A terrible diagnosis like cancer, everyone is afraid to hear. And if earlier such malignant processes were found only in the elderly, then today this pathology often affects young people up to the age of 30 years.
Is malignancy a cancer or not?
The formation of malignant origin is called uncontrolled reproduction and the growth of abnormal cells that contribute to the destruction of healthy tissues. Malignant formations are dangerous to overall health, and in some cases are life-threatening because they metastasize to distant organs and are capable of invading nearby tissues.
What is different from a benign tumor?
Distinctive features of a benign nature oncology is the factor that such tumor is in a kind of capsule that separates and protects from the tumor located around the tissue.
The malignant nature of the tumor gives it the ability to grow into neighboring tissues, bringing severe pain and destruction, metastasizing throughout the body.
Abnormal cells easily divide and spread through the body through the body, stopping in different organs and forming a new tumor there, identical to the first.
Similar neoplasms and are called metastases.Types of
Poor-quality formations are divided into several varieties:
- Carcinoma or cancer. Diagnosed in more than 80% of cases of such an oncology. Education is formed more often in the intestine, lungs, milk or prostate, esophagus. A similar tumor is formed from the cells of the epithelium. Appearance varies according to localization. In general, they are a knot with a bumpy or smooth surface, a hard or soft structure;
- Sarcoma. It grows from the cells of the muscle and bone connective tissue. It occurs very rarely( 1% of all poor-quality oncology) and can be located on the skin, in the uterus, bones, joints, in the lungs or soft tissues of the hip, etc. Such a tumor is characterized by transient growth and metastasis. Often, even with early diagnosis and removal, it recurs again;
- Lymphoma. It is formed from lymphatic tissues. Such neoplasms lead to violations of organic functions, since the lymphatic system, designed to protect the body from infectious lesions, in the presence of a tumor can not perform its primary tasks;
- Glioma. It is formed in the brain, growing from glial neural-system cells. Usually accompanied by severe headache and dizziness. In general, the manifestations of such a tumor depend on its localization in the brain;
- Melanoma. It grows from melanocytes and is localized mainly on the skin of the face and neck, limbs. It is rare( about 1% of all malignant tumors), characterized by a tendency to early metastasis;
- Leukemia. It grows from stem marrow cells. In fact, leukemia is a cancer of the blood-forming cells;
- Teratoma. It consists of embryonic cells, being formed during the intrauterine period under the influence of pathogenic factors. It is most often localized in the testicles, ovaries, brain and sacrum;
- Choriocarcinoma. It develops from placental tissues. It is found only in women, mainly in the uterus, tubes, ovaries and the like;
- Malignant formations that form in children under 5 years of age. This includes various tumors such as osteosarcoma, retinoblastoma, lymphoma, nephroblastoma or neuroblastoma, neuromuscular tumor or leukemia.
Causes of
The main predisposing factor to the formation of malignant tumors is heredity. If a family finds several cancer patients, then all household members can be registered.
No less important is the presence of nicotine addiction. Unfortunately, even photos of lungs with cancer, placed on a pack of cigarettes, do not repel smokers from this addiction. Tobacco smoking most often leads to the development of lung or stomach cancer.
In general, specialists distinguish only three groups of factors predisposing to the development of cancer:
- Biological - this group includes various viruses;
- Chemical - this includes carcinogens and toxic substances;
- Physical - represent a group of factors including UV radiation, radiation exposure, etc.
All of the above factors are external. Internal factors include genetic predisposition.
In general, the mechanism of cancer development is quite simple. Our cells live a certain time, after which they are programmed to die, and they are replaced by new ones. So the body is constantly updated. For example, red cells in the blood( or erythrocytes) live about 125 days, and platelets - only 4 days. This is the physiological norm.
But in the presence of pathogenetic factors, various failures occur and the obsolete cells begin to reproduce independently, instead of death, producing abnormal offspring from which tumor formations are formed.
How to identify a malignant neoplasm?
To determine the malignant tumor process, you need to have an idea of its symptoms. So, malignant oncology is characterized by such basic signs:
- Pain. It can appear at the beginning of the tumor process or occurs with its further development. Often, pain in the bone tissues is disturbed, and a tendency to fracture appears;
- Signs of weakness and chronic fatigue. Similar symptoms occur gradually and are accompanied by a lack of appetite, hypertension, sharp weight loss, anemia;
- The state of fever. This sign often indicates a systemic spread of the cancer process. Malignant oncology affects the immune system, which starts to fight with hostile cells, which is why the fever state appears;
- If the tumor does not develop inside the body, but is close to the surface, then the can detect a palpable swelling or seal;
In the photo, you can see a tightening on the skin, so it looks like a malignant tumor - basalioma
- Against the backdrop of a malignant tumor , a tendency to bleed may develop. With stomach cancer - it's bloody vomiting, with cancer of the bowel - feces with blood, with cancer of the uterus - bloody vaginal discharge, with prostate cancer - sperm with blood, with cancer of the bladder - bloody urine, etc.;
- On the background of malignant tumor process there is an increase in the lymph nodes , neurological symptoms appear, the patient often undergoes various inflammations, there may be any rashes on the skin or jaundice, sores, etc.
General symptoms gradually increase, supplemented by new signs, the condition graduallydeteriorates, which is associated with toxic damage to the body products of tumor activity.
Pathways of metastasis
Malignant tumors tend to spread to other organs, i.e., to metastasis. Usually the stage of metastasis begins already in the late stages of the tumor process. In general, metastasis is carried out in 3 ways: hematogenous, lymphogenic or mixed.
- The hematogenous pathway is the spread of the cancer process through the bloodstream when tumor cells enter the vascular system and are transferred to other organs. Similar metastasis is characteristic of sarcomas, chorionic epithelium, hypernar, lymphomas and tumors of the hematopoietic tissue;
- The lymphogenous pathway involves the metastasis of tumor cells through the lymph flow through the lymph nodes and then into nearby tissues. This pathway of metastasis is characteristic of internal tumors such as cancer of the uterus, intestine, stomach, esophagus, etc.
- The mixed pathway involves lymphogenous-hematogenous metastasis. Such a spread of the tumor process is typical for most malignant oncologies( breast, lung, thyroid, ovary or bronchial cancer).
Stages of development of
When diagnosing, not only the type of malignant formation is determined, but also the stage of its development. In total, there are 4 stages:
- stage I is characterized by a small tumor size, the absence of tumor germination in adjacent tissues. The tumor process does not capture the lymph nodes;
- For the II stage of malignant tumor process, a clear definition of the tumor within its initial localization is characteristic, although it is possible that there are single metastases in the lymph nodes of regional importance;
- III stage is characterized by the germination of the tumor in the tissues lying around it. Metastasis in regional lymph nodes takes on a multiple character;
- At the IV stage, metastasis spreads not only through the lymph nodes, but also through distant organs.
Diagnostic methods for
Diagnosis of malignant oncology consists in the following procedures:
- X-ray examination, which includes:
- X-ray computed tomography;
- Endoscopy examination;
- Ultrasound diagnosis;
- Nuclear magnetic resonance;
- Radioisotope diagnosis of tumors of malignant origin, which includes:
- Thermography;
- Radio immunoscintigraphy;
- Detection of tumor markers;
- Study of the level of chorionic gonadotropin;
- The level of the cancer embryonic antigen, etc.
In addition, various cytological and histological studies, etc. are prescribed.
Treatment of
Malignant formulations are treated with three methods: , drug, radiation and surgical .
Drug therapy is the use of specialized drugs for chemotherapy:
- Antimetabolites like Methotrexate, Fluorafur, etc.;
- Alkylating agents - Benzotef, Cyclophosphane, etc.;
- Vegetable medicines like Kolkhamina and others;
- Antineoplastic antibiotic drugs - Chrysomalin, Bruneiomycin, etc.