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Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. [3] [4] Cancer can be difficult to diagnose because its signs and symptoms are often nonspecific, meaning they may be general phenomena that do not point directly to a specific disease process.
Henrietta Lacks (born Loretta Pleasant; August 1, 1920 – October 4, 1951) [2] was an African-American woman [5] whose cancer cells are the source of the HeLa cell line, the first immortalized human cell line [B] and one of the most important cell lines in medical research.
Ulceration can cause bleeding that can lead to symptoms such as coughing up blood (lung cancer), anemia or rectal bleeding (colon cancer), blood in the urine (bladder cancer), or abnormal vaginal bleeding (endometrial or cervical cancer). Although localized pain may occur in advanced cancer, the initial tumor is usually painless.
The cancer stem cell hypothesis proposes that the different kinds of cells in a heterogeneous tumor arise from a single cell, termed Cancer Stem Cell. Cancer stem cells may arise from transformation of adult stem cells or differentiated cells within a body. These cells persist as a subcomponent of the tumor and retain key stem cell properties.
A cancer syndrome or family cancer syndrome is a genetic disorder in which inherited genetic mutations in one or more genes predisposes the affected individuals to the development of cancers and may also cause the early onset of these cancers. Although cancer syndromes exhibit an increased risk of cancer, the risk varies.
Anaplastic thyroid cancer seen on an ultrasound image Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma cells. ATC is considered an emergency cancer diagnosis since it poses a high risk of blocking the airway and/or esophagus due to its rapid growth in the neck, either of which can quickly cause a person's death by asphyxiation, if not immediately corrected. [2]
The symptoms that the patient exhibits usually reflect the extent of the cancer's spread. Lung cancers that are discovered early may cause symptoms localized to the respiratory system. However, lung cancer that is advanced will cause patients to experience additional signs and symptoms secondary to the cancer spreading to other organ systems. [5]
A transmissible cancer is a cancer cell or cluster of cancer cells that can be transferred between individuals without the involvement of an infectious agent such as an oncovirus. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] The evolution of transmissible cancer has occurred naturally in other animal species, but human cancer transmission is rare. [ 2 ]