What are cancerous tumors. Types of cancer and methods of their treatment. The most dangerous type of cancer. Blood related cancers

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Despite the fact that this is the most common type of cancer in the world, it is a separate line in oncological statistics.

This disease is of two types: melanoma and skin cancer, which is not - the vast majority of cases of skin cancer.

The most common form is basal cell carcinoma: a tumor that develops from cells in the deep layer of the epidermis. Millions of such diagnoses are made every year in the world.

No one has exact statistics, because skin cancer (except for melanoma) is not taken into account in the total calculations. Skin cancer that is not melanoma is well treated, does not metastasize, and in 99% of cases does not lead to death.

Symptoms of basal cell skin cancer are redness and peeling of the skin that does not go away for a long time.

Often this type of cancer appears on the face. A common method of treatment is photodynamic therapy: it allows you to remove the tumor and preserve the aesthetic appearance of the skin.

Actually, melanoma is an extremely dangerous type of tumor. It occurs when moles on the human body degenerate into a malignant formation. In the world, about 200 thousand people fall ill with melanoma per year, and about 10 thousand in Russia. This type of cancer often and quickly metastasizes, including to the brain.

A doctor is usually treated with suspicious moles that have changed color or shape, grow and bleed.

If there is a possibility of melanoma, the doctor prescribes a complete examination to find out how far the tumor has gone and whether it has metastasized. The mole is then removed and sent for histological examination to confirm the diagnosis.

“If the melanoma has already metastasized, the patient is prescribed drug therapy. In the treatment of melanoma, immunotherapy and targeted therapy are more effective. Some may also benefit from conventional chemotherapy. In order to prescribe adequate treatment, it is necessary to study the morphology of the tumor and understand in which genes the mutations have occurred, ”explains MD, head of the Center for Laser and Photodynamic Diagnosis and Tumor Therapy of the Moscow Research Institute of Optics. Herzen Elena Filonenko.

Lung cancer

It most often leads to death - 20% of all deaths from malignant tumors occur in lung cancer. And only 5% of people who are diagnosed with this disease will live 10 years or more - all because this disease is often detected at a late stage, when it is already incurable.

All over the world, men get lung cancer twice as often as women, in Russia - four times more often.

The main reason, of course, is smoking (men smoke more than women) - smokers have a 15 times higher risk of lung cancer than those who have never smoked. But the development of lung cancer is also affected by harmful working conditions in production, where men are mainly employed - for example, in the oil industry, in the extraction and processing of coal, in metallurgy.

Smoking hookah, contrary to popular belief, is also not harmless - it doubles the risk of lung cancer.

Lung cancer usually affects men over 60 years of age. In 2015, 48,000 men and 12,000 women fell ill with lung cancer (as well as trachea and bronchi) in Russia.

There are several types of lung cancer: squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, large cell and small cell cancer, adenocystic and mucoepidermoid cancer. Recently, tumors of several types are often encountered at once. Lung cancer can also be central and peripheral.

In the later stages, it gives numerous metastases - to the liver, brain, bones, to another lung. The prognosis and treatment strongly depend on which tumor is found in the patient and at what stage.

“In the early stages, lung cancer in most cases proceeds without clinical manifestations. The disease is detected in such an early phase of development during an annual preventive examination with mandatory x-rays, or better, CT of the chest organs. The development of the disease can be suspected by a prolonged persistent cough with streaks of blood in the sputum. Unfortunately, often patients, especially experienced smokers, do not pay due attention to these symptoms, ”says MD, head of the department of thoracoabdominal oncosurgery of the Moscow Research Institute of Surgery. Herzen Andrey Ryabov.

In the later stages, there is constant shortness of breath, aching chest pains, hemoptysis, general weakness and fever. Patients often complain of pain of various localization (due to bone metastases, nerve damage). It is not difficult to detect the disease at this moment, but treatment will not help much.

Andrey Ryabov

Head of the Department of Thoracoabdominal Oncology Herzen, MD

The most dangerous type of lung cancer is small cell. It quickly metastasizes throughout the body. If a patient is diagnosed with small cell lung cancer at any stage, treatment - chemotherapy - should be started immediately.

With non-small cell lung cancer at the first or third stage, an operation can be effective - removal of the lung or part of it. Depending on the stage of the disease, this makes it possible to cure from 30 to 80% of patients.

If surgical treatment is not possible for any reason, radiation therapy may be an alternative to surgery: with its help, 15-30% of patients with non-small cell lung cancer of the first or second stage recover.

Radiation therapy may also be given as an additional treatment after surgery.

Unfortunately, in the last stage of lung cancer, the probability of death is 100%. Doctors can only offer palliative care: a little prolong life and relieve the pain of the patient.

In Russia in 2015, more than 60,000 new cases were detected. In general - 12%, that is, every eighth woman will face this diagnosis during her life.

The probability of getting sick increases rapidly after 40-50 years.

Breast tumors are divided into hormone-dependent and non-hormone-dependent. The first type is less aggressive and is better treated.

Breast cancer is also genetically determined - it is much more dangerous than non-hereditary forms. Therefore, those women whose relatives have already been ill should be especially careful in their diagnosis and treatment.

In general, breast cancer is treated fairly well. In the early stages, the efficiency is over 90%. And the survival rate at the first stage is even close to 100%.

According to the head of the breast oncology department of the Moscow Research Institute of Herzen Aziz Zikiryakhodzhaev, now breast cancer is increasingly detected quite early: 20-30 years ago, only 40% of tumors were found at the first or second stage, now it is already about 70%.

It is not always necessary to remove the breast for breast cancer. At the first or second stage, only the sector of the gland where the tumor is located is removed. In later stages, it is necessary to remove the gland completely, but thanks to implants, doctors can maintain an aesthetic appearance.

Aziz Zikiryakhodzhaev

Head of the Department of Breast Oncology, MNII named after Herzen

Depending on the stage of the disease and the type of tumor, the operation may be supplemented with chemotherapy, hormonal or radiation therapy.

If the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes (usually axillary, subscapular and subclavian), then they also have to be removed.

Today, the procedure is much more gentle than in the 1970s and 1980s: then surgeons immediately removed all the lymph nodes, and sometimes the muscles - because of this, women developed problems with the hand, lymphostasis (edema).

Now only the affected lymph nodes are removed, and after the operation, rehabilitation is carried out: they give loads on the arm, make vacuum drainage. Due to this, women almost do not face postoperative complications.

Breast cancer prevention includes pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Many people believe that oral contraceptives (OCs) increase the risk of breast cancer - doctors agree that this is not the case. It's probably the other way around: in some cases, OCs can reduce the risk of cancer.

By the way, about pregnancy: if a young woman gets breast cancer, she will be able to give birth to a child after treatment. If doctors prescribe "chemo" or radiation therapy, they suggest pre-freezing the eggs. You can get pregnant two years after recovery.

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men. In Russia, it is diagnosed in more than 40 thousand people a year.

Men over 50 are at risk - they should regularly visit a urologist and undergo examinations, including monitoring the level of prostate-specific antigen in the blood.

In the early stages, prostate cancer has no specific symptoms.

More common symptoms of another disease: this is difficulty urinating, frequent trips to the toilet, discomfort when urinating.

Prostate adenoma is a benign disease, it is not associated with cancer in any way and cannot degenerate into cancer.

But these two diseases can develop in parallel. Often a person comes to the urologist with symptoms of prostate adenoma, and during the examination they find cancer.

In the later stages, the symptoms of prostate cancer are the same as those of any oncological disease: poor health, sudden unreasonable weight loss, weakness, bone pain (due to metastases).

There are some specific symptoms that are characteristic of prostate cancer in the later stages - these are pains in the lower abdomen, severe difficulty urinating.

Prostate cancer is highly treatable. Almost 100% of patients with localized prostate cancer with proper treatment will live more than five years, 98% - more than 10 years. Even when detected at a late stage, there is every chance of living four to five years or more.

The main thing in the treatment of prostate cancer is that for a long time it is possible to save the patient not only life, but also the high quality of this life.

Up to 85% of prostate tumors are hormone-dependent, so they respond well to hormone therapy. Such treatment, unlike chemotherapy, allows you to lead a full life.

Even if prostate cancer is detected at a late stage, hormonal therapy allows you to restrain the development of cancer, and all this time the patient will lead a normal life. Then, when hormonal therapy stops working, you can fight the disease with more aggressive “chemistry” for another two or three years.

We had cases where patients with the last stage of prostate cancer, with bone metastases, lived for 8-10 years on hormone therapy, went to work and did everything that healthy people do. In the end, of course, they needed "chemistry", it gave them a few more years of life.

Nikolay Vorobyov

Head of the Department of Oncourology, MNIOI them. Herzen, Ph.D.

In the remaining 15% of cases, the prostate tumor is not sensitive to hormones - this is a more difficult situation to treat.

Patients with such a tumor are immediately prescribed chemotherapy, the prognosis for them is worse than for patients with a hormone-dependent tumor.

One of the main methods of treatment is an operation, during which the entire gland is removed. Men are often afraid or even refuse surgical treatment - they are afraid that problems with urination and erectile function will begin.

But today, oncosurgery has achieved great success, including plastic surgery and reconstruction of organs after tumor removal - it is possible to recreate the urinary tract and preserve erectile function.

According to Nikolai Vorobyov, most of the operated patients do not have problems with urination, and some men still have an erection.

Sometimes prostate cancer can be left untreated at all. There is such a term - clinically insignificant cancer: it is a small tumor that does not develop or develops very slowly.

With such a tumor, you can live for decades and die from another disease altogether.

Abroad, many men with clinically insignificant prostate cancer choose dynamic observation, but in our country the mentality is different: the majority still do not want to walk with a “time bomb” - they prefer to be treated and remove the tumor.

Colorectal cancer (cancer of the colon and rectum)

Colorectal cancer is almost equally common in both sexes. In Russia, this disease is found annually in 30,000 men and 35,000 women. The risk of getting sick increases after age 50.

In addition to the general symptoms that can be suspected of cancer - unexpected weight loss, weakness, fever - colorectal cancer has a number of specific symptoms.

First of all, it is blood in the stool, a change in the shape of the stool (diarrhea or constipation), pain and cramps in the lower abdomen.

Sometimes blood in the stool is not visible, but there is still bleeding in the intestines - then the first symptom of colorectal cancer may be anemia.

It is possible to confirm that blood loss occurs in the intestines using a fecal occult blood test.

If there is a suspicion of cancer, a person is given an examination of the intestine - a colonoscopy. Bleeding in the colon and rectum can be not only due to cancer, but also due to polyps.

About 90% of them are harmless, but the remaining 10% are adenomatous polyps, which with a high probability can degenerate into cancer.

If during the examination the doctor finds adenomatous polyps, he will remove them. Those who have ever found such polyps need to carefully monitor their health and undergo regular colonoscopy.

Colorectal cancer is often hereditary. In a special risk group, those whose relatives have repeatedly suffered from colon and rectal cancer, in whom multiple intestinal polyps are common in the family. Even if one relative had colorectal cancer, but under the age of 50, this is also a reason to be wary.

Individuals at high genetic risk are advised to be screened for occult blood in stool from a young age and have more frequent colonoscopies.

Treatment of colorectal cancer is complex. First, radiation therapy, then the tumor is removed along with a segment of the intestine, and then, if necessary, chemotherapy is prescribed.

Previously, surgery for many types of colorectal cancer led to the fact that doctors completely removed the rectum, and an analogue of the anus was formed on the anterior abdominal wall. This, of course, brought great discomfort and reduced the quality of life, even if the disease could be overcome.

At the second or third stage, 50 to 90% of patients with colorectal cancer can be cured. At the last stage, when the tumor has metastasized, the probability of living more than five years is reduced to about 10%.

Every year, malignant tumors claim the lives of more than 1 million people, and the inexorable statistics of WHO claims that oncology is the main cause of 14% of all deaths. In other words, every 8 people in the world die of cancer!

What is the danger of the disease

So far, no cure for cancer has been found. What is the snag? At the heart of a cancerous tumor are cells that develop differently than the rest. Their abnormal growth is considered malignant to the health of the body. The tumor is formed very quickly, and in relation to healthy tissues and organs behaves like an aggressor. With the help of blood, lymph or nerve pathways, its cells are carried throughout the body to initiate a metastasis - a daughter tumor.

It is the process of metastasis that sometimes leads doctors to a dead end: the faster the tumor grows and metastasizes, the more difficult it is to save the patient.

What type of disease is most difficult to treat

Each type of tumor is considered less or more dangerous depending on the degree of its malignancy. Cancer is considered less aggressive and well treatable if abnormal cell division occurs slowly and metastases do not spread rapidly throughout the body. The rapid growth of the tumor and the rapid spread of metastases are dangerous for human life, because they are difficult to treat.

What is the most serious type of cancer and why?

Melanoma, or skin cancer

The queen of tumors and, at the same time, a rather rare type of pathology. The disease is of an extremely aggressive nature and the patient has practically no chance of recovery - metastases appear very actively throughout the body. Surgical intervention can stop the development of the disease for some time, but only at its initial stage.

Melanoma is easy to diagnose, as it is located on the surface of the skin, but, no matter how paradoxical it may sound, it is often detected only after the formation of daughter tumors. The fact is that at first the neoplasm does not differ from an ordinary small mole, therefore it does not bother a person at all. Remember: if colored asymmetric spots with blurry edges begin to appear on the skin, undergo a medical examination.

Lung cancer

This form of the disease is very dangerous, according to many doctors. Every year it causes the death of about 1.5 million people. Science has long discovered a direct link between lung cancer and the most "popular" bad habit of our time, smoking. For a long time, the disease may not manifest itself. The only signs are that the patient coughs violently and suffers from bronchitis and pneumonia more often than before. In most cases, lung cancer is diagnosed too late, and treatment does not bring the expected results.

brain cancer

The disease is very dangerous due to the place of its localization. The brain is protected by a strong cranium, therefore, it is extremely difficult to act directly on the tumor focus, and any surgical intervention is fraught with a fatal outcome for the patient. Any neoplasm in the brain, even a non-aggressive one, is obviously malignant, because it compresses the structures of the brain and destroys them after a while.

Pancreas cancer

It occurs frequently, but is difficult to treat. Surgery is associated with a high risk of death and does not always bring a positive effect. This type of disease is very insidious - for a long time it develops without any external symptoms.

Leukemia, or blood cancer

Oncology destroys the bone marrow, which loses its ability to produce full-fledged blood cells. Leukemia is caused by just one mutated hematopoietic cell. This form of cancer is the most common among childhood cancers.

Lymphoma, or cancer of the lymph nodes

The disease destroys the human immune system, the main active elements of which are the lymph nodes. Cancer inflicts the strongest blow on the body, bringing it into a state of profound immunodeficiency.

Have you noticed that almost all types of cancer have a common feature? They skillfully "disguise" themselves as a common ailment, so a person seeks help too late! The conclusion is obvious: one should treat one's health as the greatest value in the world, and promptly respond to all alarm signals of the body.

Cancer is a malignant tumor that has mutated cells in its structure, due to which they begin to divide and multiply uncontrollably, and as a result, the tumor grows and affects the nearest tissues, and subsequently metastasizes and spreads through the blood to all parts of the body. Consider how the disease develops, diagnosis, symptoms, types and treatment of cancer, and much more.

What is cancer?

The branch of medicine that deals with the study of both malignant and benign cells is called oncology. Scientists and doctors have recently found out that the direct cause of cancer is precisely the change in genes inside certain cells, but precisely in the code that is responsible for the division process. Therefore, diseased cells begin to act according to the wrong instructions and grow very quickly.

At the same time, the mutant cells themselves are slightly modified, they have a larger nucleus and a completely different behavior. Our immune system pays attention to this and tries to stop these revolutionary attempts. And if several such cells appeared in the body, they are destroyed. But the immune response does not always cope, especially in a weakened body with other diseases.

At the same time, when cells mutate, benign tumors can also occur - this does not mean that they are of any benefit to the body, but such neoplasms do not affect the nearest tissues and are not life-threatening. Unfortunately, but very often, such benign tumors develop into a malignant formation, which already has a dangerous behavior.

Doctors and scientists are looking for more and more new methods of treatment every year. But at the moment only a few are in use. Unfortunately, these methods do not give a 100% chance of recovery. And there is no clear weapon against cancer yet.

There are still many factors to take into account. First, at what stage the cancer was detected - the sooner the better. Secondly, how aggressive the tumor itself is and how quickly it grows and develops. Plus, doctors need to identify the neoplasm itself as soon as possible, find out its stage, size and depth of damage to nearby tissues. This way doctors will have a complete picture and will be able to create a strategy to fight the cancer enemy.

What does cancer look like? In general, it has different forms, which depend on the stage and the affected area.

What causes cancer?

Unfortunately, but no direct evidence of which factors influence the appearance of this disease has not yet been proven. And doctors and scientists have only some assumptions and reasons for the appearance of malignant cells.

• Smoking gives a huge amount of chemicals that you breathe into yourself through the smoke. The substances themselves are mutagenic in nature and provide excellent ground for the development of the disease.
• Alcohol, affects almost all organs. It is clear that it all depends on the amount and frequency of use.
• Nutrition- food with a large amount of carcinogens, nitrates, food additives such as E121, E123, high-calorie foods, makes it possible for unpleasant diseases to develop in your body, and they, in turn, can give the green light to cancer.
• Radiation- each city has its own radiation background, and with a strong increase in the norm in such cities, cancer is much more common than in ordinary ones.
• Ecology- in cities with poor ecology and settlements that are located near factories and factories - people get cancer more often.
• Wrong course of hormone therapy- can usually lead to cancer of the prostate, uterus, ovaries and breasts. Substances that directly affect the enlargement of these organs.
• HIV- contributes to an increase in the number of viruses and bacteria that affect the body with a weakened immune system.

You can also divide all factors into internal (drugs, food, etc.) - 30% and external (environment, radiation, etc.) - 70% of all impacts on cancer. As you can see, external factors have a fairly high percentage.

Food additives can also be attributed to cancer growth factors: E12, E 510, E 513U. Almost all the products you buy in stores have these substances, so it's best to check what is used in this or that product before using it.

How do cancer cells appear in the body?

There are a huge number of cells in the body. Each cell has its own job and function. All cells work like clockwork - clearly and according to the chosen program. But other factors also affect the body: such as disease, chemicals, radiation, ultraviolet radiation, etc.

As a result, one cell under the influence of unfavorable conditions turns into a mutant, changes its internal form, DNA damage occurs and the program of actions by which the cell used to work changes.

Let's look at healthy cells, as we already said, they work according to a clear instruction that is written in DNA. Muscle tissue, red blood cells, platelets, white blood cells - all perform their function. The lifespan of a cell is written in DNA. For example, red blood cells deliver oxygen to the tissues of the body and live for 125 days, but platelets, which help clog various wounds, live only 4 days, and then die.

Let's look at all the stages in the life of a healthy cell:

1. A cell is born and its further life and work in the body is predetermined.
2. After that, she grows up a little and already begins to perform basic functions.
3. Further, throughout the entire period of life, the cell itself works according to a certain scheme.
4. Next comes cell aging and death.

If the cell starts to become dull and self-willed, then the body immediately stops this and destroys it. But it happens when the body is weakened and cannot react in time, these cells begin to grow and turn into tumors.

Is a benign tumor a cancer or not? No, it's not cancer yet. Typically, such cells are not aggressive and do not interfere with the work of the nearest organs and tissues. But this tumor can later turn into cancer.

What is the difference between them? A benign formation grows slowly, does not enter healthy tissues and does not destroy them, it is quite easy to remove it surgically.

Tumor stages

1. Hyperplasia - when immature mutated cells begin to randomly divide.
2. Initially, the cells themselves are benign in nature and do not harm health and nearby tissues. But after some time, the tumor passes into the stage of dysplasia.
3. The cells themselves are fixed on the nearest tissues and pass into a new malignant phase - malignancy.
4. A precancerous condition is a small number of malignant cells that do not go beyond the boundaries of a certain tissue and can still be defeated by immunity.
5. Invasive cancer - the tumor is already beginning to grow in the nearest tissues and grow rapidly, while the aggressiveness and growth rate increase.

Cancer stats.

Malignant neoplasms are mostly formed in elderly people after 50-60 years. Of course, this is also influenced by the rhythm of a person’s life and his state of health. The most common types of cancer:

1. development of lung cancer.
2. Mammary cancer.
3. Colon cancer.
4. Stomach cancer.
5. Liver cancer.

Many ask - How many years does the patient live after diagnosis and what is the percentage of survival?

It all depends on which cancer itself was found on and what character it has - aggressive or not. The higher the stage of the cancer, the lower the survival rate.

• 1 Stage 70-80%
• Stage 2 60-75%
• Stage 3 35%
• Stage 4 5% that the patient will live to 5 years.

What causes a person to die with cancer? Basically, from a combination of factors, when the tumor grows so strongly that it interferes with the work of the organs.

Symptoms of a malignant tumor

You must understand that they themselves depend on the place of development of the tumor itself in the body, as well as on the stage itself. Often, at first, the beast does not show itself in any way and sits very quietly in its lair.

• Unreasonable rise in temperature- while there are no other symptoms, and drugs and antibiotics do not help.
• Loss of appetite and weight- when the tumor begins to grow rapidly and consumes a large amount of energy. It also produces various waste products that poison the body.
• Headache, nausea, vomiting (may be bloody)- the tumor poisons the body and intoxication increases.
• yellow skin Jaundice may indicate damage by liver cancer cells.
• Cough and shortness of breath- metastases reached the lungs and firmly settled there.
• General weakness and fatigue Cancer consumes a lot of energy and strength.
• Rashes on the skin and mucous membranes - often occurs with skin cancer and melanoma.

Types of cancer

Every year, scientists find more and more types and varieties of cancer cells. It is amazing that they can even adapt to the type of treatment and not respond to chemotherapy and radiation.

By type of fabric

By affected area

Name	What does it look like
testicular cancer
Pancreas cancer
Liver cancer
Stomach cancer
colon cancer
Brain cancer
Cancer of the larynx
thyroid cancer
Skin cancer
bone cancer
Mammary cancer

Classifications and stages

Why is it important to determine the stage of cancer? This is necessary for the doctor to understand how large the tumor itself is, what organs and tissues it involves, as well as the nature of the disease itself and the growth rate. All this is necessary in order to roughly build a strategy and fight against the enemy, to understand how to act in order to get the maximum result.

Here's an example for you - a patient has bowel cancer, and this was indicated both by tests for tumor markers and by direct examination using a colonoscopy procedure. Now the doctor needs to know the stage of cancer, because if it is stage 1 or 2, then metastases have not yet begun and you can do the usual removal of the tumor. The doctor will simply remove part of the intestine and sew the healthy halves.

If this is stage 4, then metastases have already spread to many organs and removal of the tumor itself will not help, then the only solution will be to conduct chemotherapy and radiation to reduce the aggressiveness of the tumor growth rate.

TNM system

Physicians mainly use the TNM system. It allows you to more accurately identify and classify the tumor. Usually three letters and additional symbols are used to clarify the properties of cancer.

• T- stage of the tumor
• N- Spread to lymph nodes
• M- Are there or not metastases, as well as which organs they affect.

Usually, when assessing metastases, the M field in brackets writes the name of the organ that was affected by the tumor. For example, M(PLE)- Metastases affect the pleura.

0 stage

A benign formation is formed with cells that divide and grow very quickly, but do not affect the functioning of the organ and do not harm nearby cells and tissues. Not every stage zero develops into cancer, but there is a chance.

1 stage

A benign formation develops into a malignant one and begins to actively develop. At the same time, the tumor itself does not go beyond the boundaries of the tissue itself and has clear boundaries.

2 stage

The tumor has already impressive dimensions and seals. Begins to germinate in the tissues of the body. Some oncological diseases already show some symptoms: pain, fever, etc.

3 stage

The tumor begins to touch the nearest lymph nodes and is already moving to neighboring organs. For example, with prostate cancer in a man, the cancer begins to affect the bladder and testicles. Also, metastases usually spread to the rectum.

4 stage

The last stage of tumor development, when metastases already reach distant organs through the blood: lungs, liver, brain, etc. At the same time, the cancerous neoplasm itself begins to grow even faster and the aggressiveness increases greatly. Functions in the body and health are greatly reduced.

Cancer diagnosis

The problem of a cancerous tumor is that it is detected rather late due to the absence of the first signs. Then subsequently it is much more difficult for doctors to treat this disease, and the chance of recovery decreases.

First of all, the doctor needs to understand the size of the tumor, its germination in the nearest tissues, the stage and degree of aggressiveness. Usually a good doctor begins to suspect the disease already with any deviations in.

The doctor may prescribe an addition. A tumor marker is a waste product of the tumor itself. With an increase in these proteins, it is possible to determine which organ is sick. Each tumor, be it lung cancer or prostate cancer, releases its own markers. If the amount of any oncomarker exceeds the allowable norm, then further studies are underway.

1. At some stages, routine examination and palpation may reveal a tumor even in its early stages.
2. MRI and CT - gives more information and you can see the tumor itself and size.
3. Ultrasound is a good way to diagnose a tumor, although at stages 0 and 1 it is quite difficult to see it in some organs.

Cancer treatment

The type and choice of treatment itself depends both on the location of the cancer itself and on the stage. So after a complete diagnosis, a competent oncologist begins to select the right tactics to fight evil.

Surgery

Everything is quite simple here, doctors in the first stages simply remove part of the organ with the tumor, as well as the tissues closest to it. If there is a suspicion of damage to the entire organ, all tissues can be removed.

Chemotherapy

Chemicals are injected into the human body that try to act only on diseased cancer cells. At the same time, the impact is mainly at the DNA level, so that the cells stop dividing, grow old and die. But there is a downside in that the reagents themselves also affect healthy cells, which is why this method of therapy has many side effects.

Irradiation

The advantage of radiotherapy is that the nearest healthy cells suffer much less, which is why the effect itself falls on the cancerous tissues themselves. Recently, point irradiation has begun to be used, when they try to influence only the diseased area with a small beam, while reducing the irradiation of healthy tissues.

Photodynamic therapy

There are drugs that are injected into the human body, and then they affect it with light fluxes, and cancer cells are destroyed. Mainly used: Alasens, Radachlorin and Photohem.

Immunotherapy

The immune system is one of the first weapons against cancer cells, it is he who first notices suspicious tissue and destroys them. Usually this therapy begins with strengthening the immune system of the patient. After that, the protective human cells themselves begin to attack the cancer.

NOTE! Cancer is a disease that is very dangerous for human life and if it is not treated in a timely manner, then everything can end.

What to eat with cancer?

Nutrition is one of the most important components of proper treatment, since a properly selected diet will help not only improve immunity itself, but also improve the patient's condition, reduce side effects from drugs and improve tissue regeneration after surgery.

Consider foods that contain the right substances and enzymes to fight cancer.

• Dulce, Kombu, Wakame, chlorella, spirulina.
• Green tea
• Chinese mushrooms - reishi, maitake, shiitake, cordyceps
• Walnuts, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds
• Lentils, peas, soybeans, asparagus, chickpeas.
• Berries - cherries, cranberries, blackberries, blueberries, sweet cherries, currants, strawberries, mulberries, strawberries.
• Honey, royal jelly, pollen, perga, propolis
• White cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, turnip, radish, kohlrabi.
• Lemon, tomatoes, pumpkin, beets, tangerines, apples, peaches, plums, grapefruit, carrots.
• Mustard, wheat germ, parsnip, cumin, lettuce, parsley, celery, spinach, garlic, alfalfa, onion.

What is forbidden to eat and drink with cancer?

• Alcohol
• Meat, poultry, fish
• Margarine
• Sugar
• Vinegar
• Mayonnaise
• processed cheese
• Juices in packages
• frozen food
• carbonated sweet water
• Semi-finished products
• Salt and salty foods
• Fast food

Rehabilitation of the patient

The most important thing after treatment and therapy is to restore the overall tone of the body itself. Usually, after surgery, chemotherapy or radiation, the body is greatly weakened. Therefore, the most important thing is to first restore the former immunity, as well as bring all the functions of the organs back to normal.

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 the body will 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 type of neoplasm listed. These tumors spread rapidly and are difficult to treat. They are more common in women with a mutation in the BRCA1 gene, which suppresses the growth of 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. A malignant tumor in this case 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 to recognize skin cancer in time is to pay attention to new or changed color or shape of the formations on the skin.

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 the treatment sometimes leads to unwanted 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 gland 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 or may not be present), pain in the peritoneum, and a lump in the kidney area that can be felt.

Kidney cancer has long been considered chemo-resistant, but researchers are making more and more progress with drug treatments.

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 metastasis formation: in the first case, these cells are small, in the second case 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 lump on the throat (this is how the enlarged thyroid gland makes itself felt), sometimes when the patient complains of difficulty swallowing, breathing, or manifested hoarseness.

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 encouraging. 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 smallest scratch can 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.

A new type of drug 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. The chances of recovery or suspension of the development of the disease, unfortunately, are 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.

Some crayfish are loved to be consumed with beer, others are looked after in aquariums, but few people remember that these creatures managed to survive for 130 million years, practically without changing their structure. The only thing that distinguishes them from their ancient counterparts is their size. During the Jurassic period, some types of crayfish reached 3 m in length and could stand up for themselves.

Today, there are about 55,000 representatives of the most varied lengths in the ranks of crustaceans, living in sea or fresh water, and some of them prefer to be terrestrial.

History of the delicacy

Crayfish have been used by people since antiquity, but then they were not served as a delicacy. It is obvious that healers and healers of the ancient world knew about the beneficial properties of the shells, as they made drugs from the bites of poisonous insects.

The first mention of river crayfish being a tasty dish was recorded in the 16th century, when one of the Swedish kings accidentally tasted them. Immediately a decree was issued for the peasants to catch and deliver them to the royal table, but did not dare to eat them themselves under pain of the death penalty.

Imitating the king, the Swedish nobles did the same, although the royal decree was perplexing for the poor people. They did not consider crayfish food and were content with them only in times of famine, which was extremely rare in this country.

In modern Sweden, there is even a national holiday, Day of Eating Crayfish, when people gather in large companies, boil these arthropods and drink strong liquor.

Today, some types of crayfish (the photo shows this) are considered a delicacy and are not just served with beer, but soups, salads are prepared from them, stewed with vegetables, sauces are made from them and even fried.

Their meat is considered one of the most environmentally friendly, despite the fact that they are sewers and "orderlies" of water sources. This is due to a balanced, self-purifying organism given to them by nature.

River arthropods

There are different types of crayfish, but this name is not entirely accurate, since they live in swamps, ponds, lakes, and artificial reservoirs. It is more correct to use the term "freshwater".

All representatives of crustaceans living in fresh water have the same structure:

• their body can reach a length of 10 to 20 cm;
• the upper part of the body is called the cephalothorax;
• they have an elongated and flatter abdomen;
• the body ends with a caudal fin;
• they have 10 thoracic legs and gills.

The most famous types of freshwater crayfish are:

• Broad-toed (Astacus astacus) lives in the reservoirs of Western Europe and the high mountain rivers of Switzerland, prefers places with temperatures from +7 to +24 degrees Celsius.
• Thin-toed (Astacus leptodactylus) can live both in fresh running or stagnant water, and in brackish water with a maximum temperature of up to +30.

These types of crayfish are not suitable for keeping in aquariums, as they are very demanding in care, especially in terms of water filtration and temperature conditions.

Florida cancer

Well-known to many aquarists, the red Florida crayfish can actually be black, white, orange, and even blue. It lives both in swamps and flowing rivers, and in water meadows, and as the water subsides, it “leaves” into deep holes underground.

These are the most undemanding types of crayfish to the composition and quality of water. Their appearance is well known to the inhabitants of not only swampy Florida, but also Europe. Its distinguishing feature is the red spikes located on the claws.

This small arthropod (body length up to 12 cm) can easily tolerate water temperatures from +5 to + 30 degrees and breed year-round in an aquarium, laying up to 200 eggs. Incubation lasts for 30 days, and during this time the temperature in the aquarium should be maintained at +20...+25 degrees.

Red swamp crayfish get along well with fish, but remember that 1 pair will need an aquarium with 100 liters of water.

Blue crayfish from Cuba

Cuban blue crayfish may have other colors, as this directly depends on the natural conditions in their habitat and the color of their parents.

This tropical representative of arthropods lives in Cuba and Pinos. It has a small body up to 12 cm (excluding claws) and has a completely peaceful character, so it can be kept in aquariums with moving or large fish.

The fact that this crayfish is unpretentious and breeds well in captivity makes it a favorite of many aquarists. For 2 or 4 blue Cuban crayfish, you will need a 50 liter container with good ventilation and water filtration.

The female of this species can lay up to 200 eggs at a time. For this to happen, it is better to transplant the crayfish into another smaller aquarium before mating, so that there is no interference from the “neighbors”. Incubation lasts 3 weeks, during which the water temperature should be +25 degrees.

marine arthropod

The most popular among gourmets is lobster meat. These marine types of crayfish differ from their freshwater counterparts only in size and weight. They have a strong chitinous shell, which young individuals change as they grow older.

The molting of the lobster takes from 2 to 4 weeks, during which he is defenseless and forced to hide from his enemies in secluded places. The process of getting rid of tight coverage is interesting. The shell bursts on the lobster's back like a piece of clothing that is torn at the seams. To free itself, the cancer has to come out of it with its back, taking out one leg after the other.

The female lobster lays up to 4,000 eggs on her tail, after which the male fertilizes them. The incubation period lasts 9 months, during which the eggs remain on the mother's body. Individuals that have survived 25 molts are considered ready for mating and eating.

Gourmets are well aware of the European, Norwegian and American types of lobsters. The cost of their tender, healthy, dietary meat starts from $ 50 per kilogram, and 100 years ago it was used as bait for fishing.

Land representative of arthropods

If you think about the question of what types of crayfish are, then few people will remember that there are unique individuals that can climb trees.

These are coconut crayfish (Birgus latro), living on the islands of the Indian and Western Pacific Oceans. During the day, these amazing creatures hide in the foliage of palm trees, and at night they descend to pick up fallen fruits or carrion from the ground. The islanders call these hermit crabs thieves, as they often pick up everything that they think is bad.

Although the coconut crayfish spends most of its life on the ground, it begins its life in water bodies, where females lay eggs, from which small and defenseless crustaceans emerge. To survive, they are forced to look for a protective covering for their bodies, which most often becomes some kind of shell.

After the young grow up, crayfish go outside and can no longer return to the aquatic environment, as their gills atrophy, and ventilated lungs become respiratory organs.

Those wishing to see these unusual creatures will have to go to the tropical jungle at night. Their meat is considered a delicacy and aphrodisiac, but "hunting" for them is extremely limited.

Rare crustaceans

The rarest types of crayfish that can live in aquariums are called apricot. They live in Indonesia and can be either a delicate orange or blue, which is extremely rare.

They are small in size, males rarely grow to 10 cm, and the length of the female is 8 cm. To keep them in aquariums, you should not only make sure that the temperature regime is kept within +25 degrees, but the bottom should also be properly designed.

These crayfish love fine gravel sprinkled with bamboo, almond or oak leaves, which also serves as a good antiseptic. Numerous shelters in the form of snags, metal pipes and artificial houses will not interfere. For the most part, Orange Papua New Guinea lobster is a non-aggressive vegetarian, but it is still not recommended to “attach” small fish to it.

largest freshwater arthropods

The largest species of crayfish living in fresh water comes from Tasmania. In the rivers in the north of this Australian state, there are individuals reaching 60-80 cm in length with a weight of 3 to 6 kg.

Their favorite habitat is rivers with a calm flow, good air ventilation and a water temperature of +18 degrees. Depending on which river these giants live in, in the plains or mountains, they can have a color from green and brown to blue.

Since Astacopsis gouldi live up to 40 years and are considered long-lived among their relatives, then all their life processes are somewhat delayed. For example, males are ready for breeding only at 9 years old, and females - at 14 years old, while they mate once every 2 years, and the incubation period lasts from autumn to summer of the next year. In this regard, it is customary for Tasmanian giants to keep a harem of females of different ages.

Heraxes

Another representative of the Australian rivers is the herax crayfish. Surprisingly, these arthropods, numbering many species, include individuals with completely different dimensions. So, some of them can be 40 cm long and weigh up to 3 kg, while others grow up to 10 cm and are placed in aquariums up to 20 liters. Another home for these freshwaters are the rivers of New Guinea.

It is easy to create conditions for keeping heraxes in an aquarium. They love warm water and the opportunity to dig in the ground, so if there are such “tenants”, it is better to plant plants in pots. They don't eat them, but they can dig them up. Herax crayfish are indifferent to the neighborhood of fish, but if you breed larger individuals with large claws, it is better to keep them in a separate container.

Unusual types of crayfish

Although in general arthropods are very similar in appearance, their ability to adapt and survive is strikingly different. For example, river marble crayfish reproduce asexually, and a similar phenomenon in nature is called parthenogenesis.

Females of this type of crayfish are able to clone themselves without involving males in the process. A similar phenomenon could previously be observed only in higher crustaceans, but never in small river specimens, reaching a maximum length of 8 cm.

In order for freshwater aquarium crayfish to take root, it is necessary to constantly maintain cleanliness in water that is well enriched with oxygen.

When choosing a container for such "residents", one should proceed from the parameters that 15 liters of water will be required for 1 individual of 6-7 cm. To make pets feel at home, you should properly arrange the bottom. You will need driftwood, gravel or sand, ceramic or metal cylinders, where crayfish can hide during the day.

Planting plants in a container depends on the type of cancer, as well as whether fish will be together with it. Otherwise, the maintenance of these individuals does not cause trouble, the main thing is not to forget to close the aquarium with a lid, otherwise you can find your pet on the bed.