A malignant tumor is one of the most life-threatening, which is based on an oncological neoplasm consisting of cancer cells.
This neoplasm is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell division of some tissues of the body, and these cells can spread to nearby healthy areas, as well as to distant organs in the form of metastases.
The branch of medicine that studies and treats diseases associated with the formation of such tumors is called oncology.
Which tumors are malignant, interesting to many.
To date, science has established that malignant tumors are directly related to the genetic pathologies of cell division and the implementation of their purpose. Normal, healthy cells undergo a certain transformation and mutation, and the program of their functioning is significantly disrupted. If a person’s immunity detects this process in time, the disease will not continue to develop, but if this does not happen, uncontrolled cell division turns into a variety of neoplasms.
What is the difference between a benign tumor and a malignant one?
It should be noted that benign tumors can also cause disorders - lipomas, adenomas, hemangiomas, chondromas, teratomas, etc., which affect other tissues and do not pose a life threat, however, they can take on a malignant form over time .
Additional factors provoking the development of cancer are smoking and alcohol addiction, some viruses, poor nutrition with a high content of carcinogens in food, as well as excessive ultraviolet radiation.
The treatment of tumors, like drugs, is still not fully understood, and cancer treatment methods are being improved every day. Nevertheless, there are already some general recommendations that doctors follow, namely the diagnosis of cancer, after which surgical treatment, chemical and radiation therapy are prescribed. These methods depend on the degree and type of malignancy. A positive prognosis for such treatment also depends on these factors. So, is a malignant tumor a cancer or not? Let's figure it out.
How do tumors arise?
The general opinion about the development of cancer, which is held by most scientists around the world, is the transformation of a healthy cell, which can occur under the influence of certain unfavorable factors.
It is known that the human body consists of a huge number of cells that form a variety of types of tissues, for example, nervous, epithelial, muscle, connective. All these cells are, as it were, programmed for certain functions, that is, they have genetic programs of life and activity. At the same time, cells of one type perform one task in the body and live a specific period of time, while other cells have different functions and lifetime.
What is the difference between a benign tumor and a malignant one?
There are many differences between these neoplasms:
- Growth Rate - Malignant grows faster.
- Metastases - in benign tumors, the ability to this process is absent.
- Localization of relapse - benign relapses locally, malignant recur in different places.
- Stickiness - due to the ability of adhesion, cells of benign neoplasms do not spread throughout the body.
- The appearance of the cell - the nucleus of cancer cells is larger and has a dark color due to the abundance of DNA.
- Effective treatment - a benign tumor is easily treatable, which can not be said about a malignant one.
- The likelihood of relapse - malignant formations often occur again after removal.
- Systemic effects - benign neoplasms rarely provoke a general deterioration of the body.
- The death toll - 13,000 and more than 575,000 deaths per year, respectively give benign and malignant neoplasms.
Stages of cell development
Cell development goes through the following steps:
- formation and division;
- maturation, when the definition of functions;
- maturity, when it begins to fulfill its functions in the body;
- activity - a period of full functioning under the influence of a genetic program;
- aging;
- death.
All these stages of the cell's life are completely controlled by the body, however, minor malfunctions in their work still occur. Such cells begin to be destroyed by immune bodies. A malignant breast tumor is a very common occurrence these days.
Under the influence of adverse conditions, more serious malfunctions in the work of cells can begin, and in cases when the body is weakened, it is not able to normalize their work. Thus, the modified cells are not blocked, but continue to exist and multiply randomly.
This process is very rapid, and the cells do not fulfill their original functions. If you do not start timely treatment or removal of a malignant tumor, it can destroy a large number of healthy cells, and the consequences are very serious, up to the patient’s death.
So, a tumor is an accumulation of unregulated cells.
Developmental stages
The stages of oncological formations are:
- Hyperplasia is the formation and accumulation of a large number of atypical cells.
- Benign tumor. At such a stage, such a formation may not be, and hyperplasia passes into the stage of dysplasia, and the formation of a malignant neoplasm continues. What other stages of malignant tumors exist?
- Dysplasia is the fixation of cells in tissues and the beginning of the formation of a pathological tumor. This stage is actually a period when a tumor turns from a benign to a malignant one. This process is called - “malignization”.
- Precancerous condition. At this stage, the tumor is usually located in a limited area of tissue and has a small size. During this period, the body is still able to cope with it on its own.
- Invasive cancer, when a malignant neoplasm begins to develop rapidly, and a number of inflammatory reactions appear around it, metastases develop.
Cancer Statistics
The formation of malignant tumors is most often observed in the elderly, although often young people are exposed to this insidious disease. The most common types of cancer are lung, breast, colon, stomach, and liver cancers.
Mortality in the presence of malignant formations is from 30 to 80%, depending on the variety, degree, and also the localization of the oncological process.
Causes of occurrence
The essence of cancer is not fully disclosed, therefore, the causes of the formation of malignant tumors in the body are not known reliably.
Conventionally, all factors provoking the development of such tumors can be divided into three main categories:
- Physical - ultraviolet rays, x-rays, radiation, bad habits.
- Chemical - carcinogens, some types of medical therapy.
- Biological - heredity, weakened immunity, decreased DNA repair function, as well as viruses that destroy its structure.
Part of the internal pathogenic causes is from 15 to 30%, 60-90% is allocated to negative environmental conditions that affect a person. Is a malignant tumor a cancer or not? This is a common question.
The main causes of cancer
List of the most frequently occurring factors leading to cell transformations:
- nutrition - 40%;
- smoking - 35%;
- infections - 15%;
- various adverse radiation - 8%;
- carcinogens - 6%;
- reduced physical activity - 4%;
- alcohol - 3%;
- air pollution - 1%.
Eating high-calorie foods, as well as foods containing carcinogens, nutritional supplements and nitrates, is one of the most common causes of cancer. In addition, improper nutrition leads to obesity, which weakens the body, significantly reducing all its protective functions, which are necessary for a normal life.
Food additives that can provoke the development of cancerous tumors are:
- dyes - E-125, E-121, E123;
- preservatives, for example sodium benzoate;
- acidity regulators: E-510, E-527, E-513;
- flavor enhancers - monosodium glutamate;
- benzopyrene.
The relationship of smoking and malignant neoplasms
Smoking and oncology are directly related definitions. The thing is that in addition to the toxic effect, tobacco smoke affects the cells of the body with a certain dose of radiation, since scientific studies have confirmed the fact that a smoked pack of cigarettes can irradiate the body with radiation at a dose of 700 micro-roentgen. Such a level of radiation pollution in the Chernobyl exclusion zone. Therefore, smoking women so often diagnosed with malignant breast tumors.
Symptoms
The symptomatology of cancer largely depends on its stage, as well as on where the malignant neoplasm is located.
The first signs of cancer are painless seals, which are often subtle. Pain with the development of the oncological process at the beginning of the disease is absent, and it begins to manifest only in the later stages.
Among the symptoms of tumors, local, general and those caused by metastases are distinguished.
Local symptoms:
- compaction or swelling;
- inflammatory process;
- bleeding
- Gospel disease.
Common symptoms of a malignant tumor:
- weakness, pain in a specific area of the body;
- anemia;
- increased sweating;
- decreased immunity;
- temperature rise;
- weight loss, loss of appetite;
- mental imbalance, irritability.
A malignant tumor of the lung is very often accompanied by metastases.
Symptoms of their development:
- joint and bone pain;
- cough, in some cases - with impurities of blood;
- enlarged lymph nodes;
- enlargement of the liver;
- atypical headache, dizziness, etc.
Classification of malignant tumors
Oncological tumors are divided into varieties depending on the type of atypical cells of which they are composed. Among these cancerous processes are known:
- glioma;
- carcinoma;
- leukemia;
- lymphoma
- myeloma;
- melanoma;
- sarcoma;
- teratoma;
- choriocarcinoma.
Depending on the localization of the oncological process:
- brain cancer;
- lung cancer;
- bone cancer
- laryngeal cancer;
- breast cancer
- pancreas cancer;
- prostate cancer;
- cancer of the uterus and its individual parts (cervix, bottom, body);
- skin cancer;
- colon cancer;
- blood cancer;
- stomach cancer;
- testicular cancer.
- thyroid cancer;
- liver cancer.
Stages of the oncological process of tumor formation
Among them stand out:
- Stage 1, when damage to the DNA chain occurs, and the cells begin to change the program of functioning and uncontrollably divide. Symptoms are practically absent at this stage. At the same time, cancer treatment has a positive prognosis.
- Stage 2, when the formation of foci of altered cells that begin to form a tumor occurs. At this stage, the appearance of visible swelling and swelling, an increase in body temperature.
- Stage 3 cancer, when atypical cells, together with the blood stream, begin to migrate to distant organs and tissues, forming metastases.
- Stage 4 is the most difficult and dangerous, when the prognosis of recovery is extremely unfavorable. At this stage of the development of the tumor process, metastases appear in many parts of the body and organs uncontrollably. The patient experiences very severe pain, neurological disorders. In most cases, this disease is fatal.
Consider malignant tumors in children.
In children
Types of cancer in children :
- lymphoma
- tumors of the central nervous system;
- neuroblastoma;
- osteosarcoma;
- nephroblastoma;
- Ewing's sarcoma;
- retinoblastoma;
- rhabdomyosarcoma.
How is the diagnosis of malignant tumors?
Diagnostic Methods
An important point in the treatment of cancer is their diagnosis. The determination of the presence of cancer cells at the initial level of their appearance and division determines a positive prognosis in the treatment of a tumor. It is the diagnosis of this disease that determines the further development of events in the oncology of one or another organ.
Among the diagnostic methods in this case, it differs:
- Physical examination of the patient.
- Magnetic resonance imaging.
- CT scan.
- Positron emission tomography.
- Ultrasound procedure.
- Oncoscreening.
- Roentgenography.
- Mammography.
- Fibroscopy.
- Lab tests.
Laboratory research methods include:
- biopsy;
- histological examination of blood and tissue fragments;
- blood test for tumor markers;
- fecal analysis.
Cancer treatment
The treatment of oncological diseases largely depends on their types, stages and localization. After the diagnosis, the oncologist must prescribe one or another type of therapy, and a positive outcome depends specifically on the stage of development of the neoplasm and the presence of metastases.
In the initial stages, recovery is observed in most cases. High mortality in many cases of the development of malignant tumors is due to neglect of the oncological process. This occurs, as a rule, for two main reasons - the lack of timely examination or the use of alternative methods of treating the tumor. The advantage in this case remains with official medicine, which has sufficient modern means of combating such diseases.
The main methods of therapy
- Surgical removal of a malignant tumor. These methods involve the physical removal of areas of accumulation of atypical cells, together with nearby neighboring tissues. For example, with breast tumors, as a rule, the entire breast is removed. As tools, ordinary scalpels, ultrasonic scalpels, radio frequency knives, laser scalpels, etc. are used here. In foreign clinics located, for example, in Israel and Germany, modern tools are used. The rehabilitation period after removal of the malignant tumor is much easier.
- Chemotherapy. The essence of this method is the use of special medications that affect cancer cells. This method also performs other functions - stopping DNA duplication, preventing cell division, etc. But this method also has some disadvantages, which are severe side effects, when, in addition to malignant cells, absolutely healthy cells are destroyed.
- Radiotherapy. The essence of this method is that the body is irradiated with gamma radiation. In this case, various particles act as such a “medicine” - neutrons, photons, protons, electrons, etc. The choice of such particles is determined by the oncologist on the basis of the diagnosis. Healthy cells with this method suffer much less.
- Cryotherapy is the use of extremely cold temperatures against cancer cells. A malignant tumor is frozen with liquid nitrogen, as a result of which the structure of atypical cells is disrupted.
- Photodynamic therapy, when special drugs are injected directly into the tumor body, which, when exposed to light, begin to destroy cancer cells.
- Immunotherapy. As a rule, human immunity is a kind of "shield" from the effects of various adverse factors - infections, etc., which is able to cope with its basic function without outside help. Another thing is when the immune defense is weakened. The essence of this method of treatment of oncology is to strengthen the immune system and stimulate its work as much as possible. Thanks to special medications, the immune system begins to attack malignant cells and optimize the work of surrounding tissues. Some of the drugs are the William Coley Vaccine and Interferon.
- Hormonal therapies that act as a supportive treatment for cancer tumors, so it is used only as an additional tool in the implementation of the main therapy. The essence of this method is the use of hormones of various types against cancer cells, for example: estrogen - for the treatment of prostate cancer; glucocorticoids - for the treatment of lymphoma, etc.
Very often, doctors use whole complexes of the above methods in order to achieve the best result.
Additional methods
As a supplement to the main treatment of malignant tumors and the consequences of cancer, usually used drugs that effectively relieve pain. It is also possible to use various types of antidepressants and sedatives to combat accompanying cancer patients with depression and pathological conditions of panic and fear.