Why do people get cancer? Many people are concerned about this question ha. Every year, cancer kills 7 million people worldwide, and 1 million people in our country lose their lives because of it. In order to subdue this terminal disease, scientists have made great efforts. But until now, there is still no way to overcome cancer. Where does cancer come from and how does it harm people? What kind of people have a high chance of developing cancer? What can we do in the face of cancer, the most powerful opponent? This article tells us much more than that.
Every time we open the topic of cancer, it will trigger a sigh of relief. There is a saying that as long as people live long enough, everyone will get cancer, and this saying is also supported by the “2014 New Research Analysis of Chinese Tumor Epidemiology” provided by the Cancer Hospital of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences – according to the average life expectancy of 74 years, the chance of malignant tumor in the lifetime of each person is 22%. .
More alarmingly, according to the latest data from the 2013 Annual Report of Chinese Tumor Registry, there are about 3.12 million new cancer cases in China each year, with 6 people diagnosed with malignant tumors every minute; and about 2.7 million deaths from cancer nationwide each year, with 5 people dying from cancer every minute. Twenty percent of the world’s new cancer patients are in China, and 24 percent of cancer deaths are in China.
No matter how much we stifle and how long we sigh, the existence of cancer is already a fact, so we might as well learn more about this “strongest opponent” and see what we can do in front of this huge shadow.
The “long-lived” cancer
First of all, it should be noted that cancer did not appear in the modern era when human society entered into high-speed development, and it is difficult to trace its origin.
This conclusion was reached by Elizabeth Murchison and others at the University of Cambridge in England. By studying the genome of this unusually long-lived cancer, they found that it is not difficult for the cancer to continue to survive for tens of thousands of years under the right conditions, despite the millions of mutations that have accumulated. They published this conclusion in the journal Science in early 2014.
In fact, when it comes to accounts of cancer, there have always been many rumors. It is said that in the ancient Egyptian era around 2980 B.C., Indo-Tep, the “god of medicine”, introduced many kinds of diseases and treatments in his medical art, but he could not do anything about cancer; and Hippocrates, the father of European medicine, who died in 377 B.C., was said to be able to distinguish whether a tumor was benign or malignant; It is also said that Hua Tuo, the divine doctor in China’s history, was already able to perform surgical operations such as tumor removal and gastrointestinal suturing. The authenticity of these legends is yet to be verified, but what can be seen from them is that as early as in the ancient times, doctors already discovered the phenomenon of cancer and were actively making various attempts to eradicate it.
On the “self-cultivation” of cancer
Since the emergence of molecular genetics, the way cancer works and its underlying mechanisms have been truly revealed: our DNA is damaged and cannot control certain cells, which grow uncontrollably and affect other cells in the body; they also flow through the body, bringing the bad effects to other parts of the body and affecting other cells. This is a vicious deadly cycle in which patients experience many symptoms that are detrimental to their health and eventually lead to death.
The cells in our body are renewed every day, and the body depends on them to keep the machine running properly. Three roles are particularly important: a proto-oncogene that promotes cell growth, an oncogene that controls excessive cell growth, and a protein that checks for errors in gene transmission.
If a scenario were to describe how they work together, it would probably go something like this: Suppose you (the cell) are dancing (normal metabolism), following a teacher who learns a fixed action, and you do it wrong and the teacher corrects you (DNA mismatch repair protein). But suddenly you chewed Dazzler gum (the original oncogene mutated), so you became “can’t stop” (keep replicating), then your friend turned off the music (the oncogene came into play), and you stopped.
Cancer is good by nature
It is true that everyone is at risk of cancer, we all have the original oncogene, but not everyone will get cancer. Cancer occurs in human cells as a result of the accumulation of mutations, and this mutation point may come from genetic, viral, environmental, living habits and other factors. Genetic predisposition makes individuals with bad mutations more likely to get cancer than normal people, while external factors such as environment and virus will stimulate the body’s immune response system for a long time, which is an important factor to trigger cancer. Bad habits such as drinking, smoking and staying up late are also factors that trigger cancer.
The following is the “Cancer Map of China” drawn up by the 2012 Annual Report of China Cancer Registry, which shows that there are geographical differences in cancer incidence. For example, areas with high incidence of cervical cancer: Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi; areas with high incidence of stomach cancer: Liaoning, Shandong, Gansu, Jiangsu, Fujian; areas with high incidence of liver cancer: coastal areas such as Zhejiang, Guangxi, Jiangsu, Inner Mongolia, Jilin.
Similar geographical location means similar living environment, eating habits, etc., which also shows that environment has a great influence on stimulating human cancer. For example, the habit of betel nut chewing in Hunan may lead to oral cancer, and people working in mining areas and chemical plants are prone to lung cancer.
Cancer “scouts”
Many cancers are already in advanced stage when they are discovered. Besides the fact that patients usually do not pay attention to their discomfort, it is also related to the detection technology. Some cancers are not so easy to detect. Traditional blood tests, X-ray images and MRI technology do not allow doctors to see the location of lesions and may lead to missed and wrong detections.
The prevention and control of cancer is a complex systemic project. Experts are using all the 18 weapons to prevent cancer, each with its own capabilities. Professor Kenneth Kinzler of Johns Hopkins University believes that the use of protein profiling to find protein-based cancer markers is particularly important, while the development of free DNA based on tumors in blood, stool or urine for cancer detection is also an effective means.
Other scientists have found that microRNAs are aberrantly expressed in various tumors. Since microRNAs play an important role in all major activities of life and are more stable than some proteins, many institutions are trying to use microRNAs as biomarkers to determine cancer cells.
Scientists at University College London have also developed an alternative cancer detection technique that uses MRI to show sugar depletion, making it possible for accurate imaging of tumors to be better addressed.
Since cancer is genetically related, finding ways to discover the causative genes of cancer will be a reliable basis for cancer diagnosis. With this in mind, Eric Lander, one of the leaders of the Human Genome Project and dean of the Broad Institute, a division of Harvard and Massachusetts, prefers to use the latest means of gene sequencing. And he believes that with the decreasing cost, it will be possible to obtain a complete catalog of disease genes in the next five or six years.
Preventing and preventing cancer
Having talked about how scary cancer is, let’s emphasize that it is actually not that scary if prevented correctly.
According to the World Health Organization, more than 30% of cancers can be prevented by changing or avoiding several major risk factors: tobacco use, overweight or obesity, low fruit and vegetable intake, lack of physical activity, alcohol use, HPV infection, urban air pollution, and indoor smoke from solid fuel use in the home.
Of course, early vaccination against HPV and hepatitis B virus and reducing exposure to sunlight can also play a positive role in cancer prevention. At the same time, regular checkups, early medical consultation when you are not feeling well, and regular cancer screening for people with family genetic history, chronic diseases or long-term exposure to cancer-prone environment can effectively keep cancer out of the door.