Cancer
Cancer is the catchall term applied to diseases caused by the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells. Cancer isn't one disease. It is many different diseases, more than 100 and counting.
Each kind of cancer is usually named for the cell type in which it begins — cancer that starts in a lung is called lung cancer; cancer that starts in pigment cells in the skin, which are known as melanocytes, is called melanoma.
When detected and treated early, cancer can often be stopped. That said, cancer is a leading cause of death and disability around the world.
Cancer Articles
Diets that are rich in foods that promote inflammation—such as red and processed meats, sugary drinks, and refined grains—are associated with colorectal cancer.
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Using a prescription cream called 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) for two to four weeks reduced people’s risk from squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), the second most common cancer in the United States, by 75% for one year.
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Ovarian cancer is a challenging foe. It's often found at an advanced stage when it's difficult to treat.
In recent years, researchers have learned that many cases of ovarian cancer don't even start in the ovaries. "It turns out that ovarian cancer is a bit of a misnomer. We think a portion of ovarian cancers actually arise from cells in the fallopian tubes," says Shelley Tworoger, adjunct associate professor of epidemiology at Harvard Medical School and associate center director of population science at the Moffitt Cancer Center.
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Tissue biopsies are the standard test for identifying cancer, but another approach, called a liquid biopsy, may provide a diagnosis when a traditional biopsy doesn’t. It uses a person’s blood to detect cancer and can help determine the right therapy.
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Know when and how to get screened for colon cancer.
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Precision medicine is an emerging approach to disease treatment and prevention that takes into account a person’s genes, environment, and lifestyle, and eliminates the one-size-fits-all approach to health care. Right now the greatest focus is on cancer. Doctors rely on genetic tests, family history, lifestyle habits, and environmental factors to determine if someone is more likely to get certain forms of cancer. Doctors then can use genetic testing to identify mutations in a tumor in order to match it with the best drug treatment.
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The cancer death rate is dropping, and more cancer treatments are becoming available.
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Researchers have found that many cases of melanoma—the deadliest type of skin cancer—appear as new spots on the skin and do not arise from existing moles.
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Most melanomas come in the form of a new spot on the skin, not changes to an existing mole.
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Screening tests for lung and breast cancer—chest computed tomography (CT) scans and mammograms—may offer clues about a person’s risk of heart disease. Chest CT scans, which are also done to detect blood clots in the lungs and for other lung diseases, can show calcium deposits in the heart’s arteries. Mammograms can show calcium in the breast arteries, which is closely linked to calcium in the coronary arteries. Calcium accumulates in artery walls, along with fat, cholesterol, and other substances to form plaque. Plaque narrows and hardens arteries, eventually leading to blockages that can trigger heart attacks.
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