2249.2002.02004.x |pmc=1906562}}</ref>

===Physical trauma and inflammation===
Physical trauma resulting in cancer is relatively rare.<ref name=Gaeta>{{cite book
|author=Gaeta, John F
|editor=Bast RC, Kufe DW, Pollock RE, et al.
|title=Cancer Medicine
|edition=e.5
|publisher=B.C. Decker
|location=Hamilton, Ontario
|year=2000
|chapter=17
|isbn=1-55009-113-1
|oclc=
|url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK20759/
|accessdate=27 January 2011 }}</ref> Claims that breaking bone resulted in bone cancer, for example, have never been proven.<ref name=Gaeta /> Similarly, physical trauma is not accepted as a cause for cervical cancer, breast cancer, or brain cancer.<ref name=Gaeta />

One accepted source is frequent, long-term application of hot objects to the body. It is possible that repeated burns on the same part of the body, such as those produced by [[kanger]] and kairo heaters (charcoal [[hand warmer]]s), may produce skin cancer, especially if carcinogenic chemicals are also present.<ref name=Gaeta /> Frequently drinking scalding hot tea may produce esophageal cancer.<ref name=Gaeta />

Generally, it is believed that the cancer arises, or a pre-existing cancer is encouraged, during the process of repairing the trauma, rather than the cancer being caused directly by the trauma.<ref name=Gaeta /> However, repeated injuries to the same tissues might promote excessive cell proliferation, which could then increase the odds of a cancerous mutation. There is no evidence that [[inflammation]] itself causes cancer.<ref name=Gaeta />


=== Heredity ===
=== Heredity ===
Less than 0.3% of the population are carriers of a genetic mutation which has a large effect on cancer risk.<ref name=Expert09>{{cite journal|last=Roukos|first=DH|title=Genome-wide association studies: how predictable is a person's cancer risk?|journal=Expert review of anticancer therapy|date=2009 Apr|volume=9|issue=4|pages=389-92|pmid=19374592}}</ref> They cause less than 3-10% of all cancer.<ref name=Expert09/> Some of these [[syndrome]]s include:
Most forms of cancer are ''sporadic'', meaning that there is no inherited cause of the cancer. There are, however, a number of recognised [[syndrome]]s where there is an inherited predisposition to cancer, often due to a defect in a gene that [[tumor suppressor|protects against tumor formation]]. Famous examples are:
* certain inherited mutations in the genes ''[[BRCA1]]'' and ''[[Lung cancer#Non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC)|BRCA2]]'' are associated with an elevated risk of [[breast cancer]] and [[ovarian cancer]]
* certain inherited mutations in the genes ''[[BRCA1]]'' and ''[[BRCA2]]'' with a more than 75% risk of [[breast cancer]] and [[ovarian cancer]]<ref name=Expert09/>
* tumors of various endocrine organs in [[multiple endocrine neoplasia]] (MEN types 1, 2a, 2b)
* tumors of various endocrine organs in [[multiple endocrine neoplasia]] (MEN types 1, 2a, 2b)
* [[Li-Fraumeni syndrome]] (various tumors such as [[osteosarcoma]], breast cancer, [[soft tissue sarcoma]], [[brain tumor]]s) due to mutations of [[p53]]
* [[Li-Fraumeni syndrome]] (various tumors such as [[osteosarcoma]], breast cancer, [[soft tissue sarcoma]], [[brain tumor]]s) due to mutations of [[p53]]
Line 88: Line 150:
* [[Retinoblastoma]], when occurring in young children, is due to a hereditary mutation in the retinoblastoma gene.
* [[Retinoblastoma]], when occurring in young children, is due to a hereditary mutation in the retinoblastoma gene.
* [[Down syndrome]] patients, who have an extra [[chromosome 21]], are known to develop malignancies such as [[leukemia]] and [[testicular cancer]], though the reasons for this difference are not well understood.
* [[Down syndrome]] patients, who have an extra [[chromosome 21]], are known to develop malignancies such as [[leukemia]] and [[testicular cancer]], though the reasons for this difference are not well understood.

=== Hormones ===
Some [[hormone]]s cause cancer, primarily by encouraging [[cell proliferation]].<ref name=Henderson>{{cite book
|author=Henderson, Brian E, Leslie Bernstein, and Ronald K Ross
|editor=Bast RC, Kufe DW, Pollock RE, et al.
|title=Cancer Medicine
|edition=e.5
|publisher=B.C. Decker
|location=Hamilton, Ontario
|year=2000
|chapter=13
|isbn=1-55009-113-1
|oclc=
|url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK20759/
|accessdate=27 January 2011 }}</ref> Hormones are an important cause of sex-related cancers such as cancer of the breast, [[endometrium]], prostate, ovary, and [[testis]], and also of [[thyroid cancer]] and [[bone cancer]].<ref name=Henderson />

An individual's hormone levels are mostly determined genetically, so this may at least partly explains the presence of some cancers that run in families that do not seem to have any cancer-causing genes.<ref name=Henderson /> For example, the daughters of women who have breast cancer have significantly higher levels of [[estrogen]] and [[progesterone]] that the daughters of women without breast cancer. These higher hormone levels may explain why these women have higher risk of breast cancer, even in the absence of a breast-cancer gene.<ref name=Henderson /> Similarly, men of African ancestry have significantly higher levels of testosterone than men of European ancestry, and have a correspondingly much higher level of prostate cancer.<ref name=Henderson /> Men of Asian ancestry, with the lowest levels of testosterone-activating [[androstanediol glucuronide]], have the lowest levels of prostate cancer.<ref name=Henderson />

However, non-genetic factors are also relevant: Obese people have higher levels of some hormones associated with cancer, and a higher rate of those cancers.<ref name=Henderson /> Women who take [[Hormone replacement therapy (menopause)|hormone replacement therapy]] have a higher risk of developing cancers associated with those hormones.<ref name=Henderson /> On the other hand, people who exercise far more than average have lower levels of these hormones, and lower risk of cancer.<ref name=Henderson /> [[Osteosarcoma]] may be caused by [[growth hormone]]s.<ref name=Henderson /> Some treatments and prevention approaches leverage this cause by artificially reducing hormone levels, and thus discouraging hormone-sensitive cancers.<ref name=Henderson />

===Dietary===
{{See also|Alcohol and cancer}}
The consensus on diet and cancer is that [[obesity]] increases the risk of developing cancer. Particular dietary practices often explain differences in cancer incidence in different countries (e.g. [[gastric cancer]] is more common in Japan, while [[Colorectal cancer|colon cancer]] is more common in the United States. In this example the preceding consideration of [[Haplogroups]] are excluded). Studies have shown that immigrants develop the risk of their new country, often within one generation, suggesting a substantial link between diet and cancer.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Buell P, Dunn JE |title=Cancer mortality among Japanese Issei and Nisei of California |journal=Cancer |volume=18 |issue= |pages=656–64 |year=1965 |pmid=14278899|doi=10.1002/1097-0142(196505)18:5<656::AID-CNCR2820180515>3.0.CO;2-3}}</ref>

A recent study analysed the correlation between many factors and cancer and concluded that the major contributory dietary factor was animal protein, whereas plant protein did not have an effect. Animal studies confirmed the mechanism by showing that reducing the proportion of animal protein switched off both the initiation and promotion stages.<ref>Campbell, T Colin and Campbell, Thomas M. The China Study: Startling implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-Term Health. Wakefield Press: South Australia 2007</ref>

Recent studies have also demonstrated potential links between some forms of cancer and high consumption of refined sugars and other simple carbohydrates.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Romieu I, Lazcano-Ponce E, Sanchez-Zamorano LM, Willett W, Hernandez-Avila M |title=Carbohydrates and the risk of breast cancer among Mexican women |journal=Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev |volume=13 |issue=8 |pages=1283–9 |date=1 August 2004|pmid=15298947 |url=http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/cgi/content/full/13/8/1283 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | author= Francesca Bravi, Cristina Bosetti, Lorenza Scotti, Renato Talamini, Maurizio Montella, Valerio Ramazzotti, Eva Negri, Silvia Franceschi, and Carlo La Vecchia | title=Food Groups and Renal Cell Carcinoma: A Case-Control Study from Italy | journal=International Journal of Cancer | year=2006 | month=October | volume=355:1991-2002 | pmid= 17058282 | url=http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/113412400/ABSTRACT | issue= 3 | doi=10.1002/ijc.22225 | page= 681}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | author= Jee SH, Ohrr H, Sull JW, Yun JE, Ji M, Samet JM | title= Fasting serum glucose level and cancer risk in Korean men and women | journal=JAMA | volume = 293 |issue=2 | doi= 10.1001/jama.293.2.194 | year= 2005 |pages=194–202 | pmid= 15644546 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | author= Michaud DS, Liu S, Giovannucci E, Willett WC, Colditz GA, Fuchs CS | title= Dietary sugar, glycemic load, and pancreatic cancer risk in a prospective study | journal= J Natl Cancer Inst | volume= 94 |issue=17 | url=http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/94/17/1293 | pmid= 12208894 | doi= 10.1093/jnci/94.17.1293 | year= 2002 |pages=1293–300}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | author= Venkateswaran V, Haddad AQ, Fleshner NE ''et al.'' | title= Association of diet-induced hyperinsulinemia with accelerated growth of prostate cancer (LNCaP) xenografts | volume= 99 |issue=23 |url=http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/99/23/1793 | pmid=18042933| doi=10.1093/jnci/djm231| year=2007| journal=J Natl Cancer Inst |pages=1793–800}}</ref> Although the degree of correlation and the degree of causality is still debated,<ref>Friebe, Richard: ''[http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1662484,00.html Can a High-Fat Diet Beat Cancer?]'', Time Magazine, Sep. 17, 2007</ref><ref>Hitti, Miranda: ''[http://www.webmd.com/cancer/news/20070227/high-blood-sugar-linked-cancer-risk High Blood Sugar Linked to Cancer Risk]'', [http://www.webmd.com/ WebMD], 22 February 2008</ref><ref>Moynihan, Timothy:''[http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cancer-causes/CA00085 Cancer causes: Popular myths about the causes of cancer]'', MayoClinic.com, retrieved 22 Feb 2008</ref> some organizations have in fact begun to recommend reducing intake of refined sugars and starches as part of their cancer prevention regimens.<ref>''[http://www.aicr.org/site/PageServer?pagename=dc_recs_03_avoid_sugary_drinks Avoid Sugary Drinks. Limit Consumption of Energy-Dense Foods]{{dead link|date=January 2011}}'', American Institute for Cancer Research, retrieved 20 Feb 2008</ref><ref>''[http://www.apha.org/publications/tnh/archives/2005/02-05/WebExclusive/287.htm High sugar levels increase cancer and mortality risk]{{dead link|date=January 2011}}'', The Nation's Health: The Official Newspaper of the American Public Health Association, February 2005</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Kushi LH, Byers T, Doyle C, ''et al.'' |title=American Cancer Society Guidelines on Nutrition and Physical Activity for cancer prevention: reducing the risk of cancer with healthy food choices and physical activity |journal=CA Cancer J Clin |volume=56 |issue=5 |pages=254–81; quiz 313–4 |year=2006 |pmid=17005596 |doi=10.3322/canjclin.56.5.254 |url=http://caonline.amcancersoc.org/cgi/content/full/56/5/254}}</ref>


=== Other ===
=== Other ===
Excepting the rare transmissions that occur with pregnancies and only a marginal few organ donors, cancer is generally not a [[transmission (medicine)|transmissible disease]]. The main reason for this is tissue graft rejection caused by [[major histocompatibility complex|MHC]] [[histocompatibility|incompatibility]].<ref name=Tolar>{{cite journal |author=Tolar J, Neglia JP |title=Transplacental and other routes of cancer transmission between individuals |journal=J Pediatr Hematol Oncol. |volume=25 |issue=6 |pages=430–4 |year=2003 |month=June |pmid=12794519 |doi=10.1097/00043426-200306000-00002 |url=http://meta.wkhealth.com/pt/pt-core/template-journal/lwwgateway/media/landingpage.htm?issn=1077-4114&volume=25&issue=6&spage=430}}</ref> In humans and other vertebrates, the immune system uses MHC antigens to differentiate between "self" and "non-self" cells because these antigens are different from person to person. When non-self antigens are encountered, the immune system reacts against the appropriate cell. Such reactions may protect against tumour cell engraftment by eliminating implanted cells. In the United States, approximately 3,500 pregnant women have a malignancy annually, and transplacental transmission of [[acute leukaemia]], [[lymphoma]], [[melanoma]] and [[carcinoma]] from mother to fetus has been observed.<ref name=Tolar/> The development of donor-derived tumors from organ transplants is exceedingly rare. The main cause of organ transplant associated tumors seems to be malignant melanoma, that was undetected at the time of organ harvest.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Dingli D, Nowak MA |title=Cancer biology: infectious tumour cells |journal=Nature |volume=443 |issue=7107 |pages=35–6 |year=2006 |month=September |pmid=16957717 |doi=10.1038/443035a |url= |pmc=2711443}}</ref> though other cases exist<ref>{{cite web |title= Cancer Spread By Transplantation Extremely Rare: In Very Rare Case, Woman Develops Leukemia from Liver Transplant|url=http://www.cancer.org/docroot/NWS/content/NWS_1_1x_Cancer_Spread_By_Transplantation_Extremely_Rare.asp}}</ref> In fact, cancer from one organism will usually grow in another organism of that species, as long as they share the same [[histocompatibility]] genes,<ref>{{cite web |title= The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1980|url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1980/presentation-speech.html}}</ref> proven using mice; however this would never happen in a real-world setting except as described above.
Excepting the rare transmissions that occur with pregnancies and only a marginal few organ donors, cancer is generally not a [[transmission (medicine)|transmissible disease]]. The main reason for this is tissue graft rejection caused by [[major histocompatibility complex|MHC]] [[histocompatibility|incompatibility]].<ref name=Tolar>{{cite journal |author=Tolar J, Neglia JP |title=Transplacental and other routes of cancer transmission between individuals |journal=J Pediatr Hematol Oncol. |volume=25 |issue=6 |pages=430–4 |year=2003 |month=June |pmid=12794519 |doi=10.1097/00043426-200306000-00002 |url=http://meta.wkhealth.com/pt/pt-core/template-journal/lwwgateway/media/landingpage.htm?issn=1077-4114&volume=25&issue=6&spage=430}}</ref> In humans and other vertebrates, the immune system uses MHC antigens to differentiate between "self" and "non-self" cells because these antigens are different from person to person. When non-self antigens are encountered, the immune system reacts against the appropriate cell. Such reactions may protect against tumour cell engraftment by eliminating implanted cells. In the United States, approximately 3,500 pregnant women have a malignancy annually, and transplacental transmission of [[acute leukaemia]], [[lymphoma]], [[melanoma]] and [[carcinoma]] from mother to fetus has been observed.<ref name=Tolar/> The development of donor-derived tumors from organ transplants is exceedingly rare. The main cause of organ transplant associated tumors seems to be malignant melanoma, that was undetected at the time of organ harvest.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Dingli D, Nowak MA |title=Cancer biology: infectious tumour cells |journal=Nature |volume=443 |issue=7107 |pages=35–6 |year=2006 |month=September |pmid=16957717 |doi=10.1038/443035a |url= |pmc=2711443}}</ref> though other cases exist<ref>{{cite web |title= Cancer Spread By Transplantation Extremely Rare: In Very Rare Case, Woman Develops Leukemia from Liver Transplant|url=http://www.cancer.org/docroot/NWS/content/NWS_1_1x_Cancer_Spread_By_Transplantation_Extremely_Rare.asp}}{{dead link|date=January 2011}}</ref> In fact, cancer from one organism will usually grow in another organism of that species, as long as they share the same [[histocompatibility]] genes,<ref>{{cite web |title= The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1980|url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1980/presentation-speech.html}}</ref> proven using mice; however this would never happen in a real-world setting except as described above.


In non-humans, a few types of [[transmissible cancer]] have been described, wherein the cancer spreads between animals by transmission of the tumor cells themselves. This phenomenon is seen in dogs with [[Sticker's sarcoma]], also known as canine transmissible venereal tumor,<ref>{{cite journal |author=Murgia C, Pritchard JK, Kim SY, Fassati A, Weiss RA |title=Clonal origin and evolution of a transmissible cancer |journal=Cell |volume=126 |issue=3 |pages=477–87 |year=2006 |pmid=16901782 |doi=10.1016/j.cell.2006.05.051 |pmc=2593932}}</ref> as well as [[Devil facial tumour disease]] in [[Tasmanian Devil|Tasmanian devils]].
In non-humans, a few types of [[transmissible cancer]] have been described, wherein the cancer spreads between animals by transmission of the tumor cells themselves. This phenomenon is seen in dogs with [[Sticker's sarcoma]], also known as canine transmissible venereal tumor,<ref>{{cite journal |author=Murgia C, Pritchard JK, Kim SY, Fassati A, Weiss RA |title=Clonal origin and evolution of a transmissible cancer |journal=Cell |volume=126 |issue=3 |pages=477–87 |year=2006 |pmid=16901782 |doi=10.1016/j.cell.2006.05.051 |pmc=2593932}}</ref> as well as [[devil facial tumour disease]] in [[Tasmanian Devil|Tasmanian devils]].


== Pathophysiology ==
== Pathophysiology ==
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[[File:Cancer requires multiple mutations from NIHen.png|thumb|right|Cancers are caused by a series of mutations. Each mutation alters the behavior of the cell somewhat.]]
[[File:Cancer requires multiple mutations from NIHen.png|thumb|right|Cancers are caused by a series of mutations. Each mutation alters the behavior of the cell somewhat.]]


Cancer is fundamentally a disease of regulation of tissue growth. In order for a normal cell to [[malignant transformation|transform]] into a cancer cell, [[genes]] which regulate cell growth and differentiation must be altered.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Croce CM |title=Oncogenes and cancer |journal=The New England journal of medicine |volume=358 |issue=5 |pages=502–11 |year=2008 |month=January |pmid=18234754 |doi=10.1056/NEJMra072367 |url=http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/358/5/502}}</ref> Genetic changes can occur at many levels, from gain or loss of entire chromosomes to a mutation affecting a [[Single nucleotide polymorphism|single DNA nucleotide]]. There are two broad categories of genes which are affected by these changes. [[Oncogene]]s may be normal genes which are expressed at inappropriately high levels, or altered genes which have novel properties. In either case, expression of these genes promotes the malignant phenotype of cancer cells. [[Tumor suppressor gene]]s are genes which inhibit cell division, survival, or other properties of cancer cells. Tumor suppressor genes are often disabled by cancer-promoting genetic changes. Typically, changes in many genes are required to transform a normal cell into a cancer cell.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Knudson AG |title=Two genetic hits (more or less) to cancer |journal=Nature reviews. Cancer |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=157–62 |year=2001 |month=November |pmid=11905807 |doi=10.1038/35101031}}</ref>
Cancer is fundamentally a disease of failure of regulation of tissue growth. In order for a normal cell to [[malignant transformation|transform]] into a cancer cell, the [[genes]] which regulate cell growth and differentiation must be altered.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Croce CM |title=Oncogenes and cancer |journal=The New England journal of medicine |volume=358 |issue=5 |pages=502–11 |year=2008 |month=January |pmid=18234754 |doi=10.1056/NEJMra072367 |url=http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/358/5/502}}</ref>
The affected genes are divided into two broad categories. [[Oncogene]]s are genes which promote cell growth and reproduction. [[Tumor suppressor gene]]s are genes which inhibit cell division and survival. Malignant transformation can occur through the formation of novel oncogenes, the inappropriate over-expression of normal oncogenes, or by the under-expression or disabling of tumor suppressor genes. Typically, changes in ''many'' genes are required to transform a normal cell into a cancer cell.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Knudson AG |title=Two genetic hits (more or less) to cancer |journal=Nature reviews. Cancer |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=157–62 |year=2001 |month=November |pmid=11905807 |doi=10.1038/35101031}}</ref>


Genetic changes can occur at different levels and by different mechanisms. The gain or loss of an entire [[chromosome]] can occur through errors in [[mitosis]]. More common are [[mutation]]s, which are changes in the [[nucleotide]] sequence of genomic DNA.
There is a diverse classification scheme for the various genomic changes which may contribute to the generation of cancer cells. Most of these changes are [[mutation]]s, or changes in the [[nucleotide]] sequence of genomic DNA. [[Aneuploidy]], the presence of an abnormal number of chromosomes, is one genomic change which is not a mutation, and may involve either gain or loss of one or more [[chromosomes]] through errors in [[mitosis]].


Large-scale mutations involve the deletion or gain of a portion of a chromosome. [[Gene amplification|Genomic amplification]] occurs when a cell gains many copies (often 20 or more) of a small chromosomal locus, usually containing one or more oncogenes and adjacent genetic material. [[Chromosomal translocation|Translocation]] occurs when two separate chromosomal regions become abnormally fused, often at a characteristic location. A well-known example of this is the [[Philadelphia chromosome]], or translocation of chromosomes 9 and 22, which occurs in [[chronic myelogenous leukemia]], and results in production of the [[BCR gene|BCR]]-[[abl gene|abl]] [[fusion protein]], an oncogenic [[tyrosine kinase]].
Large-scale mutations involve the deletion or gain of a portion of a chromosome. [[Gene amplification|Genomic amplification]] occurs when a cell gains many copies (often 20 or more) of a small chromosomal locus, usually containing one or more oncogenes and adjacent genetic material. [[Chromosomal translocation|Translocation]] occurs when two separate chromosomal regions become abnormally fused, often at a characteristic location. A well-known example of this is the [[Philadelphia chromosome]], or translocation of chromosomes 9 and 22, which occurs in [[chronic myelogenous leukemia]], and results in production of the [[BCR gene|BCR]]-[[abl gene|abl]] [[fusion protein]], an oncogenic [[tyrosine kinase]].


Small-scale mutations include point mutations, deletions, and insertions, which may occur in the [[Promoter (biology)|promoter]] of a gene and affect its [[gene expression|expression]], or may occur in the gene's [[coding sequence]] and alter the function or stability of its [[protein]] product. Disruption of a single gene may also result from [[provirus|integration of genomic material]] from a [[DNA virus]] or [[retrovirus]], and such an event may also result in the expression of viral oncogenes in the affected cell and its descendants.
Small-scale mutations include point mutations, deletions, and insertions, which may occur in the [[Promoter (biology)|promoter]] region of a gene and affect its [[gene expression|expression]], or may occur in the gene's [[coding sequence]] and alter the function or stability of its [[protein]] product. Disruption of a single gene may also result from [[provirus|integration of genomic material]] from a [[DNA virus]] or [[retrovirus]], and resulting in the expression of ''viral'' oncogenes in the affected cell and its descendants.


Replication of the enormous amount of data contained within the DNA of living cells will [[probability|probabilistically]] result in some errors (mutations). Complex error correction and prevention is built into the process, and safeguards the cell against cancer. If significant error occurs, the damaged cell can "self destruct" through programmed cell death, termed [[apoptosis]]. If the error control processes fail, then the mutations will survive and be passed along to [[cell division|daughter cells]].
Anything which replicates (living cells) will [[probability|probabilistically]] suffer from errors (mutations). Unless error correction and prevention is properly carried out, the errors will survive, and might be passed along to [[cell division|daughter cells]]. Normally, the body safeguards against cancer via numerous methods, such as: [[apoptosis]], helper molecules (some DNA polymerases), possibly [[senescence]], etc. However these error-correction methods often fail in small ways, especially in environments that make errors more likely to arise and propagate. For example, such environments can include the presence of disruptive substances called [[carcinogens]], or periodic injury (physical, heat, etc.), or environments that cells did not evolve to withstand, such as [[hypoxia (medical)|hypoxia]]<ref>{{cite journal | author = Nelson DA, Tan TT, Rabson AB, Anderson D, Degenhardt K, White E | title = Hypoxia and defective apoptosis drive genomic instability and tumorigenesis | journal = Genes & Development | volume = 18 | issue = 17 | pages = 2095–107 | year = 2004 | month = September | pmid = 15314031 | pmc = 515288 | doi = 10.1101/gad.1204904 | accessdate = 2009-06-06}}</ref> (see subsections). Cancer is thus a ''progressive'' disease, and these progressive errors slowly accumulate until a cell begins to act contrary to its function in the organism.


Some environments make errors more likely to arise and propagate. Such environments can include the presence of disruptive substances called [[carcinogens]], repeated physical injury, heat, ionising radiation, or [[hypoxia (medical)|hypoxia]]<ref>{{cite journal | author = Nelson DA, Tan TT, Rabson AB, Anderson D, Degenhardt K, White E | title = Hypoxia and defective apoptosis drive genomic instability and tumorigenesis | journal = Genes & Development | volume = 18 | issue = 17 | pages = 2095–107 | year = 2004 | month = September | pmid = 15314031 | pmc = 515288 | doi = 10.1101/gad.1204904 | accessdate = 2009-06-06}}</ref> (see [[Cancer#Causes|causes]], below).
The errors which cause cancer are often ''self-amplifying'', eventually compounding at an exponential rate. For example:


The errors which cause cancer are ''self-amplifying'' and ''compounding'', for example:
* A mutation in the error-correcting machinery of a cell might cause that cell and its children to accumulate errors more rapidly
* A mutation in the error-correcting machinery of a cell might cause that cell and its children to accumulate errors more rapidly
* A mutation in signaling ([[endocrine]]) machinery of the cell can send error-causing signals to nearby cells
* A further mutation in an oncogene might cause the cell to reproduce more rapidly and more frequently than its normal counterparts.
* A mutation might cause cells to become [[neoplastic]], causing them to migrate and disrupt more healthy cells
* A further mutation may cause loss of a tumour suppressor gene, disrupting the apoptosis signalling pathway and resulting in the cell becoming immortal.
* A mutation may cause the cell to become immortal (see [[telomeres]]), causing them to disrupt healthy cells forever
* A further mutation in signaling machinery of the cell might send error-causing signals to nearby cells


Thus cancer often explodes in something akin to a [[chain reaction]] caused by a few errors, which compound into more severe errors. Errors which produce more errors are effectively the root cause of cancer, and also the reason that cancer is so hard to treat: even if there were 10,000,000,000 cancerous cells and one killed all but 10 of those cells, those cells (and other error-prone precancerous cells) could still self-replicate or send error-causing signals to other cells, starting the process over again. This rebellion-like scenario is an undesirable [[survival of the fittest]], where the driving forces of [[evolution]] work against the body's design and enforcement of order. In fact, once cancer has begun to develop, this same force continues to drive the progression of cancer towards more invasive stages, and is called [[Cancer#Clonal evolution|clonal evolution]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=Merlo LM, Pepper JW, Reid BJ, Maley CC |title=Cancer as an evolutionary and ecological process |journal=Nat. Rev. Cancer |volume=6 |issue=12 |pages=924–35 |year=2006 |month=December |pmid=17109012 |doi=10.1038/nrc2013}}</ref>
The transformation of normal cell into cancer is akin to a [[chain reaction]] caused by initial errors, which compound into more severe errors, each progressively allowing the cell to escape the controls that limit normal tissue growth. This rebellion-like scenario becomes an undesirable [[survival of the fittest]], where the driving forces of [[evolution]] work against the body's design and enforcement of order. Once cancer has begun to develop, this ognoing process, termed ''clonal evolution'' drives progression towards more invasive stages.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Merlo LM, Pepper JW, Reid BJ, Maley CC |title=Cancer as an evolutionary and ecological process |journal=Nat. Rev. Cancer |volume=6 |issue=12 |pages=924–35 |year=2006 |month=December |pmid=17109012 |doi=10.1038/nrc2013}}</ref>

[[Cancer research|Research about cancer]] causes often falls into the following categories:
* Agents (e.g. viruses) and events (e.g. mutations) which cause or facilitate genetic changes in cells destined to become cancer.
* The precise nature of the genetic damage, and the genes which are affected by it.
* The consequences of those genetic changes on the biology of the cell, both in generating the defining properties of a cancer cell, and in facilitating additional genetic events which lead to further progression of the cancer.


== Diagnosis ==
== Diagnosis ==
[[Image:Thorax pa peripheres Bronchialcarcinom li OF markiert.jpg|thumb|Chest x-ray showing lung cancer in the left lung.]]
[[Image:Thorax pa peripheres Bronchialcarcinom li OF markiert.jpg|thumb|Chest x-ray showing lung cancer in the left lung.]]


Most cancers are initially recognized either because signs or symptoms appear or through screening. Neither of these lead to a definitive diagnosis, which usually requires the opinion of a [[anatomical pathology|pathologist]], a type of physician (medical doctor) who specializes in the diagnosis of cancer and other diseases. People with suspected cancer are investigated with [[medical test]]s. These commonly include [[blood test]]s, [[X-ray]]s, [[CT scan]]s and [[endoscopy]].
Most cancers are initially recognized either because signs or symptoms appear or through screening. Neither of these lead to a definitive diagnosis, which usually requires the opinion of a [[anatomical pathology|pathologist]], a type of physician (medical doctor) who specializes in the diagnosis of cancer and other diseases. People with suspected cancer are investigated with [[medical test]]s. These commonly include [[blood test]]s, [[X-ray]]s, [[CT scan]]s and [[endoscopy]].


=== Pathology ===
=== Pathology ===
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== Prevention ==
== Prevention ==
Cancer prevention is defined as active measures to decrease the incidence of cancer.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cancer-prevention/CA00024 | title=Cancer prevention: 7 steps to reduce your risk | publisher=[[Mayo Clinic]] | date=2008-09-27 | accessdate=2010-01-30}}</ref> The vast majority of cancer risk factors are environmental or lifestyle-related, thus cancer is largely a preventable disease.<ref name=Danaei>{{cite journal |author= Danaei G, Vander Hoorn S, Lopez AD, Murray CJ, Ezzati M |title= Causes of cancer in the world: comparative risk assessment of nine behavioural and environmental risk factors |journal=Lancet |volume=366 |issue=9499 |pages=1784–93 |year=2005 |pmid=16298215 |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(05)67725-2}}</ref> Greater than 30% of cancer is preventable via avoiding risk factors including: [[tobacco]], [[overweight]] or [[obesity]], low fruit and vegetable intake, [[physical inactivity]], [[alcohol]], [[sexually transmitted infection]], [[air pollution]].<ref name="Cancer Cancer">{{cite web |url=http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs297/en/ |title=Cancer Cancer |work=World Health Organization |accessdate=}}</ref>
Cancer prevention is defined as active measures to decrease the incidence of cancer.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cancer-prevention/CA00024 | title=Cancer prevention: 7 steps to reduce your risk | publisher=[[Mayo Clinic]] | date=2008-09-27 | accessdate=2010-01-30}}</ref> The vast majority of cancer risk factors are environmental or lifestyle-related, thus cancer is largely a preventable disease.<ref name=Danaei>{{cite journal |author= Danaei G, Vander Hoorn S, Lopez AD, Murray CJ, Ezzati M |title= Causes of cancer in the world: comparative risk assessment of nine behavioural and environmental risk factors |journal=Lancet |volume=366 |issue=9499 |pages=1784–93 |year=2005 |pmid=16298215 |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(05)67725-2}}</ref> Greater than 30% of cancer is preventable via avoiding risk factors including: [[tobacco]], [[overweight]] or [[obesity]], low fruit and vegetable intake, [[physical inactivity]], [[alcohol]], [[sexually transmitted infection]], and [[air pollution]].<ref name="Cancer Cancer">{{cite web |url=http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs297/en/ |title=Cancer |work=World Health Organization |accessdate=2011-01-09}}</ref>

Examples of modifiable cancer risk factors include [[alcoholic beverage|alcohol]] consumption (associated with increased risk of oral, esophageal, breast, and other cancers), smoking (80% of women with lung cancer have smoked in the past, and 90% of men<ref>{{cite web | title= Lung Cancer in American Women: Facts | url=http://www.nationallungcancerpartnership.org/page.cfm?l=factsWomen | accessdate=2007-01-19 }}</ref>), physical inactivity (associated with increased risk of colon, breast, and possibly other cancers), and being [[overweight]] / [[obese]] (associated with colon, breast, endometrial, and possibly other cancers). Based on epidemiologic evidence, it is now thought that avoiding excessive alcohol consumption may contribute to reductions in risk of certain cancers; however, compared with tobacco exposure, the magnitude of effect is modest or small and the strength of evidence is often weaker. Other lifestyle and environmental factors known to affect cancer risk (either beneficially or detrimentally) include certain sexually transmitted diseases (such as those conveyed by the [[human papillomavirus]]), the use of exogenous hormones, exposure to [[ionizing radiation]] and [[ultraviolet]] radiation from the sun or from [[Tanning bed#Risks|tanning beds]], and certain occupational and chemical exposures.

=== Diet and obesity ===

{{Main|Diet and cancer}}{{See also|Alcohol and cancer}}

The consensus on diet and cancer is that [[obesity]] increases the risk of developing cancer. Particular dietary practices often explain differences in cancer incidence in different countries (e.g. [[gastric cancer]] is more common in Japan, while [[Colorectal cancer|colon cancer]] is more common in the United States. In this example the preceding consideration of [[Haplogroups]] are excluded). Studies have shown that immigrants develop the risk of their new country, often within one generation, suggesting a substantial link between diet and cancer.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Buell P, Dunn JE |title=Cancer mortality among Japanese Issei and Nisei of California |journal=Cancer |volume=18 |issue= |pages=656–64 |year=1965 |pmid=14278899|doi=10.1002/1097-0142(196505)18:5<656::AID-CNCR2820180515>3.0.CO;2-3}}</ref> Whether reducing obesity in a population also reduces cancer incidence is unknown.

However some studies have found that consuming lots of fruits and vegetables has little if any effect on preventing cancer.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Boffetta P, Couto E, Wichmann J et al. |title=Fruit and vegetable intake and overall cancer risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC).|journal=J Natl Cancer Inst,|year=2010|issue=102 |pages=529–37|pmid=20371762|volume=8 |doi=10.1093/jnci/djq072}}</ref>

Proposed dietary interventions for primary cancer risk reduction generally gain support from epidemiological association studies. Examples of such studies include reports that reduced meat consumption is associated with decreased risk of colon cancer,<ref name="pmid9663397">{{cite journal |author=Slattery ML, Boucher KM, Caan BJ, Potter JD, Ma KN |title=Eating patterns and risk of colon cancer |journal=Am. J. Epidemiol. |volume=148 |issue=1 |pages=4–16 |year=1998 |pmid=9663397 |doi=}}</ref>
and reports that consumption of coffee is associated with a reduced risk of liver cancer.<ref name="pmid17484871">{{cite journal |author=Larsson SC, Wolk A |title=Coffee consumption and risk of liver cancer: a meta-analysis |journal=Gastroenterology |volume=132 |issue=5 |pages=1740–5 |year=2007 |pmid=17484871 |doi=10.1053/j.gastro.2007.03.044}}</ref> Studies have linked consumption of grilled meat to an increased risk of [[stomach cancer]],<ref name="pmid9096659">{{cite journal |author=Ward MH, Sinha R, Heineman EF, ''et al.'' |title=Risk of adenocarcinoma of the stomach and esophagus with meat cooking method and doneness preference |journal=Int. J. Cancer |volume=71 |issue=1 |pages=14–9 |year=1997 |pmid=9096659|doi=10.1002/(SICI)1097-0215(19970328)71:1<14::AID-IJC4>3.0.CO;2-6}}</ref> [[Colorectal cancer|colon cancer]],<ref name="pmid16140978">{{cite journal |author=Sinha R, Peters U, Cross AJ, ''et al.'' |title=Meat, meat cooking methods and preservation, and risk for colorectal adenoma |journal=Cancer Res. |volume=65 |issue=17 |pages=8034–41 |year=2005 |pmid=16140978 |url=http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/cgi/content/full/65/17/8034 |doi=10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-04-3429 |doi_brokendate=2010-01-06}}</ref> [[breast cancer]],<ref name="pmid17435448">{{cite journal |author=Steck SE, Gaudet MM, Eng SM, ''et al.'' |title=Cooked meat and risk of breast cancer--lifetime versus recent dietary intake |journal=Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.) |volume=18 |issue=3 |pages=373–82 |year=2007 |pmid=17435448 |doi=10.1097/01.ede.0000259968.11151.06}}</ref> and [[pancreatic cancer]],<ref name="pmid16172241">{{cite journal |author=Anderson KE, Kadlubar FF, Kulldorff M, ''et al.'' |title=Dietary intake of heterocyclic amines and benzo(a)pyrene: associations with pancreatic cancer |journal=Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev. |volume=14 |issue=9 |pages=2261–5 |year=2005 |pmid=16172241 |doi=10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-04-0514}}</ref> a phenomenon which could be due to the presence of carcinogens such as [[benzopyrene]] in foods cooked at high temperatures.


=== Dietary ===
A recent study analysed the correlation between many factors and cancer and concluded that the major contributory dietary factor was animal protein, whereas plant protein did not have an effect. Animal studies confirmed the mechanism by showing that reducing the proportion of animal protein switched off both the initiation and promotion stages.<ref>Campbell, T Colin and Campbell, Thomas M. The China Study: Startling implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-Term Health. Wakefield Press: South Australia 2007</ref>
{{Main|Diet and cancer}}
Dietary recommendations to reduce the risk of developing cancer, including: (1) reducing intake of foods and drinks that promote weight gain, namely energy-dense foods and sugary drinks, (2) eating mostly foods of plant origin, (3) limiting intake of red meat and avoiding processed meat, (4) limiting consumption of alcoholic beverages, and (5) reducing intake of salt and avoiding mouldy cereals (grains) or pulses (legumes).<ref>"[http://www.dietandcancerreport.org/?p=recommendations Recommendations]". ''dietandcancerreport.org''. Retrieved on 27 August 2008.</ref><ref>Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective. [http://www.dietandcancerreport.org/downloads/chapters/chapter_12.pdf Chapter 12] World Cancer Research Fund (2007). ISBN 978-0-9722522-2-5.</ref>


A 2005 [[secondary prevention]] study showed that consumption of a plant-based diet and lifestyle changes resulted in a reduction in cancer markers in a group of men with prostate cancer who were using no conventional treatments at the time.<ref name="Ornish">{{cite journal | author = Ornish D et al. | title = Intensive lifestyle changes may affect the progression of prostate cancer | journal = The Journal of Urology | volume = 174 | issue = 3 | pages = 1065–9; discussion 1069–70 | year = 2005 | pmid = 16094059 | doi = 10.1097/01.ju.0000169487.49018.73}}</ref>
Proposed dietary interventions for cancer risk reduction generally gain support from epidemiological association studies. Examples of such studies include reports that reduced meat consumption is associated with decreased risk of colon cancer,<ref name="pmid9663397">{{cite journal |author=Slattery ML, Boucher KM, Caan BJ, Potter JD, Ma KN |title=Eating patterns and risk of colon cancer |journal=Am. J. Epidemiol. |volume=148 |issue=1 |pages=4–16 |year=1998 |pmid=9663397 |doi=}}</ref>
and reports that consumption of coffee is associated with a reduced risk of liver cancer.<ref name="pmid17484871">{{cite journal |author=Larsson SC, Wolk A |title=Coffee consumption and risk of liver cancer: a meta-analysis |journal=Gastroenterology |volume=132 |issue=5 |pages=1740–5 |year=2007 |pmid=17484871 |doi=10.1053/j.gastro.2007.03.044}}</ref> Studies have linked consumption of grilled meat to an increased risk of [[stomach cancer]],<ref name="pmid9096659">{{cite journal |author=Ward MH, Sinha R, Heineman EF, ''et al.'' |title=Risk of adenocarcinoma of the stomach and esophagus with meat cooking method and doneness preference |journal=Int. J. Cancer |volume=71 |issue=1 |pages=14–9 |year=1997 |pmid=9096659|doi=10.1002/(SICI)1097-0215(19970328)71:1<14::AID-IJC4>3.0.CO;2-6}}</ref> [[Colorectal cancer|colon cancer]],<ref name="pmid16140978">{{cite journal |author=Sinha R, Peters U, Cross AJ, ''et al.'' |title=Meat, meat cooking methods and preservation, and risk for colorectal adenoma |journal=Cancer Res. |volume=65 |issue=17 |pages=8034–41 |year=2005 |pmid=16140978 |url=http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/cgi/content/full/65/17/8034 |doi=10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-04-3429 |doi_brokendate=2010-01-06}}</ref> [[breast cancer]],<ref name="pmid17435448">{{cite journal |author=Steck SE, Gaudet MM, Eng SM, ''et al.'' |title=Cooked meat and risk of breast cancer--lifetime versus recent dietary intake |journal=Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.) |volume=18 |issue=3 |pages=373–82 |year=2007 |pmid=17435448 |doi=10.1097/01.ede.0000259968.11151.06}}</ref> and [[pancreatic cancer]],<ref name="pmid16172241">{{cite journal |author=Anderson KE, Kadlubar FF, Kulldorff M, ''et al.'' |title=Dietary intake of heterocyclic amines and benzo(a)pyrene: associations with pancreatic cancer |journal=Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev. |volume=14 |issue=9 |pages=2261–5 |year=2005 |pmid=16172241 |doi=10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-04-0514}}</ref> a phenomenon which could be due to the presence of carcinogens in foods cooked at high temperatures.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Nutr Cancer. |year=2009 |volume=61 |issue=4 |pages=437-46 |title=Well-done meat intake, heterocyclic amine exposure, and cancer risk |author=Zheng W, Lee SA |pmid=19838915 |pmc=2769029 |doi=10.1080/01635580802710741 }}</ref>
Whether reducing obesity in a population also reduces cancer incidence is unknown. Some studies have found that consuming lots of fruits and vegetables has little if any effect on preventing cancer.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Boffetta P, Couto E, Wichmann J, et al. |title=Fruit and vegetable intake and overall cancer risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) |journal=J Natl Cancer Inst |year=2010 |issue=102 |pages=529–37 |pmid=20371762 |volume=8 |doi=10.1093/jnci/djq072 |pmid=20371762 }}</ref> A 2005 [[secondary prevention]] study showed that consumption of a plant-based diet and lifestyle changes resulted in a reduction in cancer markers in a group of men with prostate cancer who were using no conventional treatments at the time.<ref name="Ornish">{{cite journal | author = Ornish D et al. | title = Intensive lifestyle changes may affect the progression of prostate cancer | journal = The Journal of Urology | volume = 174 | issue = 3 | pages = 1065–9; discussion 1069–70 | year = 2005 | pmid = 16094059 | doi = 10.1097/01.ju.0000169487.49018.73}}</ref>
These results were amplified by a 2006 study. Over 2,400 women were studied, half randomly assigned to a normal diet, the other half assigned to a diet containing less than 20% calories from fat. The women on the low fat diet were found to have a markedly lower risk of breast cancer recurrence, in the interim report of December, 2006.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Chlebowski RT, Blackburn GL, Thomson CA, ''et al.'' |title=Dietary fat reduction and breast cancer outcome: interim efficacy results from the Women's Intervention Nutrition Study |journal=J. Natl. Cancer Inst. |volume=98 |issue=24 |pages=1767–76 |year=2006 |pmid=17179478 |doi=10.1093/jnci/djj494}}</ref>
These results were amplified by a 2006 study. Over 2,400 women were studied, half randomly assigned to a normal diet, the other half assigned to a diet containing less than 20% calories from fat. The women on the low fat diet were found to have a markedly lower risk of breast cancer recurrence, in the interim report of December, 2006.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Chlebowski RT, Blackburn GL, Thomson CA, ''et al.'' |title=Dietary fat reduction and breast cancer outcome: interim efficacy results from the Women's Intervention Nutrition Study |journal=J. Natl. Cancer Inst. |volume=98 |issue=24 |pages=1767–76 |year=2006 |pmid=17179478 |doi=10.1093/jnci/djj494}}</ref>

Recent{{When|date=May 2010}} studies have also demonstrated potential links between some forms of cancer and high consumption of refined sugars and other simple carbohydrates.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Romieu I, Lazcano-Ponce E, Sanchez-Zamorano LM, Willett W, Hernandez-Avila M |title=Carbohydrates and the risk of breast cancer among Mexican women |journal=Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev |volume=13 |issue=8 |pages=1283–9 |date=1 August 2004|pmid=15298947 |url=http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/cgi/content/full/13/8/1283 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | author= Francesca Bravi, Cristina Bosetti, Lorenza Scotti, Renato Talamini, Maurizio Montella, Valerio Ramazzotti, Eva Negri, Silvia Franceschi, and Carlo La Vecchia | title=Food Groups and Renal Cell Carcinoma: A Case-Control Study from Italy | journal=International Journal of Cancer | year=2006 | month=October | volume=355:1991-2002 | pmid= 17058282 | url=http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/113412400/ABSTRACT | issue= 3 | doi=10.1002/ijc.22225 | page= 681}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | author= Jee SH, Ohrr H, Sull JW, Yun JE, Ji M, Samet JM | title= Fasting serum glucose level and cancer risk in Korean men and women | journal=JAMA | volume = 293 |issue=2 | doi= 10.1001/jama.293.2.194 | year= 2005 |pages=194–202 | pmid= 15644546 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | author= Michaud DS, Liu S, Giovannucci E, Willett WC, Colditz GA, Fuchs CS | title= Dietary sugar, glycemic load, and pancreatic cancer risk in a prospective study | journal= J Natl Cancer Inst | volume= 94 |issue=17 | url=http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/94/17/1293 | pmid= 12208894 | doi= 10.1093/jnci/94.17.1293 | year= 2002 |pages=1293–300}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | author= Venkateswaran V, Haddad AQ, Fleshner NE ''et al.'' | title= Association of diet-induced hyperinsulinemia with accelerated growth of prostate cancer (LNCaP) xenografts | volume= 99 |issue=23 |url=http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/99/23/1793 | pmid=18042933| doi=10.1093/jnci/djm231| year=2007| journal=J Natl Cancer Inst |pages=1793–800}}</ref> Although the degree of correlation and the degree of causality is still debated,<ref>Friebe, Richard: ''[http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1662484,00.html Can a High-Fat Diet Beat Cancer?]'', Time Magazine, Sep. 17, 2007</ref><ref>Hitti, Miranda: ''[http://www.webmd.com/cancer/news/20070227/high-blood-sugar-linked-cancer-risk High Blood Sugar Linked to Cancer Risk]'', [http://www.webmd.com WebMD], 22 February 2008</ref><ref>Moynihan, Timothy:''[http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cancer-causes/CA00085 Cancer causes: Popular myths about the causes of cancer]'', MayoClinic.com, retrieved 22 Feb 2008</ref> some organizations have in fact begun to recommend reducing intake of refined sugars and starches as part of their cancer prevention regimens.<ref>''[http://www.aicr.org/site/PageServer?pagename=dc_recs_03_avoid_sugary_drinks Avoid Sugary Drinks. Limit Consumption of Energy-Dense Foods]'', American Institute for Cancer Research, retrieved 20 Feb 2008</ref><ref>''[http://www.apha.org/publications/tnh/archives/2005/02-05/WebExclusive/287.htm High sugar levels increase cancer and mortality risk]'', The Nation's Health: The Official Newspaper of the American Public Health Association, February 2005</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Kushi LH, Byers T, Doyle C, ''et al.'' |title=American Cancer Society Guidelines on Nutrition and Physical Activity for cancer prevention: reducing the risk of cancer with healthy food choices and physical activity |journal=CA Cancer J Clin |volume=56 |issue=5 |pages=254–81; quiz 313–4 |year=2006 |pmid=17005596 |doi=10.3322/canjclin.56.5.254 |url=http://caonline.amcancersoc.org/cgi/content/full/56/5/254}}</ref>

10 recommendations to reduce the risk of developing cancer, including the following dietary guidelines: (1) reducing intake of foods and drinks that promote weight gain, namely energy-dense foods and sugary drinks, (2) eating mostly foods of plant origin, (3) limiting intake of red meat and avoiding processed meat, (4) limiting consumption of alcoholic beverages, and (5) reducing intake of salt and avoiding mouldy cereals (grains) or pulses (legumes).<ref>"[http://www.dietandcancerreport.org/?p=recommendations Recommendations]". ''dietandcancerreport.org''. Retrieved on 27 August 2008.</ref><ref>Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective. [http://www.dietandcancerreport.org/downloads/chapters/chapter_12.pdf Chapter 12] World Cancer Research Fund (2007). ISBN 978-0-9722522-2-5.</ref>


=== Medication ===
=== Medication ===
The concept that medications could be used to prevent cancer is an attractive one, and many high-quality clinical trials support the use of such chemoprevention in defined circumstances. [[Aspirin]] has been found to reduce the risk of death from cancer.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Rothwell PM, Fowkes FG, Belch JF, Ogawa H, Warlow CP, Meade TW |title=Effect of daily aspirin on long-term risk of death due to cancer: analysis of individual patient data from randomised trials |journal=Lancet |volume=377 |issue=9759 |pages=31–41 |year=2011 |month=January |pmid=21144578 |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(10)62110-1 |url=}}</ref> Daily use of [[tamoxifen]] or [[raloxifene]] has been demonstrated to reduce the risk of developing [[breast cancer]] in high-risk women by about 50%.<ref name=STAR-P2>{{cite journal |author=Vogel V, Costantino J, Wickerham D, Cronin W, Cecchini R, Atkins J, Bevers T, Fehrenbacher L, Pajon E, Wade J, Robidoux A, Margolese R, James J, Lippman S, Runowicz C, Ganz P, Reis S, McCaskill-Stevens W, Ford L, Jordan V, Wolmark N |title=Effects of tamoxifen vs raloxifene on the risk of developing invasive breast cancer and other disease outcomes: the NSABP Study of Tamoxifen and Raloxifene (STAR) P-2 trial |journal=JAMA |volume=295 |issue=23 |pages=2727–41 |year=2006 |pmid=16754727 |doi=10.1001/jama.295.23.joc60074}}</ref>[[ Finasteride]] has been shown to lower the risk of prostate cancer, though it seems to mostly prevent low-grade tumors.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Thompson I, Goodman P, Tangen C, Lucia M, Miller G, Ford L, Lieber M, Cespedes R, Atkins J, Lippman S, Carlin S, Ryan A, Szczepanek C, Crowley J, Coltman C |title=The influence of finasteride on the development of prostate cancer |journal=N Engl J Med |volume=349 |issue=3 |pages=215–24 |year=2003 |pmid=12824459 |doi=10.1056/NEJMoa030660}}</ref>
The concept that medications could be used to prevent cancer is an attractive one, and many high-quality clinical trials support the use of such chemoprevention in defined circumstances.
The effect of [[COX-2 selective inhibitor|COX-2 inhibitors]] such as [[rofecoxib]] and [[celecoxib]] upon the risk of colon polyps have been studied in [[familial adenomatous polyposis]] patients<ref>{{cite journal |author=Hallak A, Alon-Baron L, Shamir R, Moshkowitz M, Bulvik B, Brazowski E, Halpern Z, Arber N |title=Rofecoxib reduces polyp recurrence in familial polyposis |journal=Dig Dis Sci |volume=48 |issue=10 |pages=1998–2002 |year=2003 |pmid=14627347 |doi=10.1023/A:1026130623186}}</ref> and in the general population.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Baron J, Sandler R, Bresalier R, Quan H, Riddell R, Lanas A, Bolognese J, Oxenius B, Horgan K, Loftus S, Morton D |title=A randomized trial of rofecoxib for the chemoprevention of colorectal adenomas |journal=Gastroenterology |volume=131 |issue=6 |pages=1674–82 |year=2006 |pmid=17087947 |doi=10.1053/j.gastro.2006.08.079}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Bertagnolli M, Eagle C, Zauber A, Redston M, Solomon S, Kim K, Tang J, Rosenstein R, Wittes J, Corle D, Hess T, Woloj G, Boisserie F, Anderson W, Viner J, Bagheri D, Burn J, Chung D, Dewar T, Foley T, Hoffman N, Macrae F, Pruitt R, Saltzman J, Salzberg B, Sylwestrowicz T, Gordon G, Hawk E |title=Celecoxib for the prevention of sporadic colorectal adenomas |journal=N Engl J Med |volume=355 |issue=9 |pages=873–84 |year=2006 |pmid=16943400 |doi=10.1056/NEJMoa061355}}</ref>

Daily use of [[tamoxifen]], a [[selective estrogen receptor modulator]] (SERM), typically for 5&nbsp;years, has been demonstrated to reduce the risk of developing [[breast cancer]] in high-risk women by about 50%. A recent{{When|date=May 2010}} study reported that the [[selective estrogen receptor modulator]] [[raloxifene]] has similar benefits to [[tamoxifen]] in preventing breast cancer in high-risk women, with a more favorable side effect profile.<ref name=STAR-P2>{{cite journal |author=Vogel V, Costantino J, Wickerham D, Cronin W, Cecchini R, Atkins J, Bevers T, Fehrenbacher L, Pajon E, Wade J, Robidoux A, Margolese R, James J, Lippman S, Runowicz C, Ganz P, Reis S, McCaskill-Stevens W, Ford L, Jordan V, Wolmark N |title=Effects of tamoxifen vs raloxifene on the risk of developing invasive breast cancer and other disease outcomes: the NSABP Study of Tamoxifen and Raloxifene (STAR) P-2 trial |journal=JAMA |volume=295 |issue=23 |pages=2727–41 |year=2006 |pmid=16754727 |doi=10.1001/jama.295.23.joc60074}}</ref>

[[Raloxifene]] is a SERM like [[tamoxifen]]; it has been shown (in the STAR trial) to reduce the risk of breast cancer in high-risk women equally as well as tamoxifen. In this trial, which studied almost 20,000 women, [[raloxifene]] had fewer side effects than [[tamoxifen]], though it did permit more [[Ductal carcinoma|DCIS]] to form.<ref name=STAR-P2/>

[[Finasteride]], a [[5-alpha-reductase inhibitor]], has been shown to lower the risk of prostate cancer, though it seems to mostly prevent low-grade tumors.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Thompson I, Goodman P, Tangen C, Lucia M, Miller G, Ford L, Lieber M, Cespedes R, Atkins J, Lippman S, Carlin S, Ryan A, Szczepanek C, Crowley J, Coltman C |title=The influence of finasteride on the development of prostate cancer |journal=N Engl J Med |volume=349 |issue=3 |pages=215–24 |year=2003 |pmid=12824459 |doi=10.1056/NEJMoa030660}}</ref>
The effect of [[COX-2 selective inhibitor|COX-2 inhibitors]] such as [[rofecoxib]] and [[celecoxib]] upon the risk of colon polyps have been studied in [[familial adenomatous polyposis]] patients<ref>{{cite journal |author=Hallak A, Alon-Baron L, Shamir R, Moshkowitz M, Bulvik B, Brazowski E, Halpern Z, Arber N |title=Rofecoxib reduces polyp recurrence in familial polyposis |journal=Dig Dis Sci |volume=48 |issue=10 |pages=1998–2002 |year=2003 |pmid=14627347 |doi=10.1023/A:1026130623186}}</ref>
and in the general population.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Baron J, Sandler R, Bresalier R, Quan H, Riddell R, Lanas A, Bolognese J, Oxenius B, Horgan K, Loftus S, Morton D |title=A randomized trial of rofecoxib for the chemoprevention of colorectal adenomas |journal=Gastroenterology |volume=131 |issue=6 |pages=1674–82 |year=2006 |pmid=17087947 |doi=10.1053/j.gastro.2006.08.079}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Bertagnolli M, Eagle C, Zauber A, Redston M, Solomon S, Kim K, Tang J, Rosenstein R, Wittes J, Corle D, Hess T, Woloj G, Boisserie F, Anderson W, Viner J, Bagheri D, Burn J, Chung D, Dewar T, Foley T, Hoffman N, Macrae F, Pruitt R, Saltzman J, Salzberg B, Sylwestrowicz T, Gordon G, Hawk E |title=Celecoxib for the prevention of sporadic colorectal adenomas |journal=N Engl J Med |volume=355 |issue=9 |pages=873–84 |year=2006 |pmid=16943400 |doi=10.1056/NEJMoa061355}}</ref>
In both groups, there were significant reductions in [[colon polyp]] [[incidence (epidemiology)|incidence]], but this came at the price of increased cardiovascular toxicity.
In both groups, there were significant reductions in [[colon polyp]] [[incidence (epidemiology)|incidence]], but this came at the price of increased cardiovascular toxicity.


As of 2010 [[vitamin]]s have not been found to be effective at preventing cancer,<ref>{{cite journal |author= |title=Vitamins and minerals: not for cancer or cardiovascular prevention |journal=Prescrire Int |volume=19 |issue=108 |pages=182 |year=2010 |month=August |pmid=20939459 |doi= |url=}}</ref> while low levels of [[vitamin D]] is correlated with increased cancer risk.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Giovannucci E, Liu Y, Rimm EB, ''et al.'' |title=Prospective study of predictors of vitamin D status and cancer incidence and mortality in men |journal=J. Natl. Cancer Inst. |volume=98 |issue=7 |pages=451–9 |year=2006 |month=April |pmid=16595781 |doi=10.1093/jnci/djj101}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cancer.org/docroot/NWS/content/NWS_1_1x_Vitamin_D_Has_Role_in_Colon_Cancer_Prevention.asp|title=Vitamin D Has Role in Colon Cancer Prevention|accessdate=2007-07-27| archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20061204052746/http://www.cancer.org/docroot/NWS/content/NWS_1_1x_Vitamin_D_Has_Role_in_Colon_Cancer_Prevention.asp| archivedate = December 4, 2006}}</ref> Whether this relationship is causal and vitamin D supplementation is protective is yet to be determined.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Schwartz GG, Blot WJ |title=Vitamin D status and cancer incidence and mortality: something new under the sun |journal=J. Natl. Cancer Inst. |volume=98 |issue=7 |pages=428–30 |year=2006 |month=April |pmid=16595770 |doi=10.1093/jnci/djj127 |url=http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/98/7/428}}</ref> [[Beta-carotene]] supplementation has been found to increase slightly, but not significantly risks of [[lung cancer]].<ref>{{cite web |publisher= National Cancer Institute |url=http://www.cancer.gov/PDF/FactSheet/fs4_13.pdf |format=PDF |title= Questions and answers about beta carotene chemoprevention trials |date=1997-06-27 |accessdate=2009-04-23}}</ref> [[Folic acid]] supplementation has not been found effective in preventing colon cancer and may increase colon polyps.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Cole BF, Baron JA, Sandler RS, ''et al.'' |title=Folic acid for the prevention of colorectal adenomas: a randomized clinical trial |journal=JAMA |volume=297 |issue=21 |pages=2351–9 |year=2007 |pmid=17551129 |doi=10.1001/jama.297.21.2351}}</ref>
[[Vitamin]]s have not been found to be effective at preventing cancer,<ref>{{cite journal |author= |title=Vitamins and minerals: not for cancer or cardiovascular prevention |journal=Prescrire Int |volume=19 |issue=108 |page=182 |year=2010 |month=August |pmid=20939459 |doi= |url=}}</ref> although low levels of [[vitamin D]] are correlated with increased cancer risk.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Giovannucci E, Liu Y, Rimm EB, ''et al.'' |title=Prospective study of predictors of vitamin D status and cancer incidence and mortality in men |journal=J. Natl. Cancer Inst. |volume=98 |issue=7 |pages=451–9 |year=2006 |month=April |pmid=16595781 |doi=10.1093/jnci/djj101}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cancer.org/docroot/NWS/content/NWS_1_1x_Vitamin_D_Has_Role_in_Colon_Cancer_Prevention.asp|title=Vitamin D Has Role in Colon Cancer Prevention|accessdate=2007-07-27| archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20061204052746/http://www.cancer.org/docroot/NWS/content/NWS_1_1x_Vitamin_D_Has_Role_in_Colon_Cancer_Prevention.asp| archivedate = December 4, 2006}}</ref> Whether this relationship is causal and vitamin D supplementation is protective is yet to be determined.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Schwartz GG, Blot WJ |title=Vitamin D status and cancer incidence and mortality: something new under the sun |journal=J. Natl. Cancer Inst. |volume=98 |issue=7 |pages=428–30 |year=2006 |month=April |pmid=16595770 |doi=10.1093/jnci/djj127 |url=http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/98/7/428}}</ref> [[Beta-carotene]] supplementation has been found to increase slightly, but not significantly, risks of [[lung cancer]].<ref>{{cite web |publisher= National Cancer Institute |url=http://www.cancer.gov/PDF/FactSheet/fs4_13.pdf |format=PDF |title= Questions and answers about beta carotene chemoprevention trials |date=1997-06-27 |accessdate=2009-04-23}}</ref> [[Folic acid]] supplementation has not been found effective in preventing colon cancer and may increase colon polyps.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Cole BF, Baron JA, Sandler RS, ''et al.'' |title=Folic acid for the prevention of colorectal adenomas: a randomized clinical trial |journal=JAMA |volume=297 |issue=21 |pages=2351–9 |year=2007 |pmid=17551129 |doi=10.1001/jama.297.21.2351}}</ref>


=== Vaccination ===
=== Vaccination ===
[[Vaccine]]s have been developed to prevent oncogenic infectious agents and therapeutic vaccines are in development to stimulate an immune response against cancer-specific [[epitope]]s.<ref name=vacc_facts_nci>{{cite web | url=http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/cancervaccine | title=Cancer Vaccine Fact Sheet | publisher=[[National Cancer Institute|NCI]] | date=2006-06-08 | accessdate=2008-11-15 }}</ref>
[[Vaccine]]s have been developed that prevent some infection by some viruses that are associated with cancer, and therapeutic vaccines are in development to stimulate an immune response against cancer-specific [[epitope]]s.<ref name=vacc_facts_nci>{{cite web | url=http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/cancervaccine | title=Cancer Vaccine Fact Sheet | publisher=[[National Cancer Institute|NCI]] | date=2006-06-08 | accessdate=2008-11-15 }}</ref> [[Human papillomavirus vaccine]] ([[Gardasil]] and [[Cervarix]]) decreases the risk of developing [[cervical cancer]].<ref name=vacc_facts_nci/> The [[hepatitis B vaccine]] prevents infection with hepatitis B virus and thus decreases the risk of liver cancer.<ref name=vacc_facts_nci/>


Advances in cancer research have made a vaccine designed to prevent cancers available. In 2006, the [[U.S. Food and Drug Administration]] approved a [[human papilloma virus]] vaccine, called [[Gardasil]]. The vaccine protects against 6,11,16,18 strains of HPV, which together cause 70% of cervical cancers and 90% of genital warts. It also lists vaginal and vulvar cancers as being protected. In March 2007, the US [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] (CDC) [[Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices]] (ACIP) officially recommended that females aged 11–12 receive the vaccine, and indicated that females as young as age 9 and as old as age 26 are also candidates for immunization. There is a second vaccine from [[Cervarix]] which protects against the more dangerous HPV 16,18 strains only. In 2009, Gardasil was approved for protection against genital warts. In 2010, the Gardasil vaccine was approved for protection against anal cancer for males and reviewers stated there was no anatomical, histological or physiological anal differences between the genders so females would also be protected.
[[Human papillomavirus vaccine]] ([[Gardasil]] and [[Cervarix]]) decreases the risk of developing [[cervical cancer]].<ref name=vacc_facts_nci/> The [[hepatitis B vaccine]] prevents infection with hepatitis B virus and thus decreases the risk of liver cancer.<ref name=vacc_facts_nci/>


== Screening ==
== Screening ==
{{Main|Cancer screening}}
{{Main|Cancer screening}}
Cancer screening involves efforts to detect cancer before symptoms appear.<ref name=NIH>{{cite web |url=http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/screening/overview/Patient |title=What Is Cancer Screening? |work=National Cancer Institute |accessdate=}}</ref> This may involve [[physical examination]], [[blood test|blood]] or [[urine test]]s, or [[medical imaging]].<ref name=NIH/> As screening tests may have risks these must be weighted against the benefits of early detection and treatment.<ref name=NIH/> Especially if they are going to be recommended for large segments of the population.
Unlike diagnosis efforts prompted by [[symptom]]s and [[medical sign]]s, cancer screening involves efforts to detect cancer after it has formed, but before any noticeable symptoms appear.<ref name=NIH>{{cite web |url=http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/screening/overview/Patient |title=What Is Cancer Screening? |work=National Cancer Institute |accessdate=}}</ref> This may involve [[physical examination]], [[blood test|blood]] or [[urine test]]s, or [[medical imaging]].<ref name=NIH/>

Cancer screening is not currently possible for some types of cancers, and even when tests are available, they are not recommended to everyone. ''[[Universal screening]]'' or ''mass screening'' involves screening everyone.<ref name=Wilson>Wilson JMG, Jungner G. (1968) [http://whqlibdoc.who.int/php/WHO_PHP_34.pdf Principles and practice of screening for disease.] Geneva:[[World Health Organization]]. Public Health Papers, #34.</ref> ''Selective screening'' identifies people who are known to be at higher risk of developing cancer, such as people with a family history of cancer.<ref name=Wilson />

Several factors are considered to determine whether the benefits of screening outweigh the risks and the costs of screening.<ref name=NIH/> These factors include:

*Possible harms from the screening test: Some types of screening tests, such as X-ray images, expose the body to potentially harmful [[ionizing radiation]]. There is a small chance that the radiation in the test could cause a new cancer in a healthy person. [[Screening mammography]], used to detect breast cancer, is not recommended to men or to young women because they are more likely to be harmed by the test than to benefit from it. Other tests, such as a skin check for skin cancer, have no significant risk of harm to the patient. A test that has high potential harms is only recommended when the benefits are also high.
*The likelihood of the test correctly identifying cancer: If the test is not ''[[sensitivity and specificity|sensitive]]'', then it may miss cancers. If the test is not ''[[sensitivity and specificity|specific]]'', then it may wrongly indicate cancer in a healthy person. All cancer screening tests produce both [[false positive]]s and [[false negative]]s, and most produce more false positives. Experts consider the rate of errors when making recommendations about which test, if any, to use. A test may work better in some populations than others. The [[positive predictive value]] is a calculation of the likelihood that a positive test result actually represents cancer in a given individual, based on the results of people with similar risk factors.
*The likelihood of cancer being present: Screening is not normally useful for rare cancers. It is rarely done for young people, since cancer is largely a disease found in people over the age of 50. Countries often focus their screening recommendations on the major forms of treatable cancer found in their population. For example, the United States recommends universal screening for [[colon cancer]], which is common in the US, but not for [[stomach cancer]], which is less common; by contrast, Japan recommends screening for stomach cancer, but not colon cancer, which is rarer in Japan. Screening recommendations depend on the individual's risk, with high-risk people receiving earlier and more frequent screening than low-risk people.
*Possible harms from follow-up procedures: If the screening test is positive, further diagnostic testing is normally done, such as a [[biopsy]] of the tissue. If the test produces many false positives, then many people will undergo needless medical procedures, some of which may be dangerous.
*Whether suitable treatment is available and appropriate: Screening is discouraged if no effective treatment is available.<ref name=Wilson /> When effective and suitable treatment is not available, then diagnosis of a fatal disease produces significant mental and emotional harms. For example, routine screening for cancer is typically not appropriate in a very [[frailty syndrome|frail elderly]] person, because the treatment for any cancer that is detected might kill the patient.
*Whether early detection improves treatment outcomes: Even when treatment is available, sometimes early detection does not improve the outcome. If the treatment result is the same as if the screening had not been done, then the only screening program does is increase the length of time the person lived with the knowledge that he had cancer. This phenomenon is called [[lead-time bias]]. A useful screening program reduces the number of [[years of potential life lost]] (longer lives) and [[disability-adjusted life year]]s lost (longer healthy lives).
*Whether the cancer will ever need treatment: Diagnosis of a cancer in a person who will never be harmed by the cancer is called [[overdiagnosis]]. Overdiagnosis is most common among older people with slow-growing cancers. Concerns about overdiagnosis are common for breast and prostate cancer.
*Whether the test is acceptable to the patients:If a screening test is too burdensome, such as requiring too much time, too much pain, or culturally unacceptable behaviors, then people will refuse to participate.<ref name=Wilson />
*Cost of the test: Some expert bodies, such as the [[U.S. Preventive Services Task Force]], completely ignore the question of money. Most, however, include a [[cost-effectiveness analysis]] that, all else being equal, favors less expensive tests over more expensive tests, and attempt to balance the cost of the screening program against the [[opportunity cost|benefits of using those funds for other health programs]]. These analyses usually include the total cost of the screening program to the healthcare system, such as ordering the test, performing the test, reporting the results, and biopsies for suspicious results, but not usually the costs to the individual, such as for time taken away from employment.


===Recommendations===
=== Recommendations ===
The [[U.S. Preventive Services Task Force]] (USPSTF) strongly recommends [[cervical cancer]] screening in those who are [[sexually active]] and have a [[cervix]] at least until the age of 65.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/uspscerv.htm |title=Screening for Cervical Cancer |year=2003 |work=[[U.S. Preventive Services Task Force]]}}</ref> They recommends [[mammography]] for [[breast cancer]] screening every two years for those 50–74&nbsp;years old, however do not recommend either [[breast self-examination]] or [[clinical breast examination]].<ref name=USPTFBr09>{{cite web |url=http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/uspsbrca.htm |title=Screening for Breast Cancer |year=2009 |work=[[U.S. Preventive Services Task Force]]}}</ref> [[Colorectal cancer]] screening is recommended via [[fecal occult blood]] testing, [[sigmoidoscopy]], or [[colonoscopy]] starting at age of 50 until age 75.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/uspscolo.htm |title=Screening for Colorectal Cancer |year=2008 |work=[[U.S. Preventive Services Task Force]]}}</ref> There is insufficient evidence to recommend for or against screening for [[skin cancer]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/uspsskca.htm |title=Screening for Skin Cancer |year=2009 |work=[[U.S. Preventive Services Task Force]]}}</ref> [[oral cancer]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/uspsoral.htm |title=Screening for Oral Cancer |year=2004 |work=[[U.S. Preventive Services Task Force]]}}</ref> [[lung cancer]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/uspslung.htm |title=Lung Cancer Screening |year=2004 |work=[[U.S. Preventive Services Task Force]]}}</ref> or [[prostate cancer]] in men under 75.<ref name=USPTFPr08>{{cite web |url=http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/uspsprca.htm |title=Screening for Prostate Cancer |year=2008 |work=[[U.S. Preventive Services Task Force]]}}</ref> Routine screening is not recommended for [[bladder cancer]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/uspsblad.htm |title=Screening for Bladder Cancer |year=2004 |work=[[U.S. Preventive Services Task Force]]}}</ref> [[testicular cancer]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/uspstest.htm |title=Screening for Testicular Cancer |year=2004 |work=[[U.S. Preventive Services Task Force]]}}</ref> [[ovarian cancer]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/uspsovar.htm |title=Screening for Ovarian Cancer |year=2004 |work=[[U.S. Preventive Services Task Force]]}}</ref> [[pancreatic cancer]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/uspspanc.htm |title=Screening for Pancreatic Cancer |year=2004 |work=[[U.S. Preventive Services Task Force]]}}</ref> or [[prostate cancer]] in men over 75.<ref name=USPTFPr08/> A 2009 [[Cochrane review]] came to slightly different conclusions with respect to breast cancer screening stating that routine mammography may do more harm than good.<ref name=Cochrane2009>{{cite journal |author=Gøtzsche PC, Nielsen M |title=Screening for breast cancer with mammography |journal=Cochrane Database Syst Rev |volume= |issue=4 |pages=CD001877 |year=2009 |pmid=19821284 |doi=10.1002/14651858.CD001877.pub3 |url=}}</ref>
The [[U.S. Preventive Services Task Force]] (USPSTF) strongly recommends [[cervical cancer]] screening in those who are [[sexually active]] and have a [[cervix]] at least until the age of 65.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/uspscerv.htm |title=Screening for Cervical Cancer |year=2003 |work=[[U.S. Preventive Services Task Force]]}}</ref> They recommend [[mammography]] for [[breast cancer]] screening every two years for those 50–74&nbsp;years old, however do not recommend either [[breast self-examination]] or [[clinical breast examination]].<ref name=USPTFBr09>{{cite web |url=http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/uspsbrca.htm |title=Screening for Breast Cancer |year=2009 |work=[[U.S. Preventive Services Task Force]]}}</ref> [[Colorectal cancer]] screening is recommended via [[fecal occult blood]] testing, [[sigmoidoscopy]], or [[colonoscopy]] starting at age 50 until age 75.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/uspscolo.htm |title=Screening for Colorectal Cancer |year=2008 |work=[[U.S. Preventive Services Task Force]]}}</ref> There is insufficient evidence to recommend for or against screening for [[skin cancer]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/uspsskca.htm |title=Screening for Skin Cancer |year=2009 |work=[[U.S. Preventive Services Task Force]]}}</ref> [[oral cancer]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/uspsoral.htm |title=Screening for Oral Cancer |year=2004 |work=[[U.S. Preventive Services Task Force]]}}</ref> [[lung cancer]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/uspslung.htm |title=Lung Cancer Screening |year=2004 |work=[[U.S. Preventive Services Task Force]]}}</ref> or [[prostate cancer]] in men under 75.<ref name=USPTFPr08>{{cite web |url=http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/uspsprca.htm |title=Screening for Prostate Cancer |year=2008 |work=[[U.S. Preventive Services Task Force]]}}</ref> Routine screening is not recommended for [[bladder cancer]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/uspsblad.htm |title=Screening for Bladder Cancer |year=2004 |work=[[U.S. Preventive Services Task Force]]}}</ref> [[testicular cancer]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/uspstest.htm |title=Screening for Testicular Cancer |year=2004 |work=[[U.S. Preventive Services Task Force]]}}</ref> [[ovarian cancer]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/uspsovar.htm |title=Screening for Ovarian Cancer |year=2004 |work=[[U.S. Preventive Services Task Force]]}}</ref> [[pancreatic cancer]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/uspspanc.htm |title=Screening for Pancreatic Cancer |year=2004 |work=[[U.S. Preventive Services Task Force]]}}</ref> or [[prostate cancer]] in men over 75.<ref name=USPTFPr08/> A 2009 [[Cochrane review]] came to slightly different conclusions with respect to breast cancer screening stating that routine mammography may do more harm than good.<ref name=Cochrane2009>{{cite journal |author=Gøtzsche PC, Nielsen M |title=Screening for breast cancer with mammography |journal=Cochrane Database Syst Rev |volume= |issue=4 |pages=CD001877 |year=2009 |pmid=19821284 |doi=10.1002/14651858.CD001877.pub3 |url=}}</ref>


=== Genetic testing ===
=== Genetic testing ===
{{See also|Cancer syndrome}}
{| class="wikitable" style = "float: right; margin-left:15px; text-align:center"
{| class="wikitable" style = "float: right; margin-left:15px; text-align:center"
|-
|-
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| Breast, ovarian, pancreatic
| Breast, ovarian, pancreatic
|-
|-
| [[MLH1]], [[MSH2]], [[MSH6]], [[PMS1]], [[PMS2]]
| [[HNPCC]], [[MLH1]], [[MSH2]], [[MSH6]], [[PMS1]], [[PMS2]]
| Colon, uterine, small bowel, stomach, urinary tract
| Colon, uterine, small bowel, stomach, urinary tract
|}
|}
[[Genetic testing]] for individuals at high-risk of certain cancers is recommended. <ref name=BRCA08>{{cite journal|last=Gulati|first=AP|coauthors=Domchek, SM|title=The clinical management of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers.|journal=Current oncology reports|date=2008 Jan|volume=10|issue=1|pages=47-53|pmid=18366960}}</ref> Carriers of these mutations may than undergo enhanced surveillance, chemoprevention, or preventative surgery to reduce their subsequent risk.<ref name=BRCA08/>
[[Genetic testing]] for high-risk individuals is already available for certain cancer-related genetic mutations. Carriers of genetic mutations that increase risk for cancer incidence can undergo enhanced surveillance, chemoprevention, or risk-reducing surgery. Early identification of inherited genetic risk for cancer, along with cancer-preventing interventions such as surgery or enhanced surveillance, can be lifesaving for high-risk individuals.


== Management ==
== Management ==
{{Main|Management of cancer}}
{{Main|Management of cancer}}


Many management options for cancer exist including: [[chemotherapy]], [[radiation therapy]], [[surgery]], [[immunotherapy]], [[monoclonal antibody therapy]] and other methods. Which are used depends upon the location and grade of the tumor and the [[Cancer staging|stage]] of the disease, as well as the general state of a person's health. [[Experimental cancer treatment]]s are also under development.
Many management options for cancer exist including: [[chemotherapy]], [[radiation therapy]], [[surgery]], [[immunotherapy]], [[monoclonal antibody therapy]] and other methods. Which treatments are used depends upon the type of cancer, the location and grade of the tumor, and the [[Cancer staging|stage]] of the disease, as well as the general state of a person's health.


Complete removal of the cancer without damage to the rest of the body is the goal of treatment. Sometimes this can be accomplished by surgery, but the propensity of cancers to invade adjacent tissue or to spread to distant sites by microscopic metastasis often limits its effectiveness. Surgery often required the removal of a wide [[surgical margin]] or a [[free margin]]. The width of the free margin depends on the type of the cancer, the method of removal ([[CCPDMA]], [[Mohs surgery]], POMA, etc.). The margin can be as little as 1&nbsp;mm for [[basal cell cancer]] using [[CCPDMA]] or [[Mohs surgery]], to several centimeters for aggressive cancers. The effectiveness of chemotherapy is often limited by toxicity to other tissues in the body. Radiation can also cause damage to normal tissue.
Complete removal of the cancer without damage to the rest of the body is the goal of treatment for most cancers. Sometimes this can be accomplished by surgery, but the propensity of cancers to invade adjacent tissue or to spread to distant sites by microscopic metastasis often limits its effectiveness. Surgery often required the removal of a wide [[surgical margin]] or a [[free margin]]. The width of the free margin depends on the type of the cancer, the method of removal ([[CCPDMA]], [[Mohs surgery]], POMA, etc.). The margin can be as little as 1&nbsp;mm for [[basal cell cancer]] using [[CCPDMA]] or [[Mohs surgery]], to several centimeters for aggressive cancers. The effectiveness of chemotherapy is often limited by toxicity to other tissues in the body. Radiation can also cause damage to normal tissue.


Because cancer is a class of diseases,<ref name=WhatIsCancerNCI>{{cite web
Because cancer is a class of diseases,<ref name=WhatIsCancerNCI>{{cite web
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| issue=7239
| issue=7239
}} {{Dead link|date=January 2010}}</ref>
}} {{Dead link|date=January 2010}}</ref>

[[Experimental cancer treatment]]s are treatments that are being studied to see whether they work. Typically, these are studied in [[clinical trial]]s to compare the proposed treatment to the best existing treatment. They may be entirely new treatments, or they may be treatments that have been used successfully in one type of cancer, and are now being tested to see whether they are effective in another type.

[[Alternative cancer treatment]]s are treatments used by [[alternative medicine]] practitioners. These include [[mind–body intervention]]s, herbal preparations, [[massage]], electrical devices, and strict dietary regimens. Alternative cancer treatments are ineffective at killing cancer cells. Some are dangerous, but more are harmless or provide the patient with a degree of physical or emotional comfort. Alternative cancer treatment has also been a fertile field for hoaxes aimed at stripping desperate patients of their money.<ref name=Olson />


== Prognosis ==
== Prognosis ==
{{See also|Cancer survivor}}
{{See also|Cancer survivor}}
Cancer has a reputation as a deadly disease. Taken as a whole, about half of patients receiving treatment for invasive cancer (excluding [[carcinoma in situ]] and non-melanoma skin cancers) die from cancer or its treatment. However, the survival rates vary dramatically by type of cancer, with the range running from basically all patients surviving to almost no patients surviving.
Cancer has a reputation as a deadly disease. While this certainly applies to certain particular types, the truths behind the historical connotations of cancer are increasingly overturned by advances in medical care. Some types of cancer have a prognosis that is substantially better than nonmalignant diseases such as [[heart failure]] and [[stroke]].


Patients who receive a long-term remission or permanent cure may have physical and emotional complications from the disease and its treatment. Surgery may have [[amputated]] body parts or removed internal organs, or the cancer may have damaged delicate structures, like the part of the ear that is responsible for the [[sense of balance]]; in some cases, this requires extensive [[physical rehabilitation]] or [[occupational therapy]] so that the patient can walk or engage in other [[activities of daily living]]. [[Chemo brain]] is a usually short-term [[cognitive impairment]] associated with some treatments. [[Cancer-related fatigue]] usually resolves shortly after the end of treatment, but may be lifelong. Cancer-related [[pain]] may require ongoing treatment. Younger patients may [[infertility|be unable to have children]]. Some patients may be anxious or [[psychological trauma|psychologically traumatized]] as a result of their experience of the diagnosis or treatment.
Progressive and disseminated malignant disease has a substantial impact on a cancer patient's quality of life, and many cancer treatments (such as [[chemotherapy]]) may have severe side-effects. In the advanced stages of cancer, many patients need extensive care, affecting family members and friends. [[Palliative care]] solutions may include permanent or "respite" hospice nursing.

Survivors generally need to have regular medical screenings to ensure that the cancer has not returned, to manage any ongoing cancer-related conditions, and to screen for new cancers. Cancer survivors, even when permanently cured of the first cancer, have approximately double the normal risk of developing another primary cancer. Some advocates have promoted "survivor care plans"—written documents detailing the diagnosis, all previous treatment, and all recommended [[cancer screening]] and other care requirements for the future—as a way of organizing the extensive medical information that survivors and their future healthcare providers need.

Progressive and disseminated malignant disease harms the cancer patient's [[quality of life]], and some cancer treatments, including common forms of [[chemotherapy]], have severe side effects. In the advanced stages of cancer, many patients need extensive [[caregiver|care]], affecting family members and friends. [[Palliative care]] aims to improve the patient's immediate quality of life, regardless of whether further treatment is undertaken. [[Hospice]] programs assist patients similarly, especially when a [[terminally ill]] patient has rejected further treatment aimed at curing the cancer. Both styles of service offer [[home health nursing]] and [[respite care]].

Predicting either short-term or long-term survival is difficult and depends on many factors. The most important factors are the particular kind of cancer and the patient's age and overall health. [[Medically frail]] patients with many comorbidities have lower survival rates than otherwise healthy patients. A [[centenarian]] is unlikely to survive for five years even if the treatment is successful. Patients who report a higher quality of life tend to survive longer.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Health Qual Life Outcomes |date=2009 Dec 23 |volume=7 |page=102 |title=Quality of life data as prognostic indicators of survival in cancer patients: an overview of the literature from 1982 to 2008 |author=Montazeri A |pmid=20030832 |pmc=2805623 }}</ref> People with lower quality of life may be affected by [[major depressive disorder]] and other complications from cancer treatment and/or disease progression that both impairs their quality of life and reduces their quantity of life. Additionally, patients with worse prognoses may be depressed or report a lower quality of life directly because they correctly perceive that their condition is likely to be fatal.

Despite strong social pressure to maintain an upbeat, optimistic attitude or act like a determined "fighter" to "win the battle", personality traits have no connection to survival.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Nakaya N, Bidstrup PE, Saito-Nakaya K, ''et al.'' |title=Personality traits and cancer risk and survival based on Finnish and Swedish registry data |journal=Am. J. Epidemiol. |volume=172 |issue=4 |pages=377–85 |year=2010 |month=August |pmid=20639285 |doi=10.1093/aje/kwq046 |laysummary=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/25/opinion/25sloan.html?src=me&ref=homepage |laydate=25 January 2011 |laysource=The New York Times}}</ref>


== Epidemiology ==
== Epidemiology ==
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{{legend|#cb0000|≥&nbsp;305}}
{{legend|#cb0000|≥&nbsp;305}}
</div>]]
</div>]]
{{As of|2004}}, worldwide cancer caused 13% of all deaths (7.4 million). The leading causes were: [[lung cancer]] (1.3 million deaths/year), [[stomach cancer]] (803,000 deaths), [[colorectal cancer]] (639,000 deaths), [[liver cancer]] (610,000 deaths), and [[breast cancer]] (519,000 deaths).<ref name="WHO"/>
{{As of|2004}}, worldwide cancer caused 13% of all deaths (7.4 million). The leading causes were: [[lung cancer]] (1.3 million deaths/year), [[stomach cancer]] (803,000 deaths), [[colorectal cancer]] (639,000 deaths), [[liver cancer]] (610,000 deaths), and [[breast cancer]] (519,000 deaths).<ref name="WHO">{{cite web | last =WHO | authorlink =World Health Organization | title =Cancer | publisher =World Health Organization |month=February | year=2006 | url =http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs297/en/ | accessdate =2011-01-05 }}</ref>
The most significant risk factor is age. According to cancer researcher [[Robert A. Weinberg]], "If we lived long enough, sooner or later we all would get cancer."<ref name=Weinberg>{{cite news

The most significant risk factor is age. According to cancer researcher [[Robert A. Weinberg]], "If we lived long enough, sooner or later we all would get cancer."<ref name=Weinberg> {{cite news
| url = http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/28/health/28cancer.html?pagewanted=all
| url = http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/28/health/28cancer.html?pagewanted=all
| title = Unearthing Prehistoric Tumors, and Debate
| title = Unearthing Prehistoric Tumors, and Debate
| newspaper = ''The New York Times''
| newspaper = ''The New York Times''
| date = 28 December 2010
| date = 28 December 2010
| author = Johnson, George }}</ref> Essentially all of the increase in cancer rates between ancient times and people who died in England during 1901 and 1905 is due to increased lifespans.<ref name=Weinberg /> Since then, some other factors, especially the increased use of tobacco, have further raised the rates.<ref name=Weinberg />
| author = Johnson, George }}</ref> Essentially all of the increase in cancer rates between ancient times and the beginning of the 20th century in England is due to increased lifespans.<ref name=Weinberg /> Since then, some other factors, especially the increased use of tobacco, have further raised the rates.<ref name=Weinberg />


In the United States, cancer is responsible for 25% of all deaths with 30% of these from lung cancer. The most commonly occurring cancer in men is [[prostate cancer]] (about 25% of new cases) and in women is [[breast cancer]] (also about 25%). Cancer can occur in children and adolescents, but it is uncommon (about 150 cases per million in the U.S.), with [[leukemia]] the most common.<ref name="Jemal"/> In the first year of life the [[incidence (epidemiology)|incidence]] is about 230 cases per million in the U.S., with the most common being [[neuroblastoma]].<ref>{{cite book |editor= Ries LAG, Smith MA, Gurney JG, Linet M, Tamra T, Young JL, Bunin GR (eds) |year=1999 |title= Cancer Incidence and Survival among Children and Adolescents, United States SEER program 1975–1995 |publisher= National Cancer Institute, SEER Program |version= NIH Pub. No 99-4649 |location= Bethesda, MD |chapterurl=http://seer.cancer.gov/publications/childhood/infant.pdf |author= Gurney JG, Smith MA, Ross JA |chapter=Cancer among infants |pages=149–56}}</ref>
In the United States, cancer is responsible for 25% of all deaths with 30% of these from lung cancer. The most commonly occurring cancer in men is [[prostate cancer]] (about 25% of new cases) and in women is [[breast cancer]] (also about 25%). Cancer can occur in children and adolescents, but it is uncommon (about 150 cases per million in the U.S.), with [[leukemia]] the most common.<ref name="Jemal"/> In the first year of life the [[incidence (epidemiology)|incidence]] is about 230 cases per million in the U.S., with the most common being [[neuroblastoma]].<ref>{{cite book |editor= Ries LAG, Smith MA, Gurney JG, Linet M, Tamra T, Young JL, Bunin GR (eds) |year=1999 |title= Cancer Incidence and Survival among Children and Adolescents, United States SEER program 1975–1995 |publisher= National Cancer Institute, SEER Program |version= NIH Pub. No 99-4649 |location= Bethesda, MD |chapterurl=http://seer.cancer.gov/publications/childhood/infant.pdf |author= Gurney JG, Smith MA, Ross JA |chapter=Cancer among infants |pages=149–56}}</ref>


In the developed world, one in three people will develop cancer during their lifetimes. If ''all'' cancer patients survived and cancer occurred ''randomly'', the lifetime odds of developing a second primary cancer would be one in nine.<ref name="isbn1-55009-213-8" /> However, cancer survivors have an increased risk of developing a second primary cancer, and the odds are about two in nine.<ref name="isbn1-55009-213-8" /> About half of these second primaries can be attributed to the normal one-in-nine risk associated with random chance.<ref name="isbn1-55009-213-8" /> The increased risk is believed to be primarily due to the same risk factors that produced the first cancer (such as the person's genetic profile, alcohol and tobacco use, obesity, and environmental exposures), and partly due to the treatment for the first cancer, which typically includes mutagenic chemotherapeutic drugs or radiation.<ref name="isbn1-55009-213-8" /> Cancer survivors may also be more likely to comply with recommended screening, and thus may be more likely than average to detect cancers.<ref name="isbn1-55009-213-8">{{cite book
In the developed world, one in three people will develop cancer during their lifetimes. If ''all'' cancer patients survived and cancer occurred ''randomly'', the lifetime odds of developing a second primary cancer would be one in nine.<ref name="isbn1-55009-213-8" /> However, cancer survivors have an increased risk of developing a second primary cancer, and the odds are about two in nine.<ref name="isbn1-55009-213-8" /> About half of these second primaries can be attributed to the normal one-in-nine risk associated with random chance.<ref name="isbn1-55009-213-8" /> The increased risk is believed to be primarily due to the same risk factors that produced the first cancer (such as the person's genetic profile, alcohol and tobacco use, obesity, and environmental exposures), and partly due to the treatment for the first cancer, which typically includes mutagenic chemotherapeutic drugs or radiation.<ref name="isbn1-55009-213-8" /> Cancer survivors may also be more likely to comply with recommended screening, and thus may be more likely than average to detect cancers.<ref name="isbn1-55009-213-8">{{cite book
|editor=Frei, Emil; Kufe, Donald W.; Holland, James F.
|editor=Frei, Emil; Kufe, Donald W.; Holland, James F.
|author=Rheingold, Susan; Neugut, Alfred; Meadows, Anna
|author=Rheingold, Susan; Neugut, Alfred; Meadows, Anna
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== History ==
== History ==
[[Hippocrates]] (ca. 460 BC – ca. 370 BC) described several kinds of cancers, referring to them with the [[Greek language|Greek]] word ''carcinos'' ([[crab]] or [[crayfish]]), among others.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bordet.be/en/presentation/history/cancer_e/cancer1.htm |title=The History of Cancer. Institut Jules Bordet (Association Hospitalière de Bruxelles - Centre des Tumeurs de ULB). Retrieved 2010-11-19 |publisher=Bordet.be |date= |accessdate=2011-01-29}}</ref> This name comes from the appearance of the cut surface of a solid malignant tumour, with "the veins stretched on all sides as the animal the crab has its feet, whence it derives its name".<ref>{{cite web
[[File:Clara Jacobi-Tumor.jpg|thumb|right|[[Engraving]] with two views of a Dutch woman who had a tumor removed from her neck in 1689.]]
| first = Ralph W.

| last = Moss
[[Hippocrates]] (ca. 460 BC – ca. 370 BC) described several kinds of cancers, referring to them with the [[Greek language|Greek]] word ''carcinos'' ([[crab]] or [[crayfish]]), among others.<ref>http://www.bordet.be/en/presentation/history/cancer_e/cancer1.htm. The History of Cancer. Institut Jules Bordet (Association Hospitalière de Bruxelles - Centre des Tumeurs de ULB). Retrieved 2010-11-19.</ref> This name comes from the appearance of the cut surface of a solid malignant tumour, with "the veins stretched on all sides as the animal the crab has its feet, whence it derives its name".<ref>{{cite web
| title = Galen on Cancer
| first = Ralph W.
| url = http://www.cancerdecisions.com/speeches/galen1989.html
| last = Moss
| publisher = CancerDecisions
| title = Galen on Cancer
| year = 2004
| url = http://www.cancerdecisions.com/speeches/galen1989.html
| publisher = CancerDecisions
| year = 2004
}} Moss in turn attributes this reason for the name to Paul of Aegina, 7th Century AD, quoted in Michael Shimkin, Contrary to Nature, Washington, D.C.: Superintendent of Document, DHEW Publication No. (NIH) 79-720, p. 35.
}} Moss in turn attributes this reason for the name to Paul of Aegina, 7th Century AD, quoted in Michael Shimkin, Contrary to Nature, Washington, D.C.: Superintendent of Document, DHEW Publication No. (NIH) 79-720, p. 35.
</ref> Since it was against Greek tradition to open the body, Hippocrates only described and made drawings of outwardly visible tumors on the skin, nose, and breasts. Treatment was based on the [[humorism|humor theory]] of four bodily fluids (black and yellow bile, blood, and phlegm). According to the patient's humor, treatment consisted of diet, blood-letting, and/or laxatives. Through the centuries it was discovered that cancer could occur anywhere in the body, but humor-theory based treatment remained popular until the 19th century with the discovery of [[cell (biology)|cells]].
</ref> Since it was against Greek tradition to open the body, Hippocrates only described and made drawings of outwardly visible tumors on the skin, nose, and breasts. Treatment was based on the [[humorism|humor theory]] of four bodily fluids (black and yellow bile, blood, and phlegm). According to the patient's humor, treatment consisted of diet, blood-letting, and/or laxatives. Through the centuries it was discovered that cancer could occur anywhere in the body, but humor-theory based treatment remained popular until the 19th century with the discovery of [[cell (biology)|cells]].
[[File:Clara Jacobi-Tumor.jpg|thumb|left|[[Engraving]] with two views of a Dutch woman who had a tumor removed from her neck in 1689.]]


[[Aulus Cornelius Celsus|Celsus]] (ca. 25 BC - 50 AD) translated ''carcinos'' into the [[Latin]] ''cancer'', also meaning crab.
[[Aulus Cornelius Celsus|Celsus]] (ca. 25 BC - 50 AD) translated ''carcinos'' into the [[Latin]] ''cancer'', also meaning crab.
<!-- THIS CONTRADICTS THE REFERENCE TO MOSS [[Galen]] (2nd century AD) used "''oncos''" ('swelling') to describe ''all'' tumours, the root for the modern word [[oncology]].<ref name="Galen">{{cite journal |author=Karpozilos A, Pavlidis N |title=The treatment of cancer in Greek antiquity |journal=European Journal of Cancer |volume=40 |issue=14 |pages=2033–40 |year=2004 |pmid=15341975 |doi=10.1016/j.ejca.2004.04.036}}</ref> -->
<!-- THIS CONTRADICTS THE REFERENCE TO MOSS [[Galen]] (2nd century AD) used "''oncos''" ('swelling') to describe ''all'' tumours, the root for the modern word [[oncology]].<ref name="Galen">{{cite journal |author=Karpozilos A, Pavlidis N |title=The treatment of cancer in Greek antiquity |journal=European Journal of Cancer |volume=40 |issue=14 |pages=2033–40 |year=2004 |pmid=15341975 |doi=10.1016/j.ejca.2004.04.036}}</ref> -->
[[Galen]] (2nd century AD) called benign tumours ''oncos'', Greek for swelling, reserving Hippocrates' ''carcinos'' for malignant tumours. He later added the suffix ''-oma'', Greek for swelling, giving the name ''carcinoma''.
[[Galen]] (2nd century AD) called benign tumours ''oncos'', Greek for swelling, reserving Hippocrates' ''carcinos'' for malignant tumours. He later added the suffix ''-oma'', Greek for swelling, giving the name ''carcinoma''.


The oldest known description and [[surgery|surgical]] treatment of cancer was discovered in [[Egypt]] and dates back to approximately 1600 BC. The [[Papyrus]] describes 8 cases of ulcers of the breast that were treated by cauterization, with a tool called "the fire drill." The writing says about the disease, "There is no treatment."<ref name=CancerOrgHistory>{{cite web
The oldest known description and [[surgery|surgical]] treatment of cancer was discovered in [[Egypt]] and dates back to approximately 1600 BC. The [[Papyrus]] describes 8 cases of ulcers of the breast that were treated by cauterization, with a tool called "the fire drill." The writing says about the disease, "There is no treatment."<ref name=CancerOrgHistory>{{cite web
| title = The History of Cancer
| title = The History of Cancer
| url = http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_6x_the_history_of_cancer_72.asp
| url = http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_6x_the_history_of_cancer_72.asp
| publisher = American Cancer Society
| publisher = American Cancer Society
| year = 2009
| year = 2009
| month = September
| month = September
}}
}}
</ref>
</ref>
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The first cause of cancer was identified by British surgeon [[Percivall Pott]], who discovered in 1775 that cancer of the [[scrotum]] was a common disease among [[chimney sweep]]s. The work of other individual physicians led to various insights, but when physicians started working together they could make firmer conclusions.
The first cause of cancer was identified by British surgeon [[Percivall Pott]], who discovered in 1775 that cancer of the [[scrotum]] was a common disease among [[chimney sweep]]s. The work of other individual physicians led to various insights, but when physicians started working together they could make firmer conclusions.


With the widespread use of the microscope in the 18th century, it was discovered that the 'cancer poison' spread from the primary tumor through the lymph nodes to other sites ("[[metastasis]]"). This view of the disease was first formulated by the English surgeon [[Campbell De Morgan]] between 1871 and 1874.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Grange JM, Stanford JL, Stanford CA |title=Campbell De Morgan's 'Observations on cancer', and their relevance today |journal=Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine |volume=95 |issue=6 |pages=296–9 |year=2002 |url=http://www.jrsm.org/cgi/content/full/95/6/296|pmid=12042378|doi=10.1258/jrsm.95.6.296 |pmc=1279913}}</ref> The use of [[surgery]] to treat cancer had poor results due to problems with hygiene. The renowned Scottish surgeon [[Alexander Monro]] saw only 2 breast tumor patients out of 60 surviving surgery for two years. In the 19th century, [[asepsis]] improved surgical hygiene and as the [[cancer survivor|survival]] statistics went up, surgical removal of the tumor became the primary treatment for cancer. With the exception of [[William Coley]] who in the late 19th century felt that the rate of cure after surgery had been higher ''before'' asepsis (and who injected bacteria into tumors with mixed results), cancer treatment became dependent on the individual art of the surgeon at removing a tumor. During the same period, the idea that the body was made up of various [[tissue (biology)|tissues]], that in turn were made up of millions of cells, laid rest the humor-theories about chemical imbalances in the body. The age of [[cellular pathology]] was born.
With the widespread use of the microscope in the 18th century, it was discovered that the 'cancer poison' spread from the primary tumor through the lymph nodes to other sites ("[[metastasis]]"). This view of the disease was first formulated by the English surgeon [[Campbell De Morgan]] between 1871 and 1874.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Grange JM, Stanford JL, Stanford CA |title=Campbell De Morgan's 'Observations on cancer', and their relevance today |journal=Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine |volume=95 |issue=6 |pages=296–9 |year=2002 |url=http://www.jrsm.org/cgi/content/full/95/6/296|pmid=12042378|doi=10.1258/jrsm.95.6.296 |pmc=1279913}}</ref> The use of [[surgery]] to treat cancer had poor results due to problems with hygiene. The renowned Scottish surgeon [[Alexander Monro (primus)|Alexander Monro]] saw only 2 breast tumor patients out of 60 surviving surgery for two years. In the 19th century, [[asepsis]] improved surgical hygiene and as the [[cancer survivor|survival]] statistics went up, surgical removal of the tumor became the primary treatment for cancer. With the exception of [[William Coley]] who in the late 19th century felt that the rate of cure after surgery had been higher ''before'' asepsis (and who injected bacteria into tumors with mixed results), cancer treatment became dependent on the individual art of the surgeon at removing a tumor. During the same period, the idea that the body was made up of various [[tissue (biology)|tissues]], that in turn were made up of millions of cells, laid rest the humor-theories about chemical imbalances in the body. The age of [[cellular pathology]] was born.


The genetic basis of cancer was recognised in 1902 by the German zoologist [[Theodor Boveri]], professor of [[zoology]] at [[Munich]] and later in [[Würzburg]].<ref>
The genetic basis of cancer was recognised in 1902 by the German zoologist [[Theodor Boveri]], professor of [[zoology]] at [[Munich]] and later in [[Würzburg]].<ref>
{{Cite journal
{{Cite journal
| title = Concerning The Origin of Malignant Tumours
| title = Concerning The Origin of Malignant Tumours
| first = Theodor
| first = Theodor
| last = Boveri
| last = Boveri
| year = 2008
| year = 2008
Line 356: Line 448:
Cancer patient treatment and studies were restricted to individual physicians' practices until [[World War II]], when medical research centers discovered that there were large international differences in disease incidence. This insight drove national public health bodies to make it possible to compile health data across practises and hospitals, a process that many countries do today. The Japanese medical community observed that the bone marrow of victims of the [[atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki]] was completely destroyed. They concluded that diseased [[bone marrow]] could also be destroyed with radiation, and this led to the discovery of bone marrow transplants for [[leukemia]]. Since World War II, trends in cancer treatment are to improve on a micro-level the existing treatment methods, standardize them, and globalize them to find cures through [[epidemiology]] and international partnerships.
Cancer patient treatment and studies were restricted to individual physicians' practices until [[World War II]], when medical research centers discovered that there were large international differences in disease incidence. This insight drove national public health bodies to make it possible to compile health data across practises and hospitals, a process that many countries do today. The Japanese medical community observed that the bone marrow of victims of the [[atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki]] was completely destroyed. They concluded that diseased [[bone marrow]] could also be destroyed with radiation, and this led to the discovery of bone marrow transplants for [[leukemia]]. Since World War II, trends in cancer treatment are to improve on a micro-level the existing treatment methods, standardize them, and globalize them to find cures through [[epidemiology]] and international partnerships.


== Society and culture ==
== Research==
While many diseases (such as [[heart failure]]) may have a worse prognosis than most cases of cancer, it is the subject of widespread fear and taboos. [[Euphemism]]s, once "a long illness", and now informally as "the big C", provide distance and soothe superstitions.<ref>{{Cite news
| first = Barbara
| last = Ehrenreich
| authorlink = Barbara Ehrenreich
| title = Welcome to Cancerland
| newspaper = [[Harper's Magazine]]
| date = November 2001
| issn = 0017-789X
| url = http://www.barbaraehrenreich.com/cancerland.htm }}</ref> This deep belief that cancer is necessarily a difficult and usually deadly disease is reflected in the systems chosen by society to compile cancer statistics: the most common form of cancer—non-melanoma [[skin cancer]]s, accounting for about one-third of all cancer cases worldwide, but very few deaths<ref name="Bolognia">{{cite book |author=Rapini, Ronald P.; Bolognia, Jean L.; Jorizzo, Joseph L. |title=Dermatology: 2-Volume Set |publisher=Mosby |location=St. Louis |year=2007 |pages= |isbn=1-4160-2999-0 |oclc= |doi= |accessdate=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
| title = Skin cancers
| url = http://www.who.int/uv/faq/skincancer/en/index1.html
| publisher = World Health Organization
| accessdate = 19 January 2011 }}</ref>—are excluded from cancer statistics specifically because they are easily treated and almost always cured, often in a single, short, outpatient procedure.<ref>{{cite book
|author=McCulley, Michelle; Greenwell, Pamela
|title=Molecular therapeutics: 21st-century medicine
|publisher=J. Wiley
|location=London
|year=2007
|page= 207
|isbn=0-470-01916-6
|oclc= }}</ref>

Cancer is regarded as a disease that must be "fought" to end the "civil insurrection"; a [[War on Cancer]] has been declared. Military metaphors are particularly common in descriptions of cancer's human effects, and they emphasize both the parlous state of the affected individual's health and the need for the individual to take immediate, decisive actions himself, rather than to delay, to ignore, or to rely entirely on others caring for him. The military metaphors also help rationalize radical, destructive treatments.<ref name=Gwyn>{{cite book
| author=Gwyn, Richard
| editor=Cameron, Lynne; Low, Graham
| title=Researching and applying metaphor
| publisher=Cambridge University Press
| location=Cambridge, UK
| year=1999
| chapter=10
| isbn=0-521-64964-1 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book
| author=Sulik, Gayle
| title=Pink Ribbon Blues: How Breast Cancer Culture Undermines Women's Health
| publisher=Oxford University Press
| location=New York
| year=2010
| oclc = 535493589
| isbn=0199740453
| pages=78–89 }}</ref> <!-- Both refs apply to the whole paragraph -->

In the 1970s, a relatively popular [[alternative cancer treatment]] was a specialized form of [[talk therapy]], based on the idea that cancer was caused by a bad attitude.<ref name=Olson /> People with a "cancer personality"—depressed, repressed, self-loathing, and afraid to express their emotions—were believed to have manifested cancer through subconscious desire. Some psychotherapists said that treatment to change the patient's outlook on life would cure the cancer.<ref name=Olson /> Among other effects, this belief allows society to [[blame the victim]] for having caused the cancer (by "wanting" it) or having metaphysically prevented its cure (by not becoming a sufficiently happy, fearless, and loving person).<ref name=Ehrenreich /> It also increases patients' anxiety, as they incorrectly believe that natural emotions of sadness, anger or fear shorten their lives.<ref name=Ehrenreich /> The idea was excoriated by the notoriously outspoken [[Susan Sontag]], who published ''[[Illness as Metaphor]]'' while recovering from treatment for [[breast cancer]] in 1978.<ref name=Olson>{{cite book
| author=Olson, James Stuart
| title=Bathsheba's Breast: Women, Cancer and History
| publisher=The Johns Hopkins University Press
| location=Baltimore
| year=2002
| pages = 145—170
| oclc = 186453370
| isbn=0-8018-6936-6 }}</ref>

Although the original idea is now generally regarded as nonsense, the idea partly persists in a reduced form with a widespread, but incorrect, belief that deliberately cultivating a habit of positive thinking will increase survival.<ref name=Ehrenreich>{{cite book
|author=Ehrenreich, Barbara
|title=Bright-sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America
|publisher=Metropolitan Books
|location=New York
|year=2009
|pages=15–44
|isbn=0-8050-8749-4
|oclc= }}</ref> This notion is particularly strong in [[breast cancer culture]].<ref name=Ehrenreich />

== Research ==
{{Main|Cancer research}}
{{Main|Cancer research}}


Cancer research is the intense scientific effort to understand disease processes and discover possible therapies. The improved understanding of [[molecular biology]] and [[cellular biology]] due to cancer research has led to a number of new, effective treatments for cancer since President Nixon declared "[[War on Cancer]]" in 1971. Since 1971 the [[United States]] has invested over $200 billion on cancer research; that total includes money invested by public and private sectors and foundations.<ref>{{cite web |author=Sharon Begley | url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/157548/page/2 |title=Rethinking the War on Cancer |date=2008-09-16 | work=Newsweek |accessdate=2008-09-08}}</ref> Despite this substantial investment, the country has seen a five percent decrease in the cancer death rate (adjusting for size and age of the population) between 1950 and 2005.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/24/health/policy/24cancer.html|title=Advances Elusive in the Drive to Cure Cancer |last=Kolata|first=Gina|date=April 23, 2009 |publisher=The New York Times|accessdate=2009-05-05}}</ref>
Cancer research is the intense scientific effort to understand disease processes and discover possible therapies.
Research about cancer causes focusses on the following issues:
* Agents (e.g. viruses) and events (e.g. mutations) which cause or facilitate genetic changes in cells destined to become cancer.
* The precise nature of the genetic damage, and the genes which are affected by it.
* The consequences of those genetic changes on the biology of the cell, both in generating the defining properties of a cancer cell, and in facilitating additional genetic events which lead to further progression of the cancer.
The improved understanding of [[molecular biology]] and [[cellular biology]] due to cancer research has led to a number of new, effective treatments for cancer since President Nixon declared "[[War on Cancer]]" in 1971. Since 1971 the [[United States]] has invested over $200 billion on cancer research; that total includes money invested by public and private sectors and foundations.<ref>{{cite web |author=Sharon Begley | url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/157548/page/2 |title=Rethinking the War on Cancer |date=2008-09-16 | work=Newsweek |accessdate=2008-09-08}}</ref> Despite this substantial investment, the country has seen a five percent decrease in the cancer death rate (adjusting for size and age of the population) between 1950 and 2005.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/24/health/policy/24cancer.html|title=Advances Elusive in the Drive to Cure Cancer |last=Kolata|first=Gina|date=April 23, 2009 |publisher=The New York Times|accessdate=2009-05-05}}</ref>


Leading cancer research organizations and projects include the [[American Association for Cancer Research]], the [[American Cancer Society]] (ACS), the [[American Society of Clinical Oncology]], the [[European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer]], the [[National Cancer Institute]], the [[National Comprehensive Cancer Network]], and [[The Cancer Genome Atlas]] project at the NCI.
Leading cancer research organizations and projects include the [[American Association for Cancer Research]], the [[American Cancer Society]] (ACS), the [[American Society of Clinical Oncology]], the [[European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer]], the [[National Cancer Institute]], the [[National Comprehensive Cancer Network]], and [[The Cancer Genome Atlas]] project at the NCI.


==Notes==
== Notes ==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}


== References ==
== References ==
* Pazdur R, Wagman LD, Camphausen KA, Hoskins WJ, Eds. ''[http://www.cancernetwork.com/cancer-management-11 Cancer Management: A Multidisciplinary Approach]''. 11th ed. 2009.
* Pazdur R, Wagman LD, Camphausen KA, Hoskins WJ, Eds. ''[http://www.cancernetwork.com/cancer-management-11 Cancer Management: A Multidisciplinary Approach]''. 11th ed. 2009.
* ''The Basic Science of Oncology'' 4th ed. Tannock IF, Hill RP ''et al.'' (eds.) (2005). McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07138-774-9.
* ''The Basic Science of Oncology'' 4th ed. Tannock IF, Hill RP ''et al.'' (eds.) (2005). McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-138774-9.
* ''Principles of Cancer Biology.'' Kleinsmith, LJ (2006). Pearson Benjamin Cummings. ISBN 0-80534-003-3.
* ''Principles of Cancer Biology.'' Kleinsmith, LJ (2006). Pearson Benjamin Cummings. ISBN 0-8053-4003-3.
* {{cite journal |author= Parkin D, Bray F, Ferlay J, Pisani P |title= Global cancer statistics, 2002 |journal= CA Cancer J Clin |volume=55 |issue=2 |pages=74–108 |year=2005 |doi=10.3322/canjclin.55.2.74 |url=http://caonline.amcancersoc.org/cgi/content/full/55/2/74 |pmid=15761078 }}
* {{cite journal |author= Parkin D, Bray F, Ferlay J, Pisani P |title= Global cancer statistics, 2002 |journal= CA Cancer J Clin |volume=55 |issue=2 |pages=74–108 |year=2005 |doi=10.3322/canjclin.55.2.74 |url=http://caonline.amcancersoc.org/cgi/content/full/55/2/74 |pmid=15761078 }}
* ''Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective''. World Cancer Research Fund (2007). ISBN 978-0-9722522-2-5. ''[http://www.wcrf-uk.org/research_science/expert_report.lasso Full text]''
* ''Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective''. World Cancer Research Fund (2007). ISBN 978-0-9722522-2-5. ''[http://www.wcrf-uk.org/research_science/expert_report.lasso Full text]{{dead link|date=January 2011}}''
* [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?call=bv.View.ShowTOC&rid=cmed.TOC&depth=2 Cancer Medicine, 6th Edition]—Textbook
* [http://www.springer.com/biomed/cancer/book/978-3-540-36847-2 Encyclopedia of Cancer]—4 volume reference work
* [http://www.springer.com/biomed/cancer/book/978-3-540-36847-2 Encyclopedia of Cancer]—4 volume reference work
* {{cite journal | author=Weinberg, Robert A. | title=How Cancer Arises; An explosion of research is uncovering the long-hidden molecular underpinnings of cancer—and suggesting new therapies | url=http://www.bme.utexas.edu/research/orly/teaching/BME303/Weinberg.pdf | journal=[[Scientific American]] | month=September | year=1996 | pages=62–70 | quote=Introductory explanation of cancer biology in layman's language | format=PDF }}
* {{cite journal | author=Weinberg, Robert A. | title=How Cancer Arises; An explosion of research is uncovering the long-hidden molecular underpinnings of cancer—and suggesting new therapies | url=http://www.bme.utexas.edu/research/orly/teaching/BME303/Weinberg.pdf | journal=[[Scientific American]] | month=September | year=1996 | pages=62–70 | quote=Introductory explanation of cancer biology in layman's language | format=PDF }}{{dead link|date=January 2011}}


== External links ==
== External links ==
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{{Commons|Cancer (illness)|Cancer}}
{{Sister project links|display=Cancer}}
{{Wiktionary}}
* {{dmoz|Health/Conditions_and_Diseases/Cancer/}}
* {{dmoz|Health/Conditions_and_Diseases/Cancer/}}
{{Tumors|state=uncollapsed}}
{{Tumors|state=uncollapsed}}
{{Carcinogen}}
{{Carcinogen}}

[[Category:Aging-associated diseases]]
[[Category:Aging-associated diseases]]
[[Category:Causes of death]]
[[Category:Causes of death]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer| ]]
[[Category:Occupational safety and health]]
[[Category:Oncology|*Cancer]]
[[Category:Oncology|*Cancer]]
[[Category:Pathology]]
[[Category:Pathology]]
[[Category:Types of cancer|*Cancer]]
[[Category:Types of cancer|*Cancer]]
[[Category:Occupational safety and health]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer| ]]


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Revision as of 00:14, 8 February 2011

Cancer
SpecialtyOncology Edit this on Wikidata

Cancer /ˈkænsər/ (medical term: malignant neoplasm) is a class of diseases in which a group of cells display uncontrolled growth, invasion that intrudes upon and destroys adjacent tissues, and sometimes metastasis, or spreading to other locations in the body via lymph or blood. These three malignant properties of cancers differentiate them from benign tumors, which do not invade or metastasize.

Researchers divide the causes of cancer into two groups: those with an environmental cause and those with a hereditary genetic cause. Cancers are primarily an environmental disease with 90-95% of cases due to environmental factors such as lifestyle, and 5-10% directly due to heredity.[1] Common environmental factors leading to cancer include: tobacco, diet and obesity, infections, radiation, lack of physical activity, and environmental pollutants.[1] These environmental factors cause or enhance abnormalities in the genetic material of cells.[2] Cell reproduction is an extremely complex process that is normally tightly regulated by several classes of genes, including oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. Hereditary or acquired abnormalities in these regulatory genes can lead to the development of cancer.

The presence of cancer can be suspected on the basis of symptoms, or findings on radiology. Definitive diagnosis of cancer, however, requires the microscopic examination of a biopsy specimen. Most cancers can be treated. Possible treatments include chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery. The prognosis is influenced by the type of cancer and the extent of disease. While cancer can affect people of all ages, and a few types of cancer are more common in children, the overall risk of developing cancer increases with age. In 2007 cancer caused about 13% of all human deaths worldwide (7.9 million), and the number of cases is rising as more people live to old age.[3]

Classification

Cancers are classified by the type of cell that the tumor resembles and is therefore presumed to be the origin of the tumor. These types include:

Cancers are usually named using -carcinoma, -sarcoma or -blastoma as a suffix, with the Latin or Greek word for the organ or tissue of origin as the root. For example, a cancer of the liver is called hepatocarcinoma; a cancer of fat cells is called a liposarcoma. For some common cancers, the English organ name is used. For example, the most common type of breast cancer is called ductal carcinoma of the breast. Here, the adjective ductal refers to the appearance of the cancer under the microscope, which suggests that it has originated in the milk ducts.

Benign tumors (which are not cancers) are named using -oma as a suffix with the organ name as the root. For example, a benign tumor of smooth muscle cells is called a leiomyoma (the common name of this frequently occurring benign tumor in the uterus is fibroid). Confusingly, some types of cancer also use the -oma suffix, examples including melanoma and seminoma.

Signs and symptoms

Symptoms of cancer metastasis depend on the location of the tumor.

Cancer symptoms can be divided into three groups:

None of these are diagnostic, as many of these symptoms commonly occur in patients who do not have cancer.

Causes

Cancers are primarily an environmental disease with 90-95% of cases in the United States attributed to environmental factors and 5-10% due to genetics.[1] Environmental, as used by cancer researchers, means any cause that is not genetic. Common environmental factors that contribute to cancer death include: tobacco (25-30%), diet and obesity (30-35%), infections (15-20%), radiation (both ionizing and non ionizing, up to 10%), stress, lack of physical activity, and environmental pollutants.[1]

Chemicals

The incidence of lung cancer is highly correlated with smoking. Source:NIH.

Cancer pathogenesis is traceable back to DNA mutations that impact cell growth and metastasis. Substances that cause DNA mutations are known as mutagens, and mutagens that cause cancers are known as carcinogens. Particular substances have been linked to specific types of cancer. Tobacco smoking is associated with many forms of cancer,[4] and causes 90% of lung cancer.[5]

Many mutagens are also carcinogens, but some carcinogens are not mutagens. Alcohol is an example of a chemical carcinogen that is not a mutagen.[6] Such chemicals may promote cancers through stimulating the rate of cell division. Faster rates of replication leaves less time for repair enzymes to repair damaged DNA during DNA replication, increasing the likelihood of a mutation.

Decades of research has demonstrated the link between tobacco use and cancer in the lung, larynx, head, neck, stomach, bladder, kidney, oesophagus and pancreas.[7] Tobacco smoke contains over fifty known carcinogens, including nitrosamines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.[8] Tobacco is responsible for about one in three of all cancer deaths in the developed world,[4] and about one in five worldwide.[8] Lung cancer death rates in the United States have mirrored smoking patterns, with increases in smoking followed by dramatic increases in lung cancer death rates and, more recently[when?], decreases in smoking followed by decreases in lung cancer death rates in men. However, the numbers of smokers worldwide is still rising, leading to what some organizations have described as the tobacco epidemic.[9]

Cancer related to one's occupation is believed to represent between 2-20% of all cases.[10] Every year, at least 200,000 people die worldwide from cancer related to their workplace.[11] Currently, most cancer deaths caused by occupational risk factors occur in the developed world.[11] It is estimated that approximately 20,000 cancer deaths and 40,000 new cases of cancer each year in the U.S. are attributable to occupation.[12] Millions of workers run the risk of developing cancers such as lung cancer and mesothelioma from inhaling asbestos fibers and tobacco smoke, or leukemia from exposure to benzene at their workplaces.[11]

Radiation

Up to 10% of cancers are related to radiation exposure either ionizing or nonionizing.[1] Sources of ionizing radiation, include medical imaging, and radon gas. Radiation can cause cancer in most parts of the body, in all animals, and at any age, although radiation-induced solid tumors usually take 10–15 years, and up to 40 years, to become clinically manifest, and radiation-induced leukemias typically require 2–10 years to appear.[13] Some people, such as those with nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome or retinoblastoma, are more susceptible than average to developing cancer from radiation exposure.[13] Children and adolescents are twice as likely to develop radiation-induced leukemia as adults; radiation exposure before birth has ten times the effect.[13] Ionizing radiation is not a particularly strong mutagen.[13] Residential exposure to radon gas, for example, has similar cancer risks as passive smoking.[13] Low-dose exposures, such as living near a nuclear power plant, are generally believed to have no or very little effect on cancer development.[13] Radiation is a more potent source of cancer when it is combined with other cancer-causing agents, such as radon gas exposure plus smoking tobacco.[13]

Unlike chemical or physical triggers for cancer, ionizing radiation hits molecules within cells randomly. If it happens to strike a chromosome, it can break the chromosome, result in an abnormal number of chromosomes, inactivate one or more genes in the part of the chromosome that it hit, delete parts of the DNA sequence, cause chromosome translocations, or cause other types of chromosome abnormalities.[13] Major damage normally results in the cell dying, but smaller damage may leave a stable, partly functional cell that may be capable of proliferating and developing into cancer, especially if tumor suppressor genes were damaged by the radiation.[13] Three independent stages appear to be involved in the creation of cancer with ionizing radiation: morphological changes to the cell, acquiring cellular immortality (losing normal, life-limiting cell regulatory processes), and adaptations that favor formation of a tumor.[13] Even if the radiation particle does not strike the DNA directly, it triggers responses from cells that indirectly increase the likelihood of mutations.[13]

Medical use of ionizing radiation is a growing source of radiation-induced cancers. Ionizing radiation may be used to treat other cancers, but this may, in some cases, induce a second form of cancer.[13] It is also used in some kinds of medical imaging. One report estimates that approximately 29,000 future cancers could be related to the approximately 70 million CT scans performed in the US in 2007.[14] It is estimated that 0.4% of current cancers in the United States are due to CTs performed in the past and that this may increase to as high as 1.5-2% with 2007 rates of CT usage.[15]

Prolonged exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun can lead to melanoma and other skin malignancies.[16] Clear evidence establishes ultraviolet radiation, especially the medium wave UVB, as the cause of most non-melanoma skin cancers, which are the most common forms of cancer in the world.[16]

Non-ionizing radio frequency radiation from mobile phones, electric power transmission, and other similar sources has also been proposed as a cause of cancer, but there is currently little established evidence of such a link.[17][18]

Infection

Worldwide approximately 18% of cancers are related to infectious diseases.[1] This proportion varies in different regions of the world from high of 25% in Africa to less than 10% in the developed world.[1] Viruses are usual infectious agents that cause cancer but bacteria and parasites may also have an effect.

A virus that can cause cancer is called an oncovirus. These include human papillomavirus (cervical carcinoma), Epstein-Barr virus (B-cell lymphoproliferative disease and nasopharyngeal carcinoma), Kaposi's sarcoma herpesvirus (Kaposi's Sarcoma and primary effusion lymphomas), hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses (hepatocellular carcinoma), and Human T-cell leukemia virus-1 (T-cell leukemias). Bacterial infection may also increase the risk of cancer, as seen in Helicobacter pylori-induced gastric carcinoma.[19] Parasitic infections strongly associated with cancer include Schistosoma haematobium (squamous cell carcinoma of the bladder) and the liver flukes, Opisthorchis viverrini and Clonorchis sinensis (cholangiocarcinoma).[20]

Physical agents

Some substances cause cancer primarily through their physical, rather than chemical, effects on cells.[17]

A prominent example of this is prolonged exposure to asbestos fibers. Asbestos is a naturally occurring, fibrous rock that causes mesothelioma, a type of lung cancer.[17] Other substances in this category include both naturally occurring and synthetic asbestos-like fibers, such as wollastonite, attapulgite, glass wool, and rock wool, are believed to have similar effects.[17]

Nonfibrous particulate materials that cause cancer include powdered metallic cobalt and nickel, and crystalline silica (quartz, cristobalite, and tridymite).[17]

Usually, physical carcinogens must get inside the body (such as through inhaling tiny pieces) and require years of exposure to develop cancer.[17]

Physical trauma and inflammation

Physical trauma resulting in cancer is relatively rare.[21] Claims that breaking bone resulted in bone cancer, for example, have never been proven.[21] Similarly, physical trauma is not accepted as a cause for cervical cancer, breast cancer, or brain cancer.[21]

One accepted source is frequent, long-term application of hot objects to the body. It is possible that repeated burns on the same part of the body, such as those produced by kanger and kairo heaters (charcoal hand warmers), may produce skin cancer, especially if carcinogenic chemicals are also present.[21] Frequently drinking scalding hot tea may produce esophageal cancer.[21]

Generally, it is believed that the cancer arises, or a pre-existing cancer is encouraged, during the process of repairing the trauma, rather than the cancer being caused directly by the trauma.[21] However, repeated injuries to the same tissues might promote excessive cell proliferation, which could then increase the odds of a cancerous mutation. There is no evidence that inflammation itself causes cancer.[21]

Heredity

Less than 0.3% of the population are carriers of a genetic mutation which has a large effect on cancer risk.[22] They cause less than 3-10% of all cancer.[22] Some of these syndromes include:

Hormones

Some hormones cause cancer, primarily by encouraging cell proliferation.[23] Hormones are an important cause of sex-related cancers such as cancer of the breast, endometrium, prostate, ovary, and testis, and also of thyroid cancer and bone cancer.[23]

An individual's hormone levels are mostly determined genetically, so this may at least partly explains the presence of some cancers that run in families that do not seem to have any cancer-causing genes.[23] For example, the daughters of women who have breast cancer have significantly higher levels of estrogen and progesterone that the daughters of women without breast cancer. These higher hormone levels may explain why these women have higher risk of breast cancer, even in the absence of a breast-cancer gene.[23] Similarly, men of African ancestry have significantly higher levels of testosterone than men of European ancestry, and have a correspondingly much higher level of prostate cancer.[23] Men of Asian ancestry, with the lowest levels of testosterone-activating androstanediol glucuronide, have the lowest levels of prostate cancer.[23]

However, non-genetic factors are also relevant: Obese people have higher levels of some hormones associated with cancer, and a higher rate of those cancers.[23] Women who take hormone replacement therapy have a higher risk of developing cancers associated with those hormones.[23] On the other hand, people who exercise far more than average have lower levels of these hormones, and lower risk of cancer.[23] Osteosarcoma may be caused by growth hormones.[23] Some treatments and prevention approaches leverage this cause by artificially reducing hormone levels, and thus discouraging hormone-sensitive cancers.[23]

Dietary

The consensus on diet and cancer is that obesity increases the risk of developing cancer. Particular dietary practices often explain differences in cancer incidence in different countries (e.g. gastric cancer is more common in Japan, while colon cancer is more common in the United States. In this example the preceding consideration of Haplogroups are excluded). Studies have shown that immigrants develop the risk of their new country, often within one generation, suggesting a substantial link between diet and cancer.[24]

A recent study analysed the correlation between many factors and cancer and concluded that the major contributory dietary factor was animal protein, whereas plant protein did not have an effect. Animal studies confirmed the mechanism by showing that reducing the proportion of animal protein switched off both the initiation and promotion stages.[25]

Recent studies have also demonstrated potential links between some forms of cancer and high consumption of refined sugars and other simple carbohydrates.[26][27][28][29][30] Although the degree of correlation and the degree of causality is still debated,[31][32][33] some organizations have in fact begun to recommend reducing intake of refined sugars and starches as part of their cancer prevention regimens.[34][35][36]

Other

Excepting the rare transmissions that occur with pregnancies and only a marginal few organ donors, cancer is generally not a transmissible disease. The main reason for this is tissue graft rejection caused by MHC incompatibility.[37] In humans and other vertebrates, the immune system uses MHC antigens to differentiate between "self" and "non-self" cells because these antigens are different from person to person. When non-self antigens are encountered, the immune system reacts against the appropriate cell. Such reactions may protect against tumour cell engraftment by eliminating implanted cells. In the United States, approximately 3,500 pregnant women have a malignancy annually, and transplacental transmission of acute leukaemia, lymphoma, melanoma and carcinoma from mother to fetus has been observed.[37] The development of donor-derived tumors from organ transplants is exceedingly rare. The main cause of organ transplant associated tumors seems to be malignant melanoma, that was undetected at the time of organ harvest.[38] though other cases exist[39] In fact, cancer from one organism will usually grow in another organism of that species, as long as they share the same histocompatibility genes,[40] proven using mice; however this would never happen in a real-world setting except as described above.

In non-humans, a few types of transmissible cancer have been described, wherein the cancer spreads between animals by transmission of the tumor cells themselves. This phenomenon is seen in dogs with Sticker's sarcoma, also known as canine transmissible venereal tumor,[41] as well as devil facial tumour disease in Tasmanian devils.

Pathophysiology

Cancers are caused by a series of mutations. Each mutation alters the behavior of the cell somewhat.

Cancer is fundamentally a disease of failure of regulation of tissue growth. In order for a normal cell to transform into a cancer cell, the genes which regulate cell growth and differentiation must be altered.[42]

The affected genes are divided into two broad categories. Oncogenes are genes which promote cell growth and reproduction. Tumor suppressor genes are genes which inhibit cell division and survival. Malignant transformation can occur through the formation of novel oncogenes, the inappropriate over-expression of normal oncogenes, or by the under-expression or disabling of tumor suppressor genes. Typically, changes in many genes are required to transform a normal cell into a cancer cell.[43]

Genetic changes can occur at different levels and by different mechanisms. The gain or loss of an entire chromosome can occur through errors in mitosis. More common are mutations, which are changes in the nucleotide sequence of genomic DNA.

Large-scale mutations involve the deletion or gain of a portion of a chromosome. Genomic amplification occurs when a cell gains many copies (often 20 or more) of a small chromosomal locus, usually containing one or more oncogenes and adjacent genetic material. Translocation occurs when two separate chromosomal regions become abnormally fused, often at a characteristic location. A well-known example of this is the Philadelphia chromosome, or translocation of chromosomes 9 and 22, which occurs in chronic myelogenous leukemia, and results in production of the BCR-abl fusion protein, an oncogenic tyrosine kinase.

Small-scale mutations include point mutations, deletions, and insertions, which may occur in the promoter region of a gene and affect its expression, or may occur in the gene's coding sequence and alter the function or stability of its protein product. Disruption of a single gene may also result from integration of genomic material from a DNA virus or retrovirus, and resulting in the expression of viral oncogenes in the affected cell and its descendants.

Replication of the enormous amount of data contained within the DNA of living cells will probabilistically result in some errors (mutations). Complex error correction and prevention is built into the process, and safeguards the cell against cancer. If significant error occurs, the damaged cell can "self destruct" through programmed cell death, termed apoptosis. If the error control processes fail, then the mutations will survive and be passed along to daughter cells.

Some environments make errors more likely to arise and propagate. Such environments can include the presence of disruptive substances called carcinogens, repeated physical injury, heat, ionising radiation, or hypoxia[44] (see causes, below).

The errors which cause cancer are self-amplifying and compounding, for example:

  • A mutation in the error-correcting machinery of a cell might cause that cell and its children to accumulate errors more rapidly
  • A further mutation in an oncogene might cause the cell to reproduce more rapidly and more frequently than its normal counterparts.
  • A further mutation may cause loss of a tumour suppressor gene, disrupting the apoptosis signalling pathway and resulting in the cell becoming immortal.
  • A further mutation in signaling machinery of the cell might send error-causing signals to nearby cells

The transformation of normal cell into cancer is akin to a chain reaction caused by initial errors, which compound into more severe errors, each progressively allowing the cell to escape the controls that limit normal tissue growth. This rebellion-like scenario becomes an undesirable survival of the fittest, where the driving forces of evolution work against the body's design and enforcement of order. Once cancer has begun to develop, this ognoing process, termed clonal evolution drives progression towards more invasive stages.[45]

Diagnosis

Chest x-ray showing lung cancer in the left lung.

Most cancers are initially recognized either because signs or symptoms appear or through screening. Neither of these lead to a definitive diagnosis, which usually requires the opinion of a pathologist, a type of physician (medical doctor) who specializes in the diagnosis of cancer and other diseases. People with suspected cancer are investigated with medical tests. These commonly include blood tests, X-rays, CT scans and endoscopy.

Pathology

A cancer may be suspected for a variety of reasons, but the definitive diagnosis of most malignancies must be confirmed by histological examination of the cancerous cells by a pathologist. Tissue can be obtained from a biopsy or surgery. Many biopsies (such as those of the skin, breast or liver) can be done in a doctor's office. Biopsies of other organs are performed under anesthesia and require surgery in an operating room.

The tissue diagnosis given by the pathologist indicates the type of cell that is proliferating, its histological grade, genetic abnormalities, and other features of the tumor. Together, this information is useful to evaluate the prognosis of the patient and to choose the best treatment. Cytogenetics and immunohistochemistry are other types of testing that the pathologist may perform on the tissue specimen. These tests may provide information about the molecular changes (such as mutations, fusion genes, and numerical chromosome changes) that has happened in the cancer cells, and may thus also indicate the future behavior of the cancer (prognosis) and best treatment.

Prevention

Cancer prevention is defined as active measures to decrease the incidence of cancer.[46] The vast majority of cancer risk factors are environmental or lifestyle-related, thus cancer is largely a preventable disease.[47] Greater than 30% of cancer is preventable via avoiding risk factors including: tobacco, overweight or obesity, low fruit and vegetable intake, physical inactivity, alcohol, sexually transmitted infection, and air pollution.[48]

Dietary

Dietary recommendations to reduce the risk of developing cancer, including: (1) reducing intake of foods and drinks that promote weight gain, namely energy-dense foods and sugary drinks, (2) eating mostly foods of plant origin, (3) limiting intake of red meat and avoiding processed meat, (4) limiting consumption of alcoholic beverages, and (5) reducing intake of salt and avoiding mouldy cereals (grains) or pulses (legumes).[49][50]

Proposed dietary interventions for cancer risk reduction generally gain support from epidemiological association studies. Examples of such studies include reports that reduced meat consumption is associated with decreased risk of colon cancer,[51] and reports that consumption of coffee is associated with a reduced risk of liver cancer.[52] Studies have linked consumption of grilled meat to an increased risk of stomach cancer,[53] colon cancer,[54] breast cancer,[55] and pancreatic cancer,[56] a phenomenon which could be due to the presence of carcinogens in foods cooked at high temperatures.[57] Whether reducing obesity in a population also reduces cancer incidence is unknown. Some studies have found that consuming lots of fruits and vegetables has little if any effect on preventing cancer.[58] A 2005 secondary prevention study showed that consumption of a plant-based diet and lifestyle changes resulted in a reduction in cancer markers in a group of men with prostate cancer who were using no conventional treatments at the time.[59] These results were amplified by a 2006 study. Over 2,400 women were studied, half randomly assigned to a normal diet, the other half assigned to a diet containing less than 20% calories from fat. The women on the low fat diet were found to have a markedly lower risk of breast cancer recurrence, in the interim report of December, 2006.[60]

Medication

The concept that medications could be used to prevent cancer is an attractive one, and many high-quality clinical trials support the use of such chemoprevention in defined circumstances. Aspirin has been found to reduce the risk of death from cancer.[61] Daily use of tamoxifen or raloxifene has been demonstrated to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer in high-risk women by about 50%.[62]Finasteride has been shown to lower the risk of prostate cancer, though it seems to mostly prevent low-grade tumors.[63] The effect of COX-2 inhibitors such as rofecoxib and celecoxib upon the risk of colon polyps have been studied in familial adenomatous polyposis patients[64] and in the general population.[65][66] In both groups, there were significant reductions in colon polyp incidence, but this came at the price of increased cardiovascular toxicity.

Vitamins have not been found to be effective at preventing cancer,[67] although low levels of vitamin D are correlated with increased cancer risk.[68][69] Whether this relationship is causal and vitamin D supplementation is protective is yet to be determined.[70] Beta-carotene supplementation has been found to increase slightly, but not significantly, risks of lung cancer.[71] Folic acid supplementation has not been found effective in preventing colon cancer and may increase colon polyps.[72]

Vaccination

Vaccines have been developed that prevent some infection by some viruses that are associated with cancer, and therapeutic vaccines are in development to stimulate an immune response against cancer-specific epitopes.[73] Human papillomavirus vaccine (Gardasil and Cervarix) decreases the risk of developing cervical cancer.[73] The hepatitis B vaccine prevents infection with hepatitis B virus and thus decreases the risk of liver cancer.[73]

Advances in cancer research have made a vaccine designed to prevent cancers available. In 2006, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a human papilloma virus vaccine, called Gardasil. The vaccine protects against 6,11,16,18 strains of HPV, which together cause 70% of cervical cancers and 90% of genital warts. It also lists vaginal and vulvar cancers as being protected. In March 2007, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) officially recommended that females aged 11–12 receive the vaccine, and indicated that females as young as age 9 and as old as age 26 are also candidates for immunization. There is a second vaccine from Cervarix which protects against the more dangerous HPV 16,18 strains only. In 2009, Gardasil was approved for protection against genital warts. In 2010, the Gardasil vaccine was approved for protection against anal cancer for males and reviewers stated there was no anatomical, histological or physiological anal differences between the genders so females would also be protected.

Screening

Unlike diagnosis efforts prompted by symptoms and medical signs, cancer screening involves efforts to detect cancer after it has formed, but before any noticeable symptoms appear.[74] This may involve physical examination, blood or urine tests, or medical imaging.[74]

Cancer screening is not currently possible for some types of cancers, and even when tests are available, they are not recommended to everyone. Universal screening or mass screening involves screening everyone.[75] Selective screening identifies people who are known to be at higher risk of developing cancer, such as people with a family history of cancer.[75]

Several factors are considered to determine whether the benefits of screening outweigh the risks and the costs of screening.[74] These factors include:

  • Possible harms from the screening test: Some types of screening tests, such as X-ray images, expose the body to potentially harmful ionizing radiation. There is a small chance that the radiation in the test could cause a new cancer in a healthy person. Screening mammography, used to detect breast cancer, is not recommended to men or to young women because they are more likely to be harmed by the test than to benefit from it. Other tests, such as a skin check for skin cancer, have no significant risk of harm to the patient. A test that has high potential harms is only recommended when the benefits are also high.
  • The likelihood of the test correctly identifying cancer: If the test is not sensitive, then it may miss cancers. If the test is not specific, then it may wrongly indicate cancer in a healthy person. All cancer screening tests produce both false positives and false negatives, and most produce more false positives. Experts consider the rate of errors when making recommendations about which test, if any, to use. A test may work better in some populations than others. The positive predictive value is a calculation of the likelihood that a positive test result actually represents cancer in a given individual, based on the results of people with similar risk factors.
  • The likelihood of cancer being present: Screening is not normally useful for rare cancers. It is rarely done for young people, since cancer is largely a disease found in people over the age of 50. Countries often focus their screening recommendations on the major forms of treatable cancer found in their population. For example, the United States recommends universal screening for colon cancer, which is common in the US, but not for stomach cancer, which is less common; by contrast, Japan recommends screening for stomach cancer, but not colon cancer, which is rarer in Japan. Screening recommendations depend on the individual's risk, with high-risk people receiving earlier and more frequent screening than low-risk people.
  • Possible harms from follow-up procedures: If the screening test is positive, further diagnostic testing is normally done, such as a biopsy of the tissue. If the test produces many false positives, then many people will undergo needless medical procedures, some of which may be dangerous.
  • Whether suitable treatment is available and appropriate: Screening is discouraged if no effective treatment is available.[75] When effective and suitable treatment is not available, then diagnosis of a fatal disease produces significant mental and emotional harms. For example, routine screening for cancer is typically not appropriate in a very frail elderly person, because the treatment for any cancer that is detected might kill the patient.
  • Whether early detection improves treatment outcomes: Even when treatment is available, sometimes early detection does not improve the outcome. If the treatment result is the same as if the screening had not been done, then the only screening program does is increase the length of time the person lived with the knowledge that he had cancer. This phenomenon is called lead-time bias. A useful screening program reduces the number of years of potential life lost (longer lives) and disability-adjusted life years lost (longer healthy lives).
  • Whether the cancer will ever need treatment: Diagnosis of a cancer in a person who will never be harmed by the cancer is called overdiagnosis. Overdiagnosis is most common among older people with slow-growing cancers. Concerns about overdiagnosis are common for breast and prostate cancer.
  • Whether the test is acceptable to the patients:If a screening test is too burdensome, such as requiring too much time, too much pain, or culturally unacceptable behaviors, then people will refuse to participate.[75]
  • Cost of the test: Some expert bodies, such as the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, completely ignore the question of money. Most, however, include a cost-effectiveness analysis that, all else being equal, favors less expensive tests over more expensive tests, and attempt to balance the cost of the screening program against the benefits of using those funds for other health programs. These analyses usually include the total cost of the screening program to the healthcare system, such as ordering the test, performing the test, reporting the results, and biopsies for suspicious results, but not usually the costs to the individual, such as for time taken away from employment.

Recommendations

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) strongly recommends cervical cancer screening in those who are sexually active and have a cervix at least until the age of 65.[76] They recommend mammography for breast cancer screening every two years for those 50–74 years old, however do not recommend either breast self-examination or clinical breast examination.[77] Colorectal cancer screening is recommended via fecal occult blood testing, sigmoidoscopy, or colonoscopy starting at age 50 until age 75.[78] There is insufficient evidence to recommend for or against screening for skin cancer,[79] oral cancer,[80] lung cancer,[81] or prostate cancer in men under 75.[82] Routine screening is not recommended for bladder cancer,[83] testicular cancer,[84] ovarian cancer,[85] pancreatic cancer,[86] or prostate cancer in men over 75.[82] A 2009 Cochrane review came to slightly different conclusions with respect to breast cancer screening stating that routine mammography may do more harm than good.[87]

Genetic testing

Gene Cancer types
BRCA1, BRCA2 Breast, ovarian, pancreatic
HNPCC, MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, PMS1, PMS2 Colon, uterine, small bowel, stomach, urinary tract

Genetic testing for individuals at high-risk of certain cancers is recommended. [88] Carriers of these mutations may than undergo enhanced surveillance, chemoprevention, or preventative surgery to reduce their subsequent risk.[88]

Management

Many management options for cancer exist including: chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgery, immunotherapy, monoclonal antibody therapy and other methods. Which treatments are used depends upon the type of cancer, the location and grade of the tumor, and the stage of the disease, as well as the general state of a person's health.

Complete removal of the cancer without damage to the rest of the body is the goal of treatment for most cancers. Sometimes this can be accomplished by surgery, but the propensity of cancers to invade adjacent tissue or to spread to distant sites by microscopic metastasis often limits its effectiveness. Surgery often required the removal of a wide surgical margin or a free margin. The width of the free margin depends on the type of the cancer, the method of removal (CCPDMA, Mohs surgery, POMA, etc.). The margin can be as little as 1 mm for basal cell cancer using CCPDMA or Mohs surgery, to several centimeters for aggressive cancers. The effectiveness of chemotherapy is often limited by toxicity to other tissues in the body. Radiation can also cause damage to normal tissue.

Because cancer is a class of diseases,[89][90] it is unlikely that there will ever be a single "cure for cancer" any more than there will be a single treatment for all infectious diseases.[91] Angiogenesis inhibitors were once thought to have potential as a "silver bullet" treatment applicable to many types of cancer, but this has not been the case in practice.[92]

Experimental cancer treatments are treatments that are being studied to see whether they work. Typically, these are studied in clinical trials to compare the proposed treatment to the best existing treatment. They may be entirely new treatments, or they may be treatments that have been used successfully in one type of cancer, and are now being tested to see whether they are effective in another type.

Alternative cancer treatments are treatments used by alternative medicine practitioners. These include mind–body interventions, herbal preparations, massage, electrical devices, and strict dietary regimens. Alternative cancer treatments are ineffective at killing cancer cells. Some are dangerous, but more are harmless or provide the patient with a degree of physical or emotional comfort. Alternative cancer treatment has also been a fertile field for hoaxes aimed at stripping desperate patients of their money.[93]

Prognosis

Cancer has a reputation as a deadly disease. Taken as a whole, about half of patients receiving treatment for invasive cancer (excluding carcinoma in situ and non-melanoma skin cancers) die from cancer or its treatment. However, the survival rates vary dramatically by type of cancer, with the range running from basically all patients surviving to almost no patients surviving.

Patients who receive a long-term remission or permanent cure may have physical and emotional complications from the disease and its treatment. Surgery may have amputated body parts or removed internal organs, or the cancer may have damaged delicate structures, like the part of the ear that is responsible for the sense of balance; in some cases, this requires extensive physical rehabilitation or occupational therapy so that the patient can walk or engage in other activities of daily living. Chemo brain is a usually short-term cognitive impairment associated with some treatments. Cancer-related fatigue usually resolves shortly after the end of treatment, but may be lifelong. Cancer-related pain may require ongoing treatment. Younger patients may be unable to have children. Some patients may be anxious or psychologically traumatized as a result of their experience of the diagnosis or treatment.

Survivors generally need to have regular medical screenings to ensure that the cancer has not returned, to manage any ongoing cancer-related conditions, and to screen for new cancers. Cancer survivors, even when permanently cured of the first cancer, have approximately double the normal risk of developing another primary cancer. Some advocates have promoted "survivor care plans"—written documents detailing the diagnosis, all previous treatment, and all recommended cancer screening and other care requirements for the future—as a way of organizing the extensive medical information that survivors and their future healthcare providers need.

Progressive and disseminated malignant disease harms the cancer patient's quality of life, and some cancer treatments, including common forms of chemotherapy, have severe side effects. In the advanced stages of cancer, many patients need extensive care, affecting family members and friends. Palliative care aims to improve the patient's immediate quality of life, regardless of whether further treatment is undertaken. Hospice programs assist patients similarly, especially when a terminally ill patient has rejected further treatment aimed at curing the cancer. Both styles of service offer home health nursing and respite care.

Predicting either short-term or long-term survival is difficult and depends on many factors. The most important factors are the particular kind of cancer and the patient's age and overall health. Medically frail patients with many comorbidities have lower survival rates than otherwise healthy patients. A centenarian is unlikely to survive for five years even if the treatment is successful. Patients who report a higher quality of life tend to survive longer.[94] People with lower quality of life may be affected by major depressive disorder and other complications from cancer treatment and/or disease progression that both impairs their quality of life and reduces their quantity of life. Additionally, patients with worse prognoses may be depressed or report a lower quality of life directly because they correctly perceive that their condition is likely to be fatal.

Despite strong social pressure to maintain an upbeat, optimistic attitude or act like a determined "fighter" to "win the battle", personality traits have no connection to survival.[95]

Epidemiology

Death rate from malignant cancer per 100,000 inhabitants in 2004.[96]
  no data
  ≤ 55
  55-80
  80-105
  105-130
  130-155
  155-180
  180-205
  205-230
  230-255
  255-280
  280-305
  ≥ 305

As of 2004, worldwide cancer caused 13% of all deaths (7.4 million). The leading causes were: lung cancer (1.3 million deaths/year), stomach cancer (803,000 deaths), colorectal cancer (639,000 deaths), liver cancer (610,000 deaths), and breast cancer (519,000 deaths).[97] The most significant risk factor is age. According to cancer researcher Robert A. Weinberg, "If we lived long enough, sooner or later we all would get cancer."[98] Essentially all of the increase in cancer rates between ancient times and the beginning of the 20th century in England is due to increased lifespans.[98] Since then, some other factors, especially the increased use of tobacco, have further raised the rates.[98]

In the United States, cancer is responsible for 25% of all deaths with 30% of these from lung cancer. The most commonly occurring cancer in men is prostate cancer (about 25% of new cases) and in women is breast cancer (also about 25%). Cancer can occur in children and adolescents, but it is uncommon (about 150 cases per million in the U.S.), with leukemia the most common.[99] In the first year of life the incidence is about 230 cases per million in the U.S., with the most common being neuroblastoma.[100]

In the developed world, one in three people will develop cancer during their lifetimes. If all cancer patients survived and cancer occurred randomly, the lifetime odds of developing a second primary cancer would be one in nine.[101] However, cancer survivors have an increased risk of developing a second primary cancer, and the odds are about two in nine.[101] About half of these second primaries can be attributed to the normal one-in-nine risk associated with random chance.[101] The increased risk is believed to be primarily due to the same risk factors that produced the first cancer (such as the person's genetic profile, alcohol and tobacco use, obesity, and environmental exposures), and partly due to the treatment for the first cancer, which typically includes mutagenic chemotherapeutic drugs or radiation.[101] Cancer survivors may also be more likely to comply with recommended screening, and thus may be more likely than average to detect cancers.[101]

History

Hippocrates (ca. 460 BC – ca. 370 BC) described several kinds of cancers, referring to them with the Greek word carcinos (crab or crayfish), among others.[102] This name comes from the appearance of the cut surface of a solid malignant tumour, with "the veins stretched on all sides as the animal the crab has its feet, whence it derives its name".[103] Since it was against Greek tradition to open the body, Hippocrates only described and made drawings of outwardly visible tumors on the skin, nose, and breasts. Treatment was based on the humor theory of four bodily fluids (black and yellow bile, blood, and phlegm). According to the patient's humor, treatment consisted of diet, blood-letting, and/or laxatives. Through the centuries it was discovered that cancer could occur anywhere in the body, but humor-theory based treatment remained popular until the 19th century with the discovery of cells.

Engraving with two views of a Dutch woman who had a tumor removed from her neck in 1689.

Celsus (ca. 25 BC - 50 AD) translated carcinos into the Latin cancer, also meaning crab. Galen (2nd century AD) called benign tumours oncos, Greek for swelling, reserving Hippocrates' carcinos for malignant tumours. He later added the suffix -oma, Greek for swelling, giving the name carcinoma.

The oldest known description and surgical treatment of cancer was discovered in Egypt and dates back to approximately 1600 BC. The Papyrus describes 8 cases of ulcers of the breast that were treated by cauterization, with a tool called "the fire drill." The writing says about the disease, "There is no treatment."[104]

Another very early surgical treatment for cancer was described in the 1020s by Avicenna (Ibn Sina) in The Canon of Medicine. He stated that the excision should be radical and that all diseased tissue should be removed, which included the use of amputation or the removal of veins running in the direction of the tumor. He also recommended the use of cauterization for the area treated if necessary.[105]

In the 16th and 17th centuries, it became more acceptable for doctors to dissect bodies to discover the cause of death. The German professor Wilhelm Fabry believed that breast cancer was caused by a milk clot in a mammary duct. The Dutch professor Francois de la Boe Sylvius, a follower of Descartes, believed that all disease was the outcome of chemical processes, and that acidic lymph fluid was the cause of cancer. His contemporary Nicolaes Tulp believed that cancer was a poison that slowly spreads, and concluded that it was contagious.[106]

The first cause of cancer was identified by British surgeon Percivall Pott, who discovered in 1775 that cancer of the scrotum was a common disease among chimney sweeps. The work of other individual physicians led to various insights, but when physicians started working together they could make firmer conclusions.

With the widespread use of the microscope in the 18th century, it was discovered that the 'cancer poison' spread from the primary tumor through the lymph nodes to other sites ("metastasis"). This view of the disease was first formulated by the English surgeon Campbell De Morgan between 1871 and 1874.[107] The use of surgery to treat cancer had poor results due to problems with hygiene. The renowned Scottish surgeon Alexander Monro saw only 2 breast tumor patients out of 60 surviving surgery for two years. In the 19th century, asepsis improved surgical hygiene and as the survival statistics went up, surgical removal of the tumor became the primary treatment for cancer. With the exception of William Coley who in the late 19th century felt that the rate of cure after surgery had been higher before asepsis (and who injected bacteria into tumors with mixed results), cancer treatment became dependent on the individual art of the surgeon at removing a tumor. During the same period, the idea that the body was made up of various tissues, that in turn were made up of millions of cells, laid rest the humor-theories about chemical imbalances in the body. The age of cellular pathology was born.

The genetic basis of cancer was recognised in 1902 by the German zoologist Theodor Boveri, professor of zoology at Munich and later in Würzburg.[108] He discovered a method to generate cells with multiple copies of the centrosome, a structure he discovered and named. He postulated that chromosomes were distinct and transmitted different inheritance factors. He suggested that mutations of the chromosomes could generate a cell with unlimited growth potential which could be passed onto its descendants. He proposed the existence of cell cycle check points, tumour suppressor genes and oncogenes. He speculated that cancers might be caused or promoted by radiation, physical or chemical insults or by pathogenic microorganisms.

1938 poster identifying surgery, x-rays and radium as the proper treatments for cancer.

When Marie Curie and Pierre Curie discovered radiation at the end of the 19th century, they stumbled upon the first effective non-surgical cancer treatment. With radiation also came the first signs of multi-disciplinary approaches to cancer treatment. The surgeon was no longer operating in isolation, but worked together with hospital radiologists to help patients. The complications in communication this brought, along with the necessity of the patient's treatment in a hospital facility rather than at home, also created a parallel process of compiling patient data into hospital files, which in turn led to the first statistical patient studies.

A founding paper of cancer epidemiology was the work of Janet Lane-Claypon, who published a comparative study in 1926 of 500 breast cancer cases and 500 control patients of the same background and lifestyle for the British Ministry of Health. Her ground-breaking work on cancer epidemiology was carried on by Richard Doll and Austin Bradford Hill, who published "Lung Cancer and Other Causes of Death In Relation to Smoking. A Second Report on the Mortality of British Doctors" followed in 1956 (otherwise known as the British doctors study). Richard Doll left the London Medical Research Center (MRC), to start the Oxford unit for Cancer epidemiology in 1968. With the use of computers, the unit was the first to compile large amounts of cancer data. Modern epidemiological methods are closely linked to current concepts of disease and public health policy. Over the past 50 years, great efforts have been spent on gathering data across medical practise, hospital, provincial, state, and even country boundaries to study the interdependence of environmental and cultural factors on cancer incidence.

Cancer patient treatment and studies were restricted to individual physicians' practices until World War II, when medical research centers discovered that there were large international differences in disease incidence. This insight drove national public health bodies to make it possible to compile health data across practises and hospitals, a process that many countries do today. The Japanese medical community observed that the bone marrow of victims of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was completely destroyed. They concluded that diseased bone marrow could also be destroyed with radiation, and this led to the discovery of bone marrow transplants for leukemia. Since World War II, trends in cancer treatment are to improve on a micro-level the existing treatment methods, standardize them, and globalize them to find cures through epidemiology and international partnerships.

Society and culture

While many diseases (such as heart failure) may have a worse prognosis than most cases of cancer, it is the subject of widespread fear and taboos. Euphemisms, once "a long illness", and now informally as "the big C", provide distance and soothe superstitions.[109] This deep belief that cancer is necessarily a difficult and usually deadly disease is reflected in the systems chosen by society to compile cancer statistics: the most common form of cancer—non-melanoma skin cancers, accounting for about one-third of all cancer cases worldwide, but very few deaths[110][111]—are excluded from cancer statistics specifically because they are easily treated and almost always cured, often in a single, short, outpatient procedure.[112]

Cancer is regarded as a disease that must be "fought" to end the "civil insurrection"; a War on Cancer has been declared. Military metaphors are particularly common in descriptions of cancer's human effects, and they emphasize both the parlous state of the affected individual's health and the need for the individual to take immediate, decisive actions himself, rather than to delay, to ignore, or to rely entirely on others caring for him. The military metaphors also help rationalize radical, destructive treatments.[113][114]

In the 1970s, a relatively popular alternative cancer treatment was a specialized form of talk therapy, based on the idea that cancer was caused by a bad attitude.[93] People with a "cancer personality"—depressed, repressed, self-loathing, and afraid to express their emotions—were believed to have manifested cancer through subconscious desire. Some psychotherapists said that treatment to change the patient's outlook on life would cure the cancer.[93] Among other effects, this belief allows society to blame the victim for having caused the cancer (by "wanting" it) or having metaphysically prevented its cure (by not becoming a sufficiently happy, fearless, and loving person).[115] It also increases patients' anxiety, as they incorrectly believe that natural emotions of sadness, anger or fear shorten their lives.[115] The idea was excoriated by the notoriously outspoken Susan Sontag, who published Illness as Metaphor while recovering from treatment for breast cancer in 1978.[93]

Although the original idea is now generally regarded as nonsense, the idea partly persists in a reduced form with a widespread, but incorrect, belief that deliberately cultivating a habit of positive thinking will increase survival.[115] This notion is particularly strong in breast cancer culture.[115]

Research

Cancer research is the intense scientific effort to understand disease processes and discover possible therapies.

Research about cancer causes focusses on the following issues:

  • Agents (e.g. viruses) and events (e.g. mutations) which cause or facilitate genetic changes in cells destined to become cancer.
  • The precise nature of the genetic damage, and the genes which are affected by it.
  • The consequences of those genetic changes on the biology of the cell, both in generating the defining properties of a cancer cell, and in facilitating additional genetic events which lead to further progression of the cancer.

The improved understanding of molecular biology and cellular biology due to cancer research has led to a number of new, effective treatments for cancer since President Nixon declared "War on Cancer" in 1971. Since 1971 the United States has invested over $200 billion on cancer research; that total includes money invested by public and private sectors and foundations.[116] Despite this substantial investment, the country has seen a five percent decrease in the cancer death rate (adjusting for size and age of the population) between 1950 and 2005.[117]

Leading cancer research organizations and projects include the American Association for Cancer Research, the American Cancer Society (ACS), the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer, the National Cancer Institute, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, and The Cancer Genome Atlas project at the NCI.

Notes

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References

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