Cancer - Carcinogens, Mutagens, Radiation

cancer

Table of Contents

Introduction
Malignant tumours and benign tumours
Tumour nomenclature
- Nomenclature of benign tumours
- Nomenclature of malignant tumours
- Site of origin
Cancer rates and trends
- Statistical records
- Preventable cancers
- Cancer and age
- Death rates
- Variation with region and culture
- Exposure to carcinogens and disease
The growth and spread of cancer
- Tumour progression: the clinical view
  - Presentation
  - Precancerous stage
  - The noninvasive stage
  - Invasion and dissemination
- Metastasis: the cellular view
  - Angiogenesis
  - Microinvasion
  - Dissemination
- Effects of tumours on the individual
  - Local effects of tumour growth
    - Effects of location
    - Effects of functional activity
    - Effects of acute events
  - Systemic effects of malignant tumours
- The immune response to tumours
  - Immune surveillance
  - Tumour antigens
    - Tumour-specific antigens
    - Tumour-associated antigens
Diagnosis and treatment of cancer
- Diagnostic procedures
  - Biopsy
  - Evaluation of tumours
    - Grading and staging
    - Molecular evaluation
- Therapeutic strategies
  - Conventional therapies
    - Surgery
    - Radiation therapy
    - Chemotherapy
    - Bone marrow transplantation
  - Targeted therapies
  - Angiogenesis inhibitors
  - Immunotherapy
  - Gene therapy
- Strategies for cancer prevention
  - Chemoprevention
  - Screening and early detection
Causes of cancer
- The molecular basis of cancer
  - Genetic and epigenetic programs
  - Hallmarks of cancer cells
  - The role of mutation
  - Oncogenes
    - Retroviruses and the discovery of oncogenes
    - Proto-oncogenes and the cell cycle
    - From proto-oncogenes to oncogenes
      Chromosomal translocation
      Gene amplification
      Point mutation
  - Tumour suppressor genes
    - The RB and p53 genes
      Discovery of the first tumour suppressor gene
      Loss of function of the RB protein
      The p53 gene
    - Other tumour suppressor genes
  - DNA repair defects
  - Apoptosis and cancer development
  - Telomeres and the immortal cell
  - Cancer stem cells
- Invasion and metastasis
- Cancer-causing agents
  - Oncogenic viruses
    - DNA viruses
      Human papillomaviruses
      Epstein-Barr virus
      Hepatitis B virus
    - RNA viruses
  - Chemicals, particulate matter, and fibres
    - Initiators
    - Promoters
  - Radiation
    - Ultraviolet radiation
    - Ionizing radiation
- Inherited susceptibility to cancer
  - Familial cancer syndromes
  - Syndromes resulting from inherited defects in DNA repair mechanisms
Milestones in cancer science

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

cancer incidence and mortality in the United States

brain cancer; magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Learn how researchers successfully demonstrated to separate the cancerous cells from the blood using sound waves

For Students

cancer summary

Read Next

Hand washing. Healthcare worker washing hands in hospital sink under running water. contagious diseases wash hands, handwashing hygiene, virus, human health

17 Questions About Health and Wellness Answered

Snuffing Out Smoking

Discover

Aphrodite. Greek mythology. Sculpture. Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love and beauty.

12 Greek Gods and Goddesses

A Factory Interior, watercolor, pen and gray ink, graphite, and white goache on wove paper by unknown artist, c. 1871-91; in the Yale Center for British Art. Industrial Revolution England

Inventors and Inventions of the Industrial Revolution

Julius Caesar in full Gaius Julius Caesar (100? BCE-44 BCE) statue in Rimini, Italy. Roman general and statesman and dictator

The Time Julius Caesar Was Captured by Pirates

Eid al-Fitr

Solar Eclipse, Eclipse, Solar Flare, Outer Space, Astronomy

What Causes Lunar and Solar Eclipses?

9 of the World’s Deadliest Spiders

In this aerial photo, structures are damaged and destroyed October 15, 2005 in Balakot, Pakistan. It is estimated that 90% of the city of Balakot was leveled by the earthquake. The death toll in the 7.6 magnitude earthquake that struck northern Pakistan on October 8, 2005 is believed to be 38,000 with at least 1,300 more dead in Indian Kashmir. SEE CONTENT NOTES.

6 of the World’s Deadliest Natural Disasters

Cancer-causing agents can be categorized into several groups, including oncogenic viruses, chemicals, and radiation. Particulate matter, which consists of minute solid particles and liquid droplets in the air (e.g., dust, secondhand smoke, and other forms of air pollution), and fibres, such as asbestos, erionite, and glass wool, are other causes of cancer. All those agents lead to the molecular mechanisms of cancer described in the section The molecular basis of cancer. A large number of DNA and RNA viruses cause tumours in animals, but in humans it is the DNA viruses that are implicated in most forms of cancer. Only ...(100 of 21846 words)

Access the full article

Help support true facts by becoming a member.