A tumor develops when a part of the body cells begin to grow out of control: there are numerous types of cancer, but each of them originates from the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells.
In that way a normal cell is transformed into a tumor?
Almost all body cells grow, divide and die on a regular basis: During the early years of a person's cells break down at a higher speed to allow for growth, while in adulthood, most cells divide only to replace those worn or death or to repair injuries.
Cancer cells differ from healthy as they grow and proliferate without control: instead of dying cancer cells live longer than would be expected by the genetic code and continue to generate more abnormal cells. They can also invade (grow) other tissues.
The ability to grow out and to invade other tissues is what makes a tumor cell.
Cells become cancerous because of damage to DNA: DNA is in every cell and directs all its actions. In most cases, when DNA is damaged, if the cell is not able to solve the problem triggers a protection mechanism that leads to death. In tumor cells, on the contrary, the damaged DNA is not repaired, but the cell does not die as it should. Not only that, they continue to proliferate, creating new cells that the body does not need. These new cells will present all the same damage the DNA of the cell generating ill.
It 'possible that the damage to DNA is inherited, but in most cases these errors in the genetic code are caused by something we are exposed to in our environment, and sometimes the cause of damage is evident, for esmpio smoking, other time around is not easy to identify.
A cell tumor usually presents many mistakes in its DNA, because one claim does not cause cancer. Even when it is inherited, it is necessary for you to submit further modifications in the DNA before cancer can develop.
Avoid the known causes (eg smoking) as part of a healthy lifestyle, reduces the possibility that non-recoverable errors can occur to the genetic code, these precautions can reduce the risk of developing cancer cells even in people who have a tendency Hereditary be affected.
As tumors grow and spread
In most cases the cancer cells develop a tumor mass. Some cancers, like leukemia, do not form clusters of cells, but affect the blood and organs that produce and circulate through the tissues where they are able to grow and reproduce, and in these blood cancers only in some cases, cancer cells can also constitute the clutter cell typical of other types of cancer.
Often, cancer cells travel to other parts of the body where they begin to grow up to replace the normal tissues: this process is the basis of the formation ofmetastases (dissemination of tumor cells in the organism) and occurs when the cancer cells enter the circle blood or lymph vessels of our body.
Then it does not matter where a cancer may spread, it is always named for the place where he began to develop. For example, the sense that cancer has subsequently spread to the liver is still called breast cancer, not liver.
Not all tumors are cancerous, the ones that are not are called benign. The benign tumors can cause problems, for example, can grow well and put pressure on organs and tissues, but they can grow to the point of becoming (invade) other tissues. Because they can not invade the tissues, also can not spread to other parts of the body (metastasis). These tumors are rarely a threat to life.
Type of cancer
Different types of cancer can behave very differently. For example, breast cancer and lung cancer are very different diseases: they grow at different rates and respond to different treatments. E 'for this reason that the affected people need a specific treatment for the type of tumor developed.
The various types can be grouped into broad categories, among which:
- Cancer, cancer that begins in the skin or in tissues that line or cover internal organs.
- Sarcoma, a cancer that begins to develop in the bones, cartilage, adipose tissue, muscle, blood vessels, or other connective tissue and support.
- Leukemia, cancer that begins to develop in the blood and organs where it is produced (bone marrow). E 'due to a large number of abnormal cells that are produced and released into the blood.
- Lymphoma and myeloma tumors that begin in the cells of the immune system.
- Tumors of the central nervous system, cancers that begin in the tissue of the brain and spinal cord.
Spread
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, almost half of all men and a little 'more than a third of all women will develop cancer during their lives.
Today millions of people are living with cancer or have been affected in the past. The risk of developing most types of cancer can be reduced by changes in personal lifestyle, such as quitting smoking and following a better diet. In general, as soon as is detected the presence of a tumor, the better are the chances of living for many years.