Cancer of what can be in women. The most dangerous types of cancer. Classifications and stages

Why do people fly into space, have entangled the entire planet with communications and create digital universes, but have not really learned how to treat some kind of stupid disease.

Matvey Vologzhanin

Let's dot the i's: we're all going to die of cancer - except for those who don't have time to live to see it. Now, enriched by this soothing knowledge, let us turn our gaze to that gloomy valley where souls tormented by terrible pincers dwell. Well, that is, let's try to understand why cancer has become such a black underside of our happy life in the 21st century.

Where does cancer come from

Sometimes there is a feeling that the cancer has broken the chain. Everyone suffers from it: movie stars, governors, athletes, top bloggers and your own classmate. It didn’t happen before: in childhood and early adolescence, you didn’t know a single person with this diagnosis, in books and movies, heroes died from anything - from tuberculosis, a broken leg, explosions in space and being bitten by poisonous chipmunks, but none of them got sick cancer. In any case, he did not confess. What is happening now is some kind of tent of the plague-stricken, in which everyone gets sick.

In social networks, half the feed is filled with reposts asking for help; every obituary seen in the news tells how a celebrity battled this damn disease; a rare series does without a character with a shaved head on a skinny neck and IVs sticking out of all other parts of the body. Involuntarily, you begin to think about the spoiled ecology, harmful mobile phones and all this chemistry in cutlets.

In fact, oncological diseases have always been one of the main causes of natural deaths - both in humans and in most higher animals. Cancer will soon come out on top in the top causes of death in the world, but only because now they are much better than before, able to cope with its main competitor - cardiovascular diseases. And those who did not die of a stroke or heart attack will be able to live up to cancer.

Such a pitiful, absolutely disproportionate presence of this disease in the cultural and intellectual life of mankind up to the beginning of the 21st century is explained by a single reason, which, however, can be called in different ways. Fear. Disgust. Doom. So far, cancer is large numbers cases of a death sentence with a slightly suspended execution.

People just didn't want to read and watch too much about him. The USSR went the furthest in this matter.

With all the love Soviet ideology to death in its military and heroic incarnations - oncological problems were recognized as denigrating, untimely and, using the official term of Soviet censorship, with "uncontrollable overtones." That is, the public, reading about a sick girl, can uncontrollably create a subtext in their head that life in a socialist state has become not for everyone better and not always more fun. So the word "cancer" was absolutely forbidden. Solzhenitsyn's Cancer Ward, in which the writer talks about his experience of fighting the disease, was considered anti-Soviet no worse than The Gulag Archipelago. But the Soviet children's writer Anatoly Aleksin in the book about doctors “Call and Come” boldly described the forbidden disease - however, he called it exclusively “that one” and “this”, for the whole story he never called her by name. By the way, the character who was ill with “the one” just turned out to be “not this”. It turned out to be a legitimate happy ending *.

People just didn't want to read and watch too much about him. The USSR went furthest in this matter. At the same time, oncology in the USSR developed quite actively, research was carried out, the effectiveness grew, interesting articles were printed. But these articles were usually kept in the closed departments of medical libraries, where access was mainly by passes, especially if the work contained a lot of statistics.

The cancer cells were hidden behind high fences, the sick were fenced off from the healthy, and the healthy could gallop like serene sheep on the lawn, not guessing what the sound of a cleaver being sharpened from behind the fence means.

Even glasnost didn't do much for the reason described above: the vast majority of people didn't want to think about cancer. And then everyone had to think about cancer.

There were two reasons:

a) the Internet;

b) the exorbitant cost of many types of new drugs and equipment.

And cancer patients, instead of quietly but habitually being out of the public eye, went to beg around the world. Ask for help. Demand money. Keep a diary with stories: “In the morning I was preparing for the eleventh chemo, and my son asked:“ Dad, you will not die before my birthday? Sobering reading. They burst here with an army of pale horses of the apocalypse - emaciated children and bald singers, one-breasted Amazons and criminal Walter Whites. And the world shuddered, realizing the scale of the problem.

And you shuddered along with him. And so there is no more cancer. But less, unfortunately, too.

cancer statistics

■ Every fiftieth inhabitant of our planet on this moment suffers from cancer. 80% of these people will die within five years. 20% will be cured, but will wait a lifetime for a relapse. Although, of course, statistics vary enormously from one diagnosis to another: there are types of cancer with an almost 100% chance of being cured, and there are types with a probability slightly different from zero.

■ The most common type of cancer is lung cancer. In second place is stomach cancer. The third place is shared by the prostate in men and the mammary gland in women (it hits the most important thing, an infection!).

■ Although both adults and children, and even unborn embryos, get sick with cancer, the likelihood of the disease increases with age, and after sixty years we enter the zone of maximum risk. True, in older people, cancer often develops more slowly than in young people, and in a situation where a young man would be devoured in a few months, old man can slowly crawl towards its sad goal for years, or even decades.

■ Spontaneous cases of self-healing from cancer happen. Extremely rare. Doctors do not consider this a miracle. Doctors consider this to be a genetically determined ability of this particular immunity to destroy tumor tissues at a certain stage of the disease.

■ Cancer is getting younger. Mainly because they learned to diagnose it better in the early stages, the population now goes to be checked more actively than twenty years ago.

■ Recently, there was a version, supported by some statistics, that people with the first blood type are more resistant to cancer than representatives of other groups. So far, a proven study on this topic exists only in relation to pancreatic cancer, which was conducted for several years at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (Boston, USA). The results were published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Indeed, among the sick, people with the first blood group were disproportionately represented. Researchers attribute this to the fact that the genes responsible for the first blood group, apparently, simultaneously regulate the work of antitumor mechanisms.

What is cancer

Let's start with the fact that there is no cancer at all. This is a made-up, incorrect, harmful term (the equivalent of which, however, is found in many other languages). We use it because we are an irresponsible entertainment magazine that for some reason undertook to write about cancer. That is, about these ... oncological diseases. Although this is also false. In fact, malignant neoplasms are hundreds of different diseases. And we, perhaps, completely in vain consider them as something unified and strongly slow down in their study because of this.

To put it quite simply, cancer is the independent behavior of a group of cells that begin to play against the rules. Share uncontrollably. Growing outside of boundaries. They reproduce throughout the body. They become immortal and invulnerable. They make friends with viruses that should have been kept out of the door. And so on - depending on the type and type of disease.

As a result of this self-activity, the body receives such damage to all organs and tissues that it ceases to function.

Why this happens is generally clear. Cells generally like to multiply, many of them still recall with nostalgia their independent existence outside the colonies. And only cruel genetic laws and immune police can somehow keep them in check. But not all and not always.

There are many reasons for such riots, and only in recent decades have scientists stopped looking for a general theory of origin for all cancers at once.

Here they can play a role in various combinations:

■ genetic disorders;

■ heredity (well, many rats are destined to die of cancer at the age of 3, dogs at 15, and people at 70);

■ viruses or bacteria;

■ various chemicals that enter the body in excessive or insufficient doses;

■ mechanical and chemical damage to tissues;

■ metabolic disorders...

■ and devils in a mortar.

Studying all this is exciting, but in a practical sense - not uncontrollably effective, because a simple and intelligible answer (cancer is caused by green pea and the cries of seagulls) are not and will not be.

Precisely because the causes of any case are always more complex, vast and varied than, for example, the causes of the Syrian conflict. The good news is that people are a little better at treating cancer than they are at solving intricate geopolitical problems.

All methods of treatment somehow come down to the following scheme.

■ Kill all crazy cells. They are usually much more vulnerable to poisons and radiation than obedient loyal cells - such is the price of independence.

■ Remove half-dead tumor, if necessary.

■ Finish off the refugees, possibly rushing through the body in search of a new home. And all this time, make sure that this organism does not die from such treatment for a long time.

Cancer and speculation

Just as there is no way to avoid getting cancer, there are no guaranteed ways to get hold of it. Even radiation sickness after a powerful dose of radiation may not lead to the appearance of malignant neoplasms. What can we say about smoking, stress, sunburn and malnutrition. The biggest predicted risk (if you do not take the same radiation sickness) is the presence in the nearest family history oncological problems on both sides, but even here you can stay with your nose and die in a hundred years from boring peritonitis without a single chemotherapy in history. However, even the most impeccably healthy lifestyle, frankly, does not provide serious statistical bonuses.

So, if they scare you with cancer, don’t really believe, but don’t believe in a healthy lifestyle panacea either. On the other hand, if, while escaping cancer, you do gymnastics, monitor nutrition and exercise, and minimize bad habits, you can definitely win on a much more predictable cardiovascular exchange, as well as hit the jackpot in the form of reducing the risk of diabetes by dozens of times. .

Why are medicines so expensive?

Not because they are made from the tears of castrated hummingbirds collected at dawn in the Andes. The most expensive thing in medicines is the cost of their development, which can reach up to a billion dollars per drug (and it still runs the risk of being unsuccessful and not reaching the consumer at all). Development basically looks like this: hundreds of people who receive a salary, go through tens of thousands of variants of molecules for several years, checking their behavior in different environments, conditions and organisms. And yes, once the molecule has been identified and synthesized, it can be stolen and stamped in India or Bangladesh, ignoring all the patent systems and quality control. Or you can buy an inexpensive patent with the most reduced number of options and start brewing a potion in vats that is more or less similar to the one described in the patent.

The drugs obtained by the last two routes are much cheaper, and they can be almost as effective as the original. And they may not be. They are called "generics". WHO in 2014 announced that it would support the production of generics with all its might, since in poor (or not very rich) countries, only they can save people. But in developed and civilized countries, it is not customary to spit on patents, and if generics are used there, then only after the expiration of the legal term of patent protection, and even then only high-quality, proven generics are allowed to be used.

It is this complexity in drug development that puts people with rare forms of cancer in a difficult position. Neither private companies nor even state research institutes are ready to invest millions and billions to create a medicine that will be needed by only a few hundred people a year on the entire planet. Therefore, funds for such research are collected by charitable foundations. But even if funds are raised, a rare disease will take longer to study and the effectiveness of the drug will be lower than in the case of a popular diagnosis - simply because with a small number of patients, the base for statistics and research is also small.

So it turns out that a patient with some exotic purple-spotted turnip-like tumor of the heel will first sell everything, starting with an apartment and ending with relatives, and then he will be subtly tortured for his own money. research center, where he will serve as a laboratory rat for a short but painful time. There is no justice here, but today it works just like that. But in ten years, you see, and the purple-spotted heel will cease to be a death sentence.

Does it make sense to be tested for tumor markers every six months?

No, it doesn't make sense. Testing for tumor markers is usually prescribed for those patients who, according to the results of other research methods or for some other signs, have a suspicion of having a tumor, or those patients who already have an oncological diagnosis (then tumor markers can help determine, for example, with treatment tactics at different stages of the disease). Only a few tumor markers have "predictive value", such as PSA for prostate cancer. It makes sense to monitor it regularly from the age of 50.

Now - and twenty years ago... Have we made any progress in the treatment of these diseases?

Undoubtedly! And how! The most striking example is the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children. This is a malignant blood disease, and long-term survival in Russia in the early 90s was no more than 5–7%, and now it is 70–90%! In addition, the level of modern medicine is such that many tumors in adults can be, if not cured, then transferred to a “chronic” form, that is, treated for a long time, sometimes for many years, without worsening the quality of life of patients. This is an important aspect, because most often the treatment of oncological diseases is accompanied by various troubles, such as side effects. And the doctor's task is not just to prescribe effective drugs, but also be able to manage their toxicity, prescribe competent accompanying therapy (painkillers, antiemetics, etc.). This is much better today than it was twenty years ago. And this is also a huge success.

Is it true that treatment in Russia is not much worse than anywhere in the world?

In Russia, there are separate clinics, separate centers where they are treated according to modern international standards. But such places, unfortunately, are very few. The problem is that we have people who live in different geographical areas or belong to different social groups, find themselves in essentially unequal conditions, have unequal access to the healthcare system. Therefore, in general, our country is very far behind developed countries on the level of oncological care, as well as on ensuring access of the population to medical care generally. The reasons are obvious, but there are too many to list here.

How do you feel about the situation when millions are collected for the treatment of a obviously incurable patient and then in some Singapore they are milked to the last?

There were cases (including those known to me personally) when "obviously incurable" patients recovered. And every year - with the development of antitumor therapy - there are more and more such patients. In addition, in the understanding of the doctor, every human life has value, and if the theoretical probability of survival is, for example, 5 out of 100, then we must spend money on treating everyone, because we don’t know in advance who exactly will fall into these 5%. I don't see any other way. In any case, it is better to spend billions on the sick than on war.

It is said that oncologists often refuse treatment. If you received a diagnosis with a very small chance, would you go into treatment or give up?

I read that many doctors "bequeath" not to resuscitate themselves (for example, at the onset of the terminal stage of the disease), but this is completely different and applies not only to oncological diseases. As for the mass refusal of oncologists from treatment, I don’t think that there are any statistics on this. Personally, I probably would have tried to use my chance. I will not dissemble: I want to live longer, but in such a way that it does not hurt very much ...

Our bodies are made up of billions of cells. The cells are so small that we can only see them under a microscope.

Cells are grouped together to make up the tissues and organs of our body. They are very similar, but they change differently because the organs of the body are very different. For example, nerves and muscles do different things, so cells have different structures.

We can group cancers according to the type of cell they start in. There are 5 main types:

• carcinoma - cancer that starts in the skin or in the tissues that build or cover internal organs. There are different subtypes, including adenocarcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and transitional cell carcinoma
• sarcoma - cancer that starts in connective or supporting tissues such as bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, or blood vessels
• leukemia - cancer that starts in blood-forming tissue, such as bone marrow, and causes abnormal blood cells to form and enter the bloodstream
• lymphomas and myelomas cancer diseases that start in the cells of the immune system. Open glossary
• cancer of the brain and spinal cord - these are known as cancers of the central nervous system.

Carcinoma

Carcinomas begin in epithelial tissues. They cover the exterior of the body like skin. They also cover and build all the organs inside the body such as organs digestive system. And they will line the body cavities such as the inside of the chest cavity and the abdominal cavity.

Carcinomas are the most common type of cancer. They make up about 85 out of every 100 cancer cases (85%) in Russia.

Exist different types epithelial cells, and they can develop into various types of carcinoma. These include the following.

Squamous cell carcinoma

Squamous cell carcinoma begins in squamous cells. These are flat, surface-covering cells found in areas such as the skin or lining of the throat or the food pipe (esophagus).

Adenocarcinoma

Adenocarcinomas begin in glandular cells called adenomatous cells. Glacular cells produce fluids to hold tissues together.

Transient cell carcinoma

Transitional cells are cells that can stretch as the organ expands. They make up tissues called transitional epithelium. An example is cladding Bladder. Cancers that start in these cells are called transient cell carcinoma.

Basal cell carcinoma

Basal cells line up the deepest layer of skin cells. Cancers that start in these cells are called basal cell carcinomas.

Sarcomas

Sarcomas begin in the connective tissues, which are the supporting tissues of the body. Connective tissues include bones, cartilage, tendons, and fibrous tissue that support organs.

Sarcomas are much rarer than carcinomas. They are usually grouped into two main types:

• soft tissue sarcomas.

Overall, they make up less than 1 out of every 100 cancers (1%) diagnosed each year.

Bone sarcomas

Sarcomas of the bone origin from bone cells. As a rule, they form in tubular bones. The insidiousness of this tumor lies in the fact that the sarcoma affects young people (from 20 to 50 years old).

Another type of sarcoma that is common is Ewing's sarcoma. This tumor only affects young children.

soft tissue sarcomas

Soft tissue sarcomas are rare, but the most common types start in cartilage or muscle.

cartilage cancer

Cartilage cancer is called chondrosarcoma.

tumor in the muscle

Muscle cell cancer is called rhabdomyosarcoma or leiomyosarcoma.

Leukemia: cancer of the blood cells

Leukemia is a condition in which the bone marrow makes too many white blood cells. The blood cells are not fully formed and therefore they do not work properly. Abnormal cells grow in the blood.

Leukemias are uncommon and account for only 3 out of 100 of all cancers (3%). But they are the most common type of cancer in children.

There are different types of leukemia.

Lymphomas and myeloma

Lymphomas and myeloma are cancers of the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system is a system of tubes and glands in the body that filters body fluid and fights infection.

Lymphomas

Lymphomas start as cells in the lymphatic system. Because the lymphatic system runs throughout the body, lymphoma can start just about anywhere.

Some of the lymphatic systems' white blood cells (lymphocytes) begin to divide abnormally and do not die as usual. These cells start dividing before they are fully grown (mature) so that they cannot fight infection.

Abnormal lymphocytes begin to collect in the lymph nodes or elsewhere, such as the bone marrow or spleen. Then they can turn into tumors.

Lymphomas account for about 5 out of every 100 cancer cases (5%) in Russia.

myeloma

Myeloma is also known as multiple myeloma. This is a cancer that starts in plasma cells. Plasma cells are a type of white blood cells made in the bone marrow. They produce antibodies, also called immunoglobulins, to fight infection.

Plasma cells can become abnormal, multiply out of control, and only make a type of antibody that doesn't work properly to fight infection.

Myeloma accounts for about 1 out of every 100 cancer cases (1%) in Russia.

Cancer of the brain and spinal cord

Cancer can begin in cells in the brain or spinal cord. The brain controls the body by sending electrical messages along nerve fibers. The fibers exit the brain and join together to make the spinal cord, which also receives messages from the body to the brain.

The brain and spinal cord form the central nervous system. The brain is made up of billions of nerve cells called neurons. It also contains special connective tissue cells called glial cells that support nerve cells.

The most common type of brain tumor develops from glial cells and is called a glioma. Some tumors that start in the brain or spinal cord are not cancerous (benign) and grow very slowly. Others are cancerous and are more likely to grow and spread.

Very often, fast-growing brain tumors are inoperable.

Tumors of the brain and spinal cord account for about 3 out of every 100 cancer cases (3%) in Russia.

Hodgkin's lymphoma

If you are in the region of 25-30 years, there is a danger of swollen lymph nodes. Most often it happens in the chest. A tumor appears, which begins to put pressure on the internal organs and disrupts their full functioning. Over time, it spreads to the liver, spleen, lungs, and bone marrow. Survive and heal early stage Hodgkin's lymphoma is real (91% of patients), late - also possible (73%).

According to the US National Cancer Institute, people who have had infectious mononucleosis are more at risk of the disease. One of the first signs of an impending disease is constantly swollen lymph nodes in the throat area. Not necessarily cancer can be the cause of this. But this is no reason to ignore the disease. As soon as noticed - run to the surgeon or hematologist.

testicular cancer

It affects the tissues that cover the canals of the testicles from the inside, in which spermatozoa are formed. Late stages may result in metastases in the lymph nodes of the groin, as well as the liver, brain and bones. At an early stage, up to 99% of patients survive, at a late stage - 73%. Make sure the testicles descend into the scrotum. Otherwise, you become 20-40 times more likely to end up with cancer. How to detect a disease? Doctors advise not to be shy and feel the organ. Noticed a painless nodule? Quickly to the oncologist.

Brain tumor

A brain tumor is an overgrowth of auxiliary nervous tissue that begins to put pressure on the entire organ. In most cases, these tumors are malignant. But apart from the brain, they do not spread anywhere else.

Survival:

• at an early stage - 65%;
• at the later stage - only 17%.

Tormented by constant headache, nausea, lethargy, loss of skin sensitivity, mental disorders, and so on - contact a neurologist and ask for a tomography.

Source: depositphotos.com

Melanoma

Melanoma is the most dangerous form of cancer. Although it begins with a harmless degeneration of a mole, in most cases the process turns out to be malignant. Cancer cells migrate very quickly throughout the body and easily penetrate into other tissues, forming metastases. It is possible to recover at an early stage (91%). But if you made it to the last, then only 15% have a chance to survive. This is because melanoma often ends in cancer of the liver, lungs, bones, and brain.

Basically, the disease clings to ultraviolet lovers. So do not get carried away with tanning on the beach or tanning salons. Melanoma is also found in blue-eyed, blond, redheads, people with large birthmarks and those with many moles on their skin. I noticed some change with my spots (color, size, hair loss), contact a dermatologist.

colon cancer

This disease usually develops from polyps on the walls of the colon, swollen with polyposis. Colon cancer metastases can reach the liver, lungs, and bones. It is realistic to survive at an early stage (90%), at a later stage it is more difficult (12%). Most often, the disease appears in those who use a lot of medicines and eat a lot of animal fats. The latter are decomposed in the intestine to carcinogenic substances. Those who lead a sedentary lifestyle and do not eat foods rich in coarse fiber are even more susceptible to colon cancer. You can find out if you have this disease with the help of a gastroenterologist and a colonoscopy.

Stomach cancer

The disease occurs on the wall of the stomach. Metastases spread rapidly to nearby lymph nodes, affecting the esophagus, liver, pancreas, and lungs.

Survival:

• early stage - 71%;
• late stage - 4%.

The reasons are excessive consumption of too salty and smoked foods, starch (potatoes) and alcohol. Also, stomach cancer can occur due to hereditary diseases, gastritis and ulcers. In the early stages, cancer is difficult to distinguish from ordinary poisoning or the same gastritis. We recommend having a gastroscopy once a year. Symptoms: lack of appetite, sudden weight loss, occasional unusual mild abdominal pain.

Source: depositphotos.com

Lung cancer

Most often, the disease develops in the bronchi. The danger lies in the fact that she makes herself known after she has touched neighboring organs or has reached the brain with bones. At an early stage, you have 54% to survive, at a later stage - no more than 4%. The main cause of this type of cancer is smoking. Only tomography helps to detect it at an early stage. chest or an endoscopic examination called the terrible word fibrobronchoscopy.

kidney cancer

Occurs in the tissues of the channels where urine is formed. Metastases spread to the second kidney, adrenal glands, liver, lungs, brain, bones of the skull, spine and pelvis.

Survival:

• at an early stage - 90%;
• late - 11%.

Causes: smoking, alcohol, obesity, heredity, constant overdose of analgesics and diuretics. In 25-40% of cases, it is detected by chance during ultrasound or computed tomography. One of the characteristic symptoms at a far from early stage is blood in the urine, after which you will run to the urologist without any examinations.

bladder cancer

Occurs, respectively, in the bladder itself. The first symptoms appear too late: when the disease grows through the wall of the bladder, or the tumor itself has matured and begins to bleed. Metastases can affect the lungs, liver, bones. At an early stage, 98% of patients have a chance to survive, at a late stage - only 6%.

Causes: smoking, inflammatory processes (cystitis), bladder papilloma. Bladder cancer can be detected in advance with the help of cytoscopy.

For an ordinary person, the diagnosis of cancer sounds like a sentence. In fact, the disease is very different. Some of its types are easily detected and effectively treated. Others are rare and difficult to determine, but if they appear, they beat for sure.

Science classifies oncological diseases depending on which system or which organ they affect. In domestic medicine, cancer is only a carcinoma, that is, a malignant tumor of the epithelial cells of internal organs.

Actually, the very name of the disease appeared when the ancient sage Hippocrates, studying the causes of death of some of his compatriots, dissected the affected organ and decided that the tumor found there reminded him of cancer (in Greek - karkinos). Later, the ancient Roman physician Cornelius Celsus translated the term into Latin: cancer.

Other types of illness that do not affect the epithelium are called differently: sarcoma appears in the muscles, bones and connective tissue, lymphoma affects the lymph, and so on.

Blood cancer, brain cancer - these are common, but inaccurate, philistine terms.

Types of malignant tumors, if classified according to the affected organs and tissues, are several dozen. But only 12 types of cancer account for almost 70% of all cancers in Russia.

Fortunately, the most common does not mean the most deadly. Let's talk about the first and second, focusing on three parameters:

What are the risks of dying from a particular disease in a given period of time, such as a year. This indicator is called lethality.

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• Registered: 692,297 people
• Died in a year: 22,098 people
• Lethality: 3.0%

Seals in the chest are common, caused by many factors, including tumors. In most cases, neoplasms appear in the lobules of the mammary glands (cells responsible for the formation of milk) and the ducts connecting the lobules to the nipples.

The cells of the mammary glands, like all others, use receptors so that the incoming chemical signals cause the desired cellular reactions. How the receptors behave helps determine the type of breast cancer and find the most effective treatment.

Estrogen-dependent tumors

Normal breast cells and some cancer cells contain receptors that can capture and attract estrogen and progesterone into the cell. Receiving hormonal nourishment, the tumor grows.

Those types of cancer that are formed by such cells respond well to hormone therapy. Certain drugs block the receptors that accept estrogen and progesterone, hormones stop entering the cells, and the tumor stops growing.

Most breast cancers are like this.

HER2 positive tumors

Other receptors that accept the HER2 protein (epidermal growth factor receptor) also stimulate cell development. HER2-positive cancer subtype is rarer, but also more aggressive than estrogen-dependent tumors. However, it can also be affected by certain drugs that block the HER2 protein.

In oncology, sensitivity is a good indicator. The more sensitive the neoplasm, the better organism respond to treatment.

Triple negative subtype

If the tumor does not have any of the above receptors, it is called triple negative. This is the rarest of listed kind neoplasms. These tumors spread rapidly and are difficult to treat. They are more common in women with a growth-suppressing mutation in the BRCA1 gene. cancer cells.

• Registered: 531,981 people
• Died in a year: 5,258 people
• Lethality: up to 3.7%

Melanoma is not the most common, but the most dangerous type of skin cancer. malignant tumor in this case, it grows and metastasizes at a tremendous rate.

Other, non-melanoma types of cancer (basal cell and squamous cell) are much more common, but they are less dangerous, more treatable, and generally have a higher survival rate.

The best way recognize skin cancer in time - pay attention to new or changed color or shape of skin lesions.

Particular attention should be paid to moles that are unlike others or have changed their shape.

These signs should make you consult a doctor (dermatologist or oncologist):

• asymmetry (one half of the mole does not match the size of the other);
• uneven edges (rough, blurry, jagged);
• the color is not like others, interspersed with yellow, brown or black in a single mole;
• diameter over 6 mm;
• any changes in size, color, shape.

Superficial spreading melanoma

The most common form of melanoma (about 70% of cases). It looks like a flat or slightly convex area of ​​skin with fuzzy uneven borders that has changed color. May appear in place of moles.

Lentiginous melanoma

It is similar to the previous view and is formed close to the surface of the skin, often from age spots. It occurs in the elderly and those who spend a lot of time in the sun.

Acrolentiginous melanoma

Appears as a black or brown spot under the nails, on the soles, palms.

nodular melanoma

Very aggressive form. By the time of detection, as a rule, cancer has already penetrated deep into nearby tissues. This process is called invasion.

• Registered: 238,212 people
• Died in a year: 12,565 people
• Lethality: 5%

Timely diagnosis of prostate cancer can save lives. But early detection raises a tricky question: Which is worse, the disease or the side effects of treatment?

The fact is that many prostate tumors develop very slowly and may not cause serious problems for years, or even decades. But treatment sometimes leads to undesirable side effects including incontinence and impotence.

In order not to miss the development of this type of cancer, it is recommended that all men after 50 years of age consult a doctor and begin to examine the prostate annually. And if oncological diseases were found in the next of kin, it is advisable to start regular examinations from the age of 45.

Adenocarcinoma

More than 95% of all malignant tumors of the prostate are adenocarcinomas that form from the epithelium of the gland (the root "adeno" in Greek means "gland"). But within this category, neoplastic cells take on a variety of forms. The WHO classification describes the variants: swollen cells, colloidal, cricoid (the nuclei are displaced to the periphery, so that the cells look like rings with stones). And this is not all types.

Oncologists use the Gleason classification, which is based on differentiation (that is, the degree of maturation) of cells.

The less differentiated tumor cells, the more complex the form of cancer. Such neoplasms are assigned the fifth gradation: they are dangerous and spread rapidly. Well differentiated cells receive the first gradation. They look almost healthy.

small cell carcinoma

A rare and aggressive form of prostate cancer that is difficult to detect. Unlike adenocarcinomas, it does not secrete a signal marker protein, prostate-specific antigen (PSA), which is usually found in a blood test. The tumor consists of small round cells, hence the name.

Squamous cell carcinoma

This type of prostate cancer has nothing to do with glandular tissue. Squamous cell carcinoma affects the squamous epithelial tissue of the prostate, and since PSA levels do not rise, it is difficult to detect. Carcinoma is very aggressive, the average life expectancy after its detection is just over a year. Fortunately, it is rare: less than 1% of all cases of prostate cancer.

• Registered: 177,755 people
• Died in a year: 8,386 people
• Lethality: 5%

Almost all cancers begin in the epithelium of the nephron tubules - these are the main cells of the kidneys. Unfortunately, at an early stage, the disease practically does not manifest itself. A tumor can only be detected on an ultrasound of the kidney, if for some reason it is prescribed.

As the cancer progresses, so do the symptoms. They usually include blood in the urine (which may come and go), pain in the peritoneum, and a lump around the kidneys that can be felt.

Kidney cancer has long been considered chemo-resistant, but researchers are pushing it all the way more success in medical treatment.

Until recently, any kidney cancer was classified as renal cell carcinoma. Now the disease is divided into subcategories.

Clear cell kidney cancer

The most common type, it accounts for up to 85% of cases. It is difficult to diagnose at an early stage.

papillary kidney cancer

This category, in turn, is divided into two subtypes. The first accounts for up to 5% of all cases of kidney cancer, the second - up to 10%. They differ in the size of the affected cells and the risk of metastases: in the first case, these cells are small, in the second they are large and more often lead to metastasis to other organs.

The first subtype often has a hereditary nature. Mitogen (a gene that causes a tumor) is transmitted from parents through germ cells - gametocytes.

• Registered: 167,585 people
• Died in a year: 1,117 people
• Lethality: 0.6%

Thyroid cancer is highly treatable. Sometimes it is discovered after the appearance of a bump on the throat (this is how the enlarged thyroid gland makes itself felt), sometimes when the patient complains of difficulty swallowing, breathing, or a hoarseness of voice.

Only 5% of thyroid tumors develop aggressively and threaten other organs.

Many neoplasms grow so slowly that recently they have even ceased to be considered malignant.

Most thyroid tumors do not respond to chemotherapy, but some new developments are promising. For example, kinase inhibitors help to block an enzyme present in tumor cells. They also prevent the growth of new blood vessels.

Differentiated tumors

About 90% of thyroid cancers are well-differentiated tumors. They are divided into subgroups: papillary, follicular. They are more common in women and young adults and have a favorable prognosis.

Medullary cancer

Sometimes it is caused by the inheritance of a mutation in the RET proto-oncogene. Patients with this abnormality are often advised to remove the thyroid gland. Otherwise, the chances of successful treatment are significantly reduced.

Anaplastic cancer

The most aggressive type of thyroid carcinoma. Such neoplasms grow rapidly, respond poorly to treatment and actively metastasize to other organs.

• Registered: 128,264 people
• Died in a year: 4,946 people
• Lethality: 5.3%

Lymphoma is any malignant process that begins in the lymphatic system. The most commonly affected lymph nodes are small oval organs that cleanse the body of debris such as viruses, bacteria, and cancer cells. The nodes are connected by vessels through which not blood flows, but lymph. It is a fluid containing white blood cells - lymphocytes.

The lymphatic system takes fluid and waste products from the bloodstream. Lymphomas weaken the immune system and increase the risk of infections.

If you have swollen lymph nodes, contact your doctor as soon as possible. This is not necessarily a lymphoma: other diseases can also manifest themselves in this way.

The lymphatic and circulatory systems are interconnected and permeate the entire body. These are the pathways that cancer uses to spread metastases.

The lymphatic system is complex, so lymphomas are complex diseases. There are a great many of their categories and subcategories, which differ significantly from each other.

Hodgkin's lymphoma

Begins with lymphocytes. The most common form of classical Hodgkin's lymphoma, which is characterized by the appearance of giant lymphocytes. They are called Reed-Berezovsky-Sternberg cells. In 5% of cases, malignant cells are histiocytes that look like popcorn.

Most cancer cells are susceptible to DNA damage. That's what chemotherapy is for.

With the help of special substances, doctors destroy DNA strands. Affected cells cannot reproduce and die.

The first FDA (Food and Drug Administration) chemotherapy for Hodgkin's lymphoma was given in 1949. Nitroyprit was used - an analogue of the chemical warfare agent mustard gas.

Today, other drugs are used in chemotherapy. Moreover, they are used successfully: according to statistics, 9 out of every 10 people recover.

Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas

These forms are much more diverse. Many subgroups are more aggressive than the Hodgkin form. If the cells stick together, the lymphoma is called follicular (from the Latin folliculus - "pouch"). Cancer cells can spread within the lymphatic tissue evenly without clustering. In this case, the lymphoma is said to develop in a diffuse manner.

A promising new treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphomas is based on the use of T-lymphocytes. These are immune cells that are present in the blood. Geneticists work on them in laboratories to place special chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) on their surface. These CAR-T lymphocytes can recognize proteins that help tumor cells hide from the patient's immune system. This is the fundamental principle of immunotherapy in general: to identify cancer so that the immune system can attack it.

• Registered: 113,182 people
• Died in a year: 6,094 people
• Lethality: 4.5%

Blood in the urine is a characteristic and often the first symptom of bladder cancer. This occurs in 8 out of 10 cases of the disease, more often affecting men.

Bladder cancer often spreads to other parts of the urinary system, including the kidneys, ureters, and urethra.

And this happens even after a course of treatment.

About 95% of bladder cancer develops in the cells lining the organ from the inside. These cells - the urothelium - are constantly in contact with urine and, more importantly, with the substances that it removes from the body, and these are carcinogens. For example, chemical compounds, contained in tobacco smoke or exhaust gases, can thus provoke the development of a malignant neoplasm.

This type of cancer quickly adapts to medications. Therefore, it is important to choose new types of treatment. For example, one of them - gene therapy - uses modified viruses that act specifically on bladder tumors. As a result, cancer cells are marked with a hormone that gives the immune system a sign: here is the danger, this cell must be attacked and destroyed.

• Registered: 86,129 people
• Died in a year: 7,208 people
• Lethality: 6%

Most types of leukemia - as blood cancers are properly called - begin in hematopoietic stem cells. These cells are responsible for hematopoiesis and are found in the bone marrow.

At an early stage, leukemia can hint about itself with signs related to the characteristics of the blood:

• The appearance of purple and red spots on the skin. Most often, these point hemorrhages (petechiae) are formed on the chest, back, arms. The spots are small, often mistaken for a rash and ignored.
• Unusual bleeding. For example, the most small scratch may bleed for a long time.

If these symptoms are accompanied by other signs - a decrease in immunity, unexplained weight loss, swollen lymph nodes, fatigue, weakness, a visit to the therapist is required.

Leukemias are divided into acute and chronic. Acute ones spread rapidly, chronic ones do not. Many types of chronic leukemia are well controlled and patients can live with them for years or decades.

The number of cancers that can be called chronic is only growing. There are more people living with cancer today than at any time in history.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)

It affects lymphocytes - white blood cells that are responsible for fighting infections. This is one of the most common blood cancers.

Recurrent CLL is difficult to get rid of: tumors become insensitive to previous treatment, especially chemotherapy.

new type drugs should slow the spread of the disease. It aims to identify specific mutations that increase resistance to chemotherapy.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)

Children are more likely to suffer from this disease. Standard treatment includes chemotherapy, and five-year survival in juveniles is significantly higher than in adults (85% versus 50%).

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• Registered: 19,837 people
• Died in a year: 18,020 people
• Lethality: 39.9%

There is no mistake in the numbers: the death rate from pancreatic cancer is indeed almost equal to the number of cases registered. But this speaks not so much about the aggressiveness of the disease (although it should not be written off), but about a significant underestimation of primary patients. That is, cancer is so asymptomatic that it is diagnosed either at the final stage, when it is no longer possible to help a person, or even posthumously.

Chronic pancreatitis, adenoma or pancreatic cyst can simplify early diagnosis. These diseases can be harbingers of cancer.

Pancreatic cancer develops slowly. It takes about 10 years for the first degenerate cancer cell to start growing aggressively. But even after that, it takes another 5-7 years for a detectable tumor to form.

As soon as the first metastasis appears, the process accelerates: from this moment until the death of the patient, an average of 2.7 years passes. Chances of recovery or suspension disease development are, unfortunately, small.

Adenocarcinoma

Doctors have five forms of pancreatic cancer. Adenocarcinoma, which is formed from the epithelium of the ducts, is the most common of them. It occurs in 80-85% of cancer cases.

acinar cell carcinoma

In this case, neoplasms develop from cells that produce digestive enzymes - acini.

Squamous cell carcinoma and others

Squamous and undifferentiated cancer and cystadenocarcinoma are much less common. Like other forms of pancreatic cancer, they have an unfavorable prognosis.

• Registered: 8,590 people
• Died in a year: 9,859 people
• Lethality: 38.4%

In this case, the situation with the diagnosis is even bleaker. Liver cancer is often determined either posthumously or already at the final stage, when the patient is only a few months or even weeks away.

The reason for this is the same as in pancreatic cancer. Oncological diseases of the liver most often develop almost asymptomatically.

This means that the person is not worried about anything. And when pain appears in the right side and other signs appear, medicine is already powerless.

Depending on the origin, malignant neoplasms of the liver are divided into two types.

Primary liver cancer

This type includes primarily hepatocellular carcinoma, also known as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), or hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This is the name of a malignant tumor that develops directly in the liver cells - hepatocytes.

Less common are the other three types of disease:

• cholangiocarcinomas (cholangiocellular cancer) - tumors that develop from the epithelium of the intrahepatic bile ducts;
• mixed hepatocholangiocarcinomas - they affect the cells of both the liver and the intrahepatic bile ducts;
• fibrolamellar carcinoma.

These types of cancer are called primary because the oncoprocess begins in the liver itself, and does not come to it from other organs.

Metastatic liver cancer (secondary)

Such tumors penetrate the liver with metastases - from other diseased organs. Secondary cancer is much more common than primary cancer, since almost all organs can metastasize to the liver.

• Registered: 13,820 people
• Died in a year: 6,903 people
• Lethality: 29.9%

Like all of the most dangerous types of cancer, this one has no symptoms in its early stages. Malignant neoplasms, developing, narrow the lumen of the esophagus. It doesn't hurt and is almost imperceptible. So, some difficulties with swallowing - first dense and solid food, then semi-liquid, and later even water and saliva.

These difficulties increase gradually.

When a person realizes that something is wrong with him, and goes to the doctors, the cancer has already reached the 3-4th stage.

Unfortunately, almost incurable.

Depending on the place where the tumor appeared, cancer of the thoracic region (in its upper, middle and lower thirds), cervical and abdominal sections of the esophagus is isolated.

Adenocarcinoma of the esophagus

This tumor develops from the cells of the inner lining - the mucous layer of the esophagus and spreads deep into its wall. Adenocarcinoma usually forms in the lower part of the esophagus, near the stomach.

Squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus

This type of malignant neoplasm appears in the flat cells lining the lumen of the esophagus. Squamous cell carcinoma most commonly occurs in the upper and middle parts of the esophagus.

Other malignant primary tumors of the esophagus

Less common, but still found: spindle cell carcinoma (poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma), verrucous cell carcinoma (highly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma), pseudosarcoma, mucoepidermoid carcinoma, glandular squamous cell carcinoma, cylindroma (cystic glandular carcinoma), primary oat cell carcinoma, choriocarcinoma, carcinoid and primary malignant melanoma.

Metastatic esophageal cancer

Occasionally, the oncoprocess in the esophagus is triggered from the outside - by metastases from other organs. Most often, these are metastases of melanoma and breast cancer. In addition, tumors of the head and neck, lung, stomach, liver, kidney, prostate, testicle, and bone tissue metastasize into the esophagus.

Metastases usually spread in the connective tissue stroma surrounding the esophagus, while primary esophageal cancer grows from the mucosa or submucosa of the esophagus itself.

• Registered: 144,010 people
• Died in a year: 50,176 people
• Lethality: 21.9%

In Russia, this type of cancer is especially deadly. Every second patient who is diagnosed with the disease dies within a year - this is called a one-year mortality.

This is partly because the complex structure of the lungs makes it difficult to detect and treat a tumor in time. It grows, gives metastases to the bloodstream, lymphatic system and other organs.

More than 80% of neoplasms are found at this stage, when it is almost impossible to help the patient.

Small cell (oat cell) cancer

Small cell neoplasms often form in the bronchi (airways) and are very aggressive: metastases appear quickly. This type of cancer is more common in smokers.

Non-small cell cancer

More than 90% of lung cancers are non-small cell neoplasms, and about 40% of these are adenocarcinomas.

From 25 to 30% of non-small cell lung cancer is formed on the inner surface of the bronchi - these are squamous cell carcinomas. The rest of the tumors are grouped into the category of "large cell carcinoma".

• Registered: 139,591 people
• Died in a year: 28,512 people
• Lethality: 14.4%

Stomach cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in Russia (and in the world). A malignant tumor develops from the cells of the inner lining of the stomach.

Depending on the place where the neoplasm is located, there are:

• cancer of the upper (proximal - close to the esophagus) sections of the stomach;
• cancer of the middle sections - the body of the stomach;
• cancer of the lower (distal - closer to the duodenum) sections.

However, this classification is incomplete: the tumor can spread to two or more departments and capture the entire stomach.

Like other malignant neoplasms, stomach cancer can grow deep into the wall of the organ, as well as into other organs and tissues.

For example, spread along the digestive tube to the esophagus, duodenum, pancreas, liver... Tumor cells can be carried with the blood stream to distant organs, such as lungs and bones.

The main problem is that in the initial, curable stages, gastric cancer is often asymptomatic. Or it disguises itself as other diseases of the gastrointestinal tract - the same gastritis, pancreatitis, colitis or an ulcer. The tumor is discovered by accident: for example, when a patient is prescribed an endoscopic examination due to strange sensations in the abdomen.

But often stomach cancer is detected only when it has already manifested itself as distinct symptoms, has metastasized and has become incurable.

Adenocarcinoma

This type of cancer is formed in the glandular epithelium of the stomach. Adenocarcinoma can be:

• highly differentiated (a high cylindrical epithelium is formed);
• moderately differentiated (flatter, cube-like cells);
• poorly differentiated (video-modified cells almost do not rise above the surface of the epithelium).

In terms of cell shape, perhaps the most aggressive type of adenocarcinoma is signet ring cell carcinoma of the stomach.

Squamous cell carcinoma

The least common type of tumor. Occurs between the layers of the glandular epithelium of the stomach from flat cells.

Glandular squamous cell carcinoma

This tumor combines elements of adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma.

Neuroendocrine carcinoma

It is a rare but highly malignant form of stomach cancer. As a rule, it gives a lot of metastases.

undifferentiated cancer

This is a tumor whose cells have different sizes: they can be both small and large (respectively, we are talking about small or large cell cancer), as well as polymorphic - in this case, all transitional cell forms are present.

• Registered: 383,510 people
• Died in a year: 40,543 people
• Lethality: up to 8.1%

The intestine has two sections: the small intestine and the large intestine. The main department of the latter is the so-called colon with a total length of up to 1.5 meters. It is her cancer that strikes most often.

The lethality of bowel cancer is relatively low. But because of its prevalence, it is second only to lung cancer in terms of the number of deaths.

Tumors that affect the intestines can grow for a long time, up to 15–20 years. Sometimes neoplasms develop from polyps - these are abnormal growths of tissues over mucous membranes. Every third or even every second has them, but few people notice them. Less than 10% of polyps degenerate into malignant tumors.

Cancer cells can invade the veins and arteries of the intestines, as well as the vessels of the lymphatic system (this process is called lymphovascular invasion). Blood and lymph wash the entire body, so the risk of infection of other organs increases.

Mucus-forming tumors

These tumors spread rapidly and differ in that they contain a lot of extracellular and intracellular mucus. The latter pushes the nucleus against the cell wall, which makes the cell look like a ring. Ring-shaped cancers are less treatable than others.

Important facts about cancer

Tumors are benign. This means that they are stable, surrounded by the tissue from which they are formed, and will not spread throughout the body. They are harmless.

Other tumors invade neighboring tissues. These are malignant neoplasms.

Cancer can be pre-invasive, that is, in the initial stages of development, when tumor cells do not germinate into the organ on which they are formed. At this stage, the treatment gives the best result. But over time, developing, cancer penetrates the surrounding tissues and can metastasize to other organs.

Cancer cells can also penetrate into the veins and arteries, as well as into the vessels of the lymphatic system. Blood and lymph wash the entire body, so that the risk of infection of other organs increases.

The shape and type of tumor cells can determine which treatment will be most effective.

Tumor cells are tested for sensitivity to treatment. The higher it is, the better the prognosis. Most cancer cells respond to DNA destruction. It is the destruction of DNA strands that drugs for chemotherapy are engaged in.

Tumors often survive and grow faster because they grow through the blood vessels that feed them. This process is called angiogenesis.

After treatment, it is important to determine how many affected cells remain in the body. Modern studies such as PCR (polymerase chain reaction) detect even trace amounts of such cells.

Methods for the treatment of oncological diseases are actively developing. A cancer vaccine is being tested, which is made on the basis of the patient's cells. These cells are trained in laboratories to activate the immune system to fight cancer and then returned to the human body.

After surgery, adjuvant therapy is used - chemotherapy, which destroys small metastases and mutations that underlie tumors.

Some types of cancer are inherited. It is possible to identify genes that increase the risk of developing the disease, and to prevent or detect the disease at an early stage. This procedure is called genome sequencing.

All oncological diseases do not manifest themselves at first. Therefore, if you have any unusual symptoms, it is worth consulting with a therapist. And of course, regularly undergo scheduled preventive examinations.

Designers - Oleg Selivanov, Ekaterina Denisenko.

Editor - Alina Mashkovtseva.

Proofreader - Olga Sytnik.

Typesetter - Dmitry Naumov.