What is Cancer?

Cancer is a disorder of unregulated growth of cells within our body, with potentially fatal consequences. While not all cancers kill, the vast majority will do so, if left untreated. There are two important complementary approaches when it comes to defining Cancer. Causation - As our knowledge of Cancer has increased by leaps and bounds over the last few decades, our view of its causation has also changed dramatically. The basic disorder is at the level of the genes - when a 'cancerous' piece of tissue, originating from a single cell as a result of a series of mutations, starts dividing rapidly. As the growth becomes uncontrolled, the Cancer starts invading areas outside its original location (invasion), and at relatively late stages, spreads throughout the body (metastasis). adparams.getadspec('c_billboard1'); The original events that lead to the first cell turning cancerous, depend on the type of the cancer itself. In all cases, as we now realize, certain individuals with specific genes are more susceptible to developing certain Cancer, as a result of interaction with environmental factors. For example, all smokers do not develop Cancer, but those with 'susceptible' genetic types are at a much higher risk than those who don't. Environmental agents and the concept of 'risk' in defining Cancer - Until a few decades ago, Cancer was thought to be a form of environmental illness, with most research concentrated on finding dietary, occupational or other agents one was exposed to. The current concept is to consider all lifestyle factors, exposure to dietary and environmental factors, one's age and gender, hereditary makeup as 'additive', thus cumulatively increasing one's lifetime risk of cancer. For instance, as we get older, errors in our genetic code accumulate, thus increasing our chances of getting cancer. On a similar vein, smoking through its direct toxic effects on the genes of cells in the respiratory tract, increases our risk of mutations that cause cancer. The hunt for 'what causes cancer' has been replaced by 'what increases your risks of having Cancer', a concept that has had profound implications for the treatment and prevention of the disease. Since Cancer is relatively 'curable' at it earliest stages, when its effects have not still become apparent, our best chances of successful treatment lie in defining populations at a high 'risk' of the disease, and screen them for it on a regular basis. Similarly, prevention of cancer can also be done more effectively if we can define who would benefit the most from such preventive measures e.g. prophylactic mastectomy, where healthy breast tissue is removed in women at a 'high' risk of getting Cancer. To summarize, Cancer, a potentially fatal disorder of unregulated cell growth arises from a complex interaction between our genes and our environment.