Cancer is caused by the uncontrolled growth of cells that can form tumors and invade other areas of the body. Malignant cells are not recognized by the immune system and can multiply unchecked. Treatments include surgery, drugs, and radiation therapy. Research is ongoing to prevent and more efficiently treat cancer.
Cancer describes any of a group of diseases that are characterized by the uncontrolled growth of cells that are destructive to body tissues and organs and can lead to death. Cancer cells form when normal cells are damaged and then multiply. It is not uncommon for a cell to form abnormally or become damaged, but in most cases the cell simply self-destructs in a process called apoptosis. Malignant cells look to the body’s immune system like normal cells, so the body’s defenses won’t attack them.
Most cancer cells multiply and remain localized, at least initially, forming a tumor, with one notable exception to this rule being leukemia. However, not all tumors are cancerous. Benign tumors are growths that may share certain characteristics with cancerous tumors, but are self-limiting and non-destructive. They mostly don’t come back after being removed.
Malignant or cancerous tumors form as a result of a mutation or other damage to the genetic material of a normal cell. This same event often occurs in the body, but almost always stops when the damaged cell kills itself, preventing the mutation from spreading. Strategic cell death or apoptosis is essential for the growth and survival of all living things. This fact becomes especially evident when apoptosis does not occur. The mutated cell survives to duplicate itself, and then these two cells divide, forming more.
Other mutations can occur and replication continues unchecked, until a tumor is formed. The normal cell division process is not like the growth of malignant cells, which is not mitigated by apoptosis. These cancerous cells are somehow not recognized as harmful by the body’s natural defense systems and can continue to multiply. If not removed, this group of cells can begin to destroy the tissue in which it formed, as well as invade other areas of the body.
Cancer treatments focus primarily on the removal and destruction of the malignant cells themselves. They can range from surgery to remove tumors, to drugs that try to choke off the blood supply to the tumor, to radiation therapy. Surgery is usually the preferred method for removing localized tumors, and even a small margin of healthy tissue must be removed, as even a microscopic cancer cell can grow back into a tumor. Little is known about why mutated cells become cancerous, but there is a great deal of research underway with the goal of preventing and more efficiently treating all types of cancer.
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