The number of deaths in Korea due to cancer (malignant neoplasm) is increasing every year. According to the ‘2020 Causes of Death Statistical Results’ announced by the National Statistical Office, the death rate by cancer site was calculated to be the highest in the order of lung cancer, liver cancer, and colorectal cancer. people (1.2%) increased.
What is Cancer?
The smallest unit that makes up the human body is called a cell. Normally, cells divide by intracellular regulatory functions, grow, die, and disappear to maintain the balance of cell numbers. However, when a cell’s gene is changed for various reasons, the cell changes abnormally, matures incompletely, and proliferates excessively, which can be defined as cancer.
Are there specific body parts where cancer develops?
Cancer can occur in any part of the body, and depending on race, country, gender, age, lifestyle, and diet, cancer can occur in various parts of the body.
How are cancer and tumors different?
A tumor is a generic term for all abnormally formed masses. In other words, all or tumors. However, these tumors can be broadly divided into benign and malignant, and the malignant tumor is cancer. A benign tumor may cause problems in appearance or inconvenience in life depending on its location, but it has no important meaning such as affecting life.
What are the characteristics of cancer?
Cancer has very different characteristics from a biologically normal cell or tissue.
First, cancer originates from a single cell. In other words, when a cell undergoes several mutations and turns into a cancer cell, it continues to divide and multiply to develop into cancer.
Second, once the cancer has developed, it is not subject to normal growth control. Normal tissue no longer grows when it reaches a certain size, but cancer continues to grow, sometimes forming very large masses.
Third, it is invasive growth. This means that as the cancer grows, it digs into the surrounding normal tissue, and sometimes it infiltrates large blood vessels or tissues around the cancer, making surgical resection difficult.
Fourth, cancer has the characteristic of an undifferentiated state. Normal tissue has histological characteristics unique to each organ, whereas cancer does not. This is called undifferentiated, and due to this undifferentiated characteristic, in some cases, even after performing a biopsy, the primary site may not be known.
The last characteristic is metastasis. Metastasis is the spread of cancer to tissues that are not directly connected, and once metastasis is found, it is usually classified as a terminal cancer. Therefore, the presence or absence of metastasis is very important in determining the treatment policy.
Common causes of cancer
① Smoking
– Cigarette smoke contains more than 24 chemicals that can cause cancer
– Closely related to cancer of the mouth, larynx, esophagus, stomach, pancreas, kidney and bladder
② drinking
– Alcohol consumption increases the risk of cancer of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, colorectal, liver, and breast cancer
– The risk of cancer is proportional to the amount of alcohol consumed.
③ Occupational exposure
– Exposure to certain chemicals in the work environment can cause cancer
– Lung cancer is the most common occupational cancer, and skin cancer, urinary tract cancer, nasal cancer, and pleural cancer may also occur.
④ infection
– It is estimated that 1 to 2 out of 10 cancer patients develop cancer due to chronic infection.
– Hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), human papillomavirus (HPV), Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), liver fluke (C. sinensis), etc. It belongs to group 1 carcinogen designated by the Korea Cancer Society, and Kaposi’s sarcoma herpes virus (KSHV) and human T-cell virus (HTLV-1) can cause cancer.
⑤ radiation
– Radiation causes cleavage and translocation of chromosomes and, rarely, point mutations, causing genetic damage that causes cancer.
– Leukemia and thyroid cancer are common, but in reality, any cell can be converted into cancer cells when exposed to a lot of radiation.
⑥ Hormones
– Female hormones, childbirth and menopause affect the incidence of endometrial cancer, ovarian cancer, and breast cancer
Oral contraceptives are known to slightly increase the risk of breast cancer but lower the risk of ovarian and endometrial cancer.
⑦ Diet
– About 30% of cancers are related to diet and nutrition
– Excessive salt intake increases arterial blood pressure and increases the incidence of gastric cancer
– A high-calorie/high-fat diet increases the incidence of colorectal cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, endometrial cancer, etc.
– Proper exercise, weight management, and consumption of fresh vegetables lower the risk of oral cancer, lung cancer, and cervical cancer