Key Facts About Cancer Metastasis Research
Metastasis simply describes the spread of cancerous cells from their origin to near and far areas in the human body. Tumors grow and spread rapidly if not caught at the very initial stage. It becomes very challenging to completely wipe off the disease once it occupies larger areas. Cancer metastasis research remains crucial in finding the very much needed new lease of life for the affected patients.
Tumors spread in a number of ways once they have been established in the body. Among these methods is direct invasion to neighboring structures. The tumor can also use blood as a medium to be transported to other organs in the body. Common sites of metastasis include bones, the lungs the brain and the liver. Lymph nodes can also be used by the abnormal cells as a means of spread through lymphatic fluid. In most instances, tumors are said to be at stage four once they grow beyond the primary (original) site.
Signs and symptoms suggestive of tumor spread are dependent on what organ the it spreads to. For instance, if it invades the brain, then the patient will complain of chronic headaches that fail to respond to pain medication. With bone invasion, victims tend to sustain fractures with the slightest of physical trauma. Spread to the liver maybe indicated by jaundice, which is A symptom characterised by the eyes becoming yellow. The doctor will do a thorough evaluation to rule out other possible conditions that tend to present the same way.
Surgical excision is usually the treatment of choice for isolated cancers whose margins can be defined. However, for tumours present in multiple places, it is impractical to go about excising each and every one of them. In fact, some of them may be missed in the process. The treatment of choice for metastatic tumors is chemotherapy which uses drugs to limit further growth.
The unfortunate thing about chemotherapy is its inability to distinguish the normal cells from the cancerous ones. This explains why patients on chemotherapeutic agents experience tremendous hair loss and often look sicker. The importance of concurrent psychological care can therefore not be overemphasized.
In that regard, ongoing research aims at coming up with a drug that only focuses on the abnormal cells without destruction of normal, functional cells. In one study, mice with metastatic breast tumors were treated with modified stem cells specifically meant to kill the abnormal cells. The study takes advantage of the immediate environment surrounding the tumor.
The metastatic tumour present in the mice was able to shrink to almost undetectable levels. Clinical trials are going on and once the drugs are approved, they will help a great number of people struggling with metastatic disease.
Another approach to research is studying the cancer cell DNA and making a comparison with the normal cell DNA in a bid to identify genetic mutations linked to family and those that have no familial relations at all. This is important because some cancers are known to run in families. This will go a long way in early cancer detection and therefore minimize the risk of metastasis.
Tumors spread in a number of ways once they have been established in the body. Among these methods is direct invasion to neighboring structures. The tumor can also use blood as a medium to be transported to other organs in the body. Common sites of metastasis include bones, the lungs the brain and the liver. Lymph nodes can also be used by the abnormal cells as a means of spread through lymphatic fluid. In most instances, tumors are said to be at stage four once they grow beyond the primary (original) site.
Signs and symptoms suggestive of tumor spread are dependent on what organ the it spreads to. For instance, if it invades the brain, then the patient will complain of chronic headaches that fail to respond to pain medication. With bone invasion, victims tend to sustain fractures with the slightest of physical trauma. Spread to the liver maybe indicated by jaundice, which is A symptom characterised by the eyes becoming yellow. The doctor will do a thorough evaluation to rule out other possible conditions that tend to present the same way.
Surgical excision is usually the treatment of choice for isolated cancers whose margins can be defined. However, for tumours present in multiple places, it is impractical to go about excising each and every one of them. In fact, some of them may be missed in the process. The treatment of choice for metastatic tumors is chemotherapy which uses drugs to limit further growth.
The unfortunate thing about chemotherapy is its inability to distinguish the normal cells from the cancerous ones. This explains why patients on chemotherapeutic agents experience tremendous hair loss and often look sicker. The importance of concurrent psychological care can therefore not be overemphasized.
In that regard, ongoing research aims at coming up with a drug that only focuses on the abnormal cells without destruction of normal, functional cells. In one study, mice with metastatic breast tumors were treated with modified stem cells specifically meant to kill the abnormal cells. The study takes advantage of the immediate environment surrounding the tumor.
The metastatic tumour present in the mice was able to shrink to almost undetectable levels. Clinical trials are going on and once the drugs are approved, they will help a great number of people struggling with metastatic disease.
Another approach to research is studying the cancer cell DNA and making a comparison with the normal cell DNA in a bid to identify genetic mutations linked to family and those that have no familial relations at all. This is important because some cancers are known to run in families. This will go a long way in early cancer detection and therefore minimize the risk of metastasis.
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