Cancer (medicine), any of more than 100 diseases characterized by
excessive, uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells, which invade and
destroy other tissues . Cancer develops in almost any organ or tissue
of the body, but certain types of cancer are more lethal than others.
Cancer is the leading cause of death in Canada and second only to
heart disease in the United States. Each year, more than 1.2 million
Americans and 132,000 Canadians are diagnosed with cancer, and more
than 1,700 people die from cancer each day in the United States and
Canada. For reasons not well understood, cancer rates vary by gender,
race, and geographic region. For instance, more males have cancer than
females, and African Americans are more likely to develop cancer than
persons of any other racial and ethnic group in North America. Cancer
rates also vary globally-residents of the United States, for example,
are nearly three times as likely to develop cancer than are residents
of Egypt.
Introduction to Cancer Treatment
Cancer treatment varies depending upon your type of cancer, stage of
cancer, and overall condition. Additionally, your treatment may vary
depending on whether or not the goal of your treatment is to cure your
cancer, keep your cancer from spreading, or to relieve the symptoms
caused by cancer. Depending on these factors, you may receive one or
more of the following:
Surgery
Chemotherapy
Radiation therapy
Hormonal therapy
Targeted therapy
Angiogenesis means the formation of new blood vessels. Angiogenesis
is a process controlled by certain chemicals produced in the body.
These chemicals stimulate blood vessels or form new ones. Other
chemicals, called angiogenesis inhibitors, signal the process to stop.
Angiogenesis plays an important role in the growth and spread of
cancer. New blood vessels "feed" the cancer cells with oxygen and
nutrients, allowing these cells to grow, invade nearby tissue, spread
to other parts of the body, and form new colonies of cancer cells.
Because cancer cannot grow or spread without the formation of new
blood vessels, scientists are trying to find ways to stop
angiogenesis. They are studying natural and synthetic angiogenesis
inhibitors, also called anti-angiogenesis agents, in the hope that
these
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