Cancer Basics: Vital Knowledge for Those Diagnosed

Almost everyone knows someone or has a relative who has been diagnosed with cancer. The World Health Organization predicts that approximately one in five people will be diagnosed with a malignant tumor of one or another organ during their lifetime. This article will give you a better understanding of what cancer is.

The human body is made up of billions of microscopic cells that are not visible to the eye. Throughout a person's life, cells in different organs grow and multiply (divide). Each cell in the human body contains genetic material. As cells divide and age, mutations – random or programmed errors – can occur in the genetic material of each cell, which are subsequently stored and accumulated.

Cells with a large number of accumulated mutations normally die, allowing new cells with intact genetic material to take their place. However, sometimes, due to genetic changes that help bypass the process of natural elimination of damaged cells, such cells do not die and, moreover: they begin to actively multiply. In such cases, formation of pathological cell groups begins, which, as they grow in number, can displace healthy cells and subsequently change the work of the organ in which they originated, and later on – even the entire organism. This is what the beginning of tumor development looks like. 

Which kind of tumors are there? 

Tumors that develop in the human body can be benign or malignant. 

Benign tumors usually grow slowly and do not spread into surrounding organs and parts of the body. Quite often benign tumors do not cause any symptoms at all, and the main complaint about them is that they cause a cosmetic defect. Such tumors do not often grow to a large size, and, as a consequence, rarely compress organs, vessels or nerves of the body. The treatment for benign tumors is usually surgical excision, and rarely drugs or radiation therapy are used. In most cases, benign tumors do not return after treatment. 

Malignant tumors grow uncontrollably and rapidly. As the tumor increases in size, it can grow into surrounding organs and tissues, causing a variety of symptoms ranging from pain and bleeding to the inability of an organ to perform its normal function. Malignant tumors can grow to enormous sizes without treatment. Furthermore, malignant tumors can spread far beyond the organ in which they originated: this process is called metastasising. Symptoms caused by a malignant tumor may vary depending on which organ the tumor has developed in, which organs and tissues it has spread to, and what biochemical changes in the body it has provoked. The main methods of cancer treatment include drug therapy (chemotherapy, immunotherapy, etc.), surgical treatment, and radiation therapy. Without treatment, malignant tumors will in almost all cases lead to death. 

What are the causes of malignant tumors? 

Malignant tumors in the body develop because of numerous changes in the genes of healthy cells. These defects in genes can be caused by many factors, such as inherited mutations, smoking, alcohol intake, infections, and metabolic disorders in the body. We will look at the causes of cancer development in more detail in other articles.

Types of malignant tumors

Depending on where malignant tumors occur and how they manifest themselves, they are differentiated to:

Solid or "dense" tumors – tumors with definable, dense nodes that develop in various organs and tissues of the body except the hematopoietic and lymphatic systems. Solid tumors include: 

• Carcinomas – malignant tumors that develop from epithelial tissue. Carcinomas develop in the skin or in the tissue covering the surface of internal organs and glands. Carcinomas are the most common type of malignant tumors. Examples of carcinomas are breast cancer, lung cancer, gallbladder cancer, kidney cancer, etc.
  

• Sarcomas – malignant tumors that develop from tissue types other than the epithelial tissue. Sarcomas can develop in bones, joints, tendons, muscles, adipose tissue, blood vessels, and nerves. Examples of sarcomas include osteosarcoma, myosarcoma, liposarcoma, etc.
  

Haematological or "liquid" tumors – malignant processes that develop in the hematopoietic and lymphatic systems of the body. These include: 

• Lymphomas – malignant processes that develop in the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system is a complex network of vessels, structures, and organs that helps the human body fight all kinds of infections. Among lymphomas, there are two main types: Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. 
  

• Leukemias – malignant processes that start in the bone marrow and affect the normal formation of blood cells. In leukemia, previously healthy blood cells change and begin to divide uncontrollably and cease to perform their normal function. Leukaemias include acute and chronic lymphocytic leukemia and acute and chronic myelocytic leukemia. 
  

• Myelomas – malignant processes that develop from plasma cells in the bone marrow responsible for producing antibodies. Examples of the myelomas are: multiple myeloma, solitary plasmacytoma etc. 
  

How does a malignant tumor spread through the body?

There are several ways that a malignant tumor uses to take up as much space as possible in the human body. 

One of these ways is by ingrowth. A malignant tumor, as it expands, is able to grow into surrounding structures and other organs. For example, a malignant tumor of the pancreas can grow into the stomach and large vessels and cause symptoms such as impaired passage of food through the stomach and bleeding.

Another way a tumor can spread through the body is by metastasising. During the process of metastasising, tumor cells can detach from the tumor itself, penetrate blood and/or lymphatic vessels, travel with the blood or lymph flow to other organs, attach to them and begin to grow, thus forming a secondary tumor focus. Most often malignant tumors metastasise to the lymph nodes, lungs, liver, bones and brain.  

Diagnostics of cancer 

World science, having studied the behavior of malignant tumors, has developed basic principles and diagnostic methods that are used to determine the size and location of the tumor site and its possible metastases as precisely as possible. 

For each type of tumor, there is a scientifically based diagnostic strategy that includes those examination methods that will allow the most accurate determination of the tumor's spread in the patient's body. Diagnostic strategies and standards are usually clearly described in international guidelines for tumor diagnostics and adapted for each individual country. The adaptation of international protocols and standards for the examination and treatment of patients is the responsibility of the Ministry of Health of each country.

The adaptation of international standards takes into account the country's capacity to provide a particular type of diagnostics and treatment, while respecting the principle of providing the best possible care to the patient.

Treatment methods

Cancer treatment strategies are also based on international experience and ongoing scientific research. Treatment methods for tumor diseases may vary from country to country, but the most important thing is that they comply with the so-called "standard of care", whereby the patient should receive appropriate treatment based on the latest scientific data and evidence-based medicine principles, which will be as effective as possible for his disease.

Methods used to treat cancer include:

• Drug treatment - therapy using drugs to kill tumor cells anywhere in the patient's body. Drug treatments include chemotherapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy, and hormone therapy

• Radiation therapy - a method of treating malignant tumors that uses high-energy X-rays or charged particles to destroy cancerous cells. 

• Surgical treatment - a method of surgically removing the tumor itself and/or its metastases in an OR. 
  

Depending on the type of tumor and the stage of the disease, treatments may be used alone or may be combined. 

Many of the subjects we have talked about in this article will be covered with more detail in other informational materials on this website. 

The GoTreatCancer project makes sure that you have access to clear and up-to-date information about cancer. We believe that knowledge is already half of the success.