Posts Tagged "cancer"
Hodgkin’s lymphoma
Hodgkin’s lymphoma, previously known as Hodgkin’s disease, is a type of lymphoma, which is a type of cancer originating from white blood cells called lymphocytes. It was named after Thomas Hodgkin, who first described abnormalities in the lymph system in 1832. Hodgkin’s lymphoma is characterized by the orderly spread of disease from one lymph node group to another and by the development of systemic symptoms with advanced disease.
Estimated new cases and deaths from Hodgkin’s lymphoma in the United States in 2009:
New cases: 8,510
Deaths: 1,290
Dexter Morgan – Michael C. Hall Fully Recovered From Cancer
Yeah, it is true. Now Dexter Morgan – Michael C. Hall fully recovered from cancer.
The wife of Michael C. Hall says the “Dexter” star is “fully recovered” from cancer and has returned to work.
Jennifer Carpenter said Friday that Hall was “incredibly brave” when he announced in January that he was undergoing treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer that attacks the lymph nodes.
She tells the Associated Press that Hall was “incredibly brave” during his cancer treatments.
Cancer Chemotherapy
Cancer is a disease characterized by a shift in the control mechanisms that govern cell survival, proliferation, and differentiation. Cells that have undergone neoplastic transformation usually express cell surface antigens that may be of normal fetal type, may display other signs of apparent immaturity, and may exhibit qualitative or quantitative chromosomal abnormalities, including various translocations and the appearance of amplified gene sequences. Such cells proliferate excessively and form local tumors that can compress or invade adjacent normal structures. A small subpopulation of cells within the tumor can be described as tumor stem cells. They retain the ability to undergo repeated cycles of proliferation as well as to migrate to distant sites in the body to colonize various organs in the process called metastasis. Such tumor stem cells thus can express clonogenic or colony-forming capability. Tumor stem cells are characterized by chromosome abnormalities reflecting their genetic instability, which leads to progressive selection of subclones that can survive more readily in the multicellular environment of the host. Quantitative abnormalities in various metabolic pathways and cellular components accompany this neoplastic progression. The invasive and metastatic processes as well as a series of metabolic abnormalities resulting from the cancer cause illness and eventual death of the patient unless the neoplasm can be eradicated with treatment.
Cancer is a Genetic Disease
The role of somatic mutations in cancer was debated for many years. Witkowski (1990) puts that historical debate in context with a comprehensive time line of developments in cancer research interleaved with developments in basic genetics and molecular biology.
Boveri (1914, 1929) often gets credit for the first comprehensive theory of somatic genetic changes in cancer progression (Wunderlich 2002). Tyzzer (1916) used the term “somatic mutation” to describe events in cancer progression. In the 1950s, Armitage and Doll (1954, 1957) cautiously described the stages of multistage progression as possibly resulting from somatic mutations but perhaps arising from other causes. Burdette (1955), in a comprehensive review of the role of genetic mutations in carcinogenesis, tended to oppose the central role of mutations in progression. In (1969), Fould’s extensive summary of cancer progression also downplayed the role of mutation.
