Cancer cell
Encyclopedia
Natural killer cell
Natural killer cells are a type of cytotoxic lymphocyte that constitute a major component of the innate immune system. NK cells play a major role in the rejection of tumors and cells infected by viruses...
s) fail to recognize and/or destroy them. In the past a common belief was that cancer cells failed to be recognized and destroyed because of a weakness in the immune system
Immune system
An immune system is a system of biological structures and processes within an organism that protects against disease by identifying and killing pathogens and tumor cells. It detects a wide variety of agents, from viruses to parasitic worms, and needs to distinguish them from the organism's own...
. However, more recent research has shown that the failure to recognize cancer cells is caused by the lack of particular co-stimulated molecules that aid in the way antigen
Antigen
An antigen is a foreign molecule that, when introduced into the body, triggers the production of an antibody by the immune system. The immune system will then kill or neutralize the antigen that is recognized as a foreign and potentially harmful invader. These invaders can be molecules such as...
s react with lymphocyte
Lymphocyte
A lymphocyte is a type of white blood cell in the vertebrate immune system.Under the microscope, lymphocytes can be divided into large lymphocytes and small lymphocytes. Large granular lymphocytes include natural killer cells...
s.
Causes
By researching stem cells scientists have suggested that too much SP2 protein may turn stem cells into cancercells. Other issues thought to play a role in the spread of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
include virus
Virus
A virus is a small infectious agent that can replicate only inside the living cells of organisms. Viruses infect all types of organisms, from animals and plants to bacteria and archaea...
es, immune system issues, genetics, environment and age. However, a lack of particular co-stimulated molecules that aid in the way antigens react with lymphocytes can impair the natural killer cells ability and ultimately cause cancer.
All cancers begin in cells, the body's basic unit of life. To understand cancer, it's helpful to know what happens when normal cells become cancer cells.
The body is made up of many types of cells. These cells grow and divide in a controlled way to produce more cells as they are needed to keep the body healthy. When cells become old or damaged, they die and are replaced with new cells.
However, sometimes this orderly process goes wrong. The genetic material (DNA) of a cell can become damaged or changed, producing mutations that affect normal cell growth and division. When this happens, cells do not die when they should and new cells form when the body does not need them. The extra cells may form a mass of tissue called a tumor.
Pathology
White Blood cells are thought to use a dual receptor system when they determine whether or not to kill human cells. If a cell is under stress, turning into tumors, or infected molecules including MIC-A and MIC-B are produced to put on the surface of the cell. These work to detect and kill cancer cells.Discovery
Some descriptions of cancer go back to ancient EgyptAncient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
as far back as 1600 BC and the understanding of cancer was significantly advanced during the Renaissance period. However, Sir Rudolf Virchow
Rudolf Virchow
Rudolph Carl Virchow was a German doctor, anthropologist, pathologist, prehistorian, biologist and politician, known for his advancement of public health...
, a German biologist
Biologist
A biologist is a scientist devoted to and producing results in biology through the study of life. Typically biologists study organisms and their relationship to their environment. Biologists involved in basic research attempt to discover underlying mechanisms that govern how organisms work...
and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, is generally credited with discovering the first cancer cells. As Giovanni Morgagni had linked autopsy
Autopsy
An autopsy—also known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy , autopsia cadaverum, or obduction—is a highly specialized surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present...
findings seen with the unaided eye with the clinical course of illness, so Virchow correlated the microscopic pathology.
See also
- ApoptosisApoptosisApoptosis is the process of programmed cell death that may occur in multicellular organisms. Biochemical events lead to characteristic cell changes and death. These changes include blebbing, cell shrinkage, nuclear fragmentation, chromatin condensation, and chromosomal DNA fragmentation...
- BRCA1BRCA1BRCA1 is a human caretaker gene that produces a protein called breast cancer type 1 susceptibility protein, responsible for repairing DNA. The first evidence for the existence of the gene was provided by the King laboratory at UC Berkeley in 1990...
- CarcinogenCarcinogenA carcinogen is any substance, radionuclide, or radiation that is an agent directly involved in causing cancer. This may be due to the ability to damage the genome or to the disruption of cellular metabolic processes...
- CarcinogenesisCarcinogenesisCarcinogenesis or oncogenesis is literally the creation of cancer. It is a process by which normal cells are transformed into cancer cells...
- Epidemiology of cancerEpidemiology of cancerThe epidemiology of cancer is the study of the factors affecting cancer, as a way to infer possible trends and causes. The study of cancer epidemiology uses epidemiological methods to find the cause of cancer and to identify and develop improved treatments....
- OncologyOncologyOncology is a branch of medicine that deals with cancer...
External links
- BCG strain S4-Jena: An early BCG strain is capable to reduce the proliferation of bladder cancer cells by induction of apoptosis. Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved on 2010-12-01.
- The History of Cancer. Cancer.org. Retrieved on 2010-12-01