cancer cell

Cancer is a disease in which almost all body cells begin to divide uncontrollably. When cancer cells grow in solid tissues (such as organs, muscles or bones), we call them tumors. The latter may spread from the blood and lymphatic system to the surrounding tissues. Cancer treatment aims to eliminate these abnormal cells,腫瘤中醫推薦 or to slow or stop the spread of cancer cells.

Don't be fooled by these names. Solid tumors are divided into two categories: malignant tumors and benign tumors. Carcinogenic tumors can invade the surrounding tissues of the body, and as these tumors grow, some cancer cells may also dissociate to other parts of the body to form other "secondary" tumors. The latter is called metastasis (tumor).

Examples of solid malignancies include carcinomas and sarcomas. Cancer refers to cancers that develop within cells, which are the components of the inner organs of tissues, such as the liver or kidney. Sarcoma refers to cancers that form in the connective tissues of the body, such as cancers in muscles, bones, and nerves.

Schematic diagram of chimeric antigen receptor cells attacking and killing cancer cells. CAR T-cell therapy belongs to immunotherapy.

Benign tumors will not spread or metastasize to the whole body. Most benign tumors are not fatal, but some brain tumors can still cause inflammation and put pressure on the fragile tissues surrounding the tumor. A doctor can use a biopsy to determine whether a tumor is benign or carcinogenic.

Schematic diagram of chimeric antigen receptor cells attacking and killing cancer cells. CAR T-cell therapy belongs to immunotherapy.

Benign tumors will not spread or metastasize to the whole body. Most benign tumors are not fatal, but some brain tumors can still cause inflammation and put pressure on the fragile tissues surrounding the tumor. A doctor can use a biopsy to determine whether a tumor is benign or carcinogenic.

Hematological cancers usually do not exist in the form of solid tumors. In the case of leukemia, cancer often exists in the form of a set of specific white blood cells and naive red blood cells becoming carcinogenic and repelling healthy red blood cells. Lymphoma begins in lymphocytes, which are another form of white blood cells; lymphomas tend to dissociate throughout the body and settle in multiple places. Multiple myeloma is another form of blood cancer. It involves the accumulation of plasma cells, which are mature lymph nodes that can produce antibodies in the bone marrow.

Don't be fooled by these names. Every blood cancer has its own stage judgment, which determines the degree and position of the cancer in the *. On the contrary, the stage of solid tumors is determined according to the TNM system of the Joint Committee on Cancer Staging of the United States. Each type of cancer is judged based on many factors, including the size of the primary tumor and whether it has spread to the lymph nodes and other parts of the body.

As for solid tumor cancer, there are the following therapies to choose from, such as: radiotherapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and surgical removal (or partial removal) of the tumor. Surgery may reduce the side effects caused by other therapies. Immunotherapy has been proven to successfully treat lung cancer, bladder cancer, head and neck cancer, kidney cancer, melanoma, and lymphoma, and the academic community is also testing a series of other cancers.

Like the treatment of solid tumors, the treatment of hematological tumors includes chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy. Stem cell transplantation is also used to treat a variety of blood cancers and certain blood diseases that are not carcinogenic, such as aplastic anemia, immunodeficiency diseases and metabolic diseases. CAR T-cell therapy is a new type of immunotherapy. Its principle is to use specially reconstructed T-lymphocytes to attack cancer cells more precisely. So far, CAR T-cell therapy has been approved for the treatment of refractory non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and pediatric relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Because each patient's condition is different, oncologists will make a personal treatment plan for each patient based on some factors, including the progression of the disease, the location of the cancer, and the overall health of the patient.