Essays on Metastasis

Cancer is one of the most common causes of death worldwide. Every year, various types of cancer kill millions of people. The problem of cancer disease is unique because of its complexity and importance to humankind. Cancers affect all segments of the population, causing enormous damage to society. Although malignant tumors are extremely diverse and complex for the perception, the risk factors and mechanisms of development of cancer are well known enough so that it becomes possible not only to heal, but also to engage in cancer prevention. Cancer is the most difficult and dangerous disease, since it can ...

Step1: Patient situation:

The first step in clinical reasoning is to describe the patient in the context of the clinical situation. Ms. Melody King, a 36-year-old female was presented for an emergency laparoscopic surgery for a ruptured appendix. She has a medical history of asthma and depression. Her medication list includes Ventolin, Seretide, Sertraline. Postoperatively, Melody developed peritonitis and was treated with antibiotics and analgesic. The biopsy results of Melody’s sample revealed the presence of adenocarcinoma. Melody will need to undergo a few most test, and till then continue her stay at the hospital. The diagnostic tests: CT scan of chest, ...

Introduction

There has been a lot of interest between physical health and mental illness. There is a bidirectional relationship between physical health and mental health (Canadian Mental Health Association, 2008). People who are diagnosed with severe mental illness are faced with a higher likelihood of developing various physical conditions, some of which are fleeting while others are chronic (Canadian Mental Health Association, 2008). Additionally, the people who are diagnosed with certain conditions that affect their physical health have a two-fold risk of developing anxiety and depression when compared to the other population (Canadian Mental Health Association, 2008). The correlation between ...

Thesis

Improved Detection and Characterization of Obscured Central Gland Tumors of the Prostate:

requirementsRequirements for the degree of

2016

©2016 by All rights reserved Approved by First Reader Boris Nicolas Bloch, M.D.

Associate Professor of Radiology and

Director of Bioimaging Science Second Reader Kevin Thomas, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Bioimaging and Health Emergency

DEDICATION I would like to dedicate this work to my patient spouse Landry, my wonderful children Charlie and Phoenix, and my dog Armani. (Delete this page if you don't need it. Be sure to delete all the text on the page, and the page break after it, not the section break before it. To see the section and page breaks, ...

Chapter I: Introduction

In the United States, Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common non-cutaneous malignancy after lung cancer in men with an incident of 126 per 100,000 people. The American Cancer Society (ACS) reported that the number of new cases of men diagnosed with PCa by 2016 will be an approximately 180,890 cases. PCa is still considered as the second leading cause of cancer death in men. Also, the ACS added that the estimation for death will occur from PCa is 26,120 deaths in 2016. Today, many studies stated that mortality rate is gradually decreasing compared with the ...

1. There are several components to the physical examination. Initially, the patients will have their vitals accesses (heart rate, temperature, blood pressure, respiratory rate, and oxygen saturation) This will give the physician an overall picture of the status of the patient. Next, the doctor will consider the general appearance of the patient, noting any abnormalities. After the general appearance, the physician will assess each organ system (cardiovascular, pulmonary, GI, integument, etc.) individually. To evaluate each system, the physician will first inspect the system for any abnormalities. After the inspection is auscultation where, if applicable, the physician will use a ...

The manifestation of cancer begins when the cells in the body multiply out of control. There are various kinds of cancer with each type starting with the out-of control rapid growth of cells. In most cases, the rapid multiplication of the abnormal cells leads to the growth of tumors. Tumors can either be benign or malignant. Benign tumors are neither cancerous nor life threatening due to the fact that they do not move to other body parts. Malignant tumors cause cancer and are capable of spreading to other body parts close to the tumor. Malignant tumors are capable of ...

Many people who suffer from cancer need surgery at some poing, but this kind of a procedure creates stress and anaesthesia may be hazardous for the natural defense systems of the body which is why anaesthesia may be related to the recurrence of cancer. However, surgery is often the only choice for people who suffer from this severe illness. Anaesthesia may be general and regional which means that it is applied locally. “Regional anaesthesia has the potential to reduce the use of certain anaesthesia and pain medications that are injected into the vein or inhaled into the lung, as ...

Introduction

Cancer affects the body’s most basic unit, the cell. Normally, cells grow and divide to form new cells. When cells grow old, they die to make room for new ones and new cells grow only when the body needs them. However sometimes the old cells do not die or new cells are produced when not needed by the body they form tumors. Tumors can be either benign or malignant (National Cancer Institute, 2011). and organs.

Slide 2

Benign tumors are non-cancerous and when removed they do not grow back. Malignant tumors are cancerous and most instances life threatening. When malignant ...

References

Introduction The pancreas in the human body is located behind the stomach and opposite spine. Its function is to produce the juices that assist in the breakage of food. It also produces certain hormones that help in controlling the levels of blood sugar. Pancreatic cancer generally commences in the cells that help in the juices’ production. Smoking, certain genetic disorders, chronic pancreatitis, and long-term diabetes are several risk factors associated with this disease. It is important to note here that “pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death and has the highest case fatality rate” (Abbruzzese & ...

[Author Name(s), First M. Last, Omit Titles and Degrees] [Institutional Affiliation(s)] [Include any grant/funding information and a complete correspondence address.] Breast cancer is one of the deadliest cancer prevalent in the modern world. According to the Journal of national Comprehensive Cancer Network, the author Therese B. Bevers, (2009) clearly states that Women in the United States have an increased risk of breast cancer. The incidents and the mortality due to breast cancer has also drastically increased in past decade. Thus considering all above statistics, it is very clear that breast cancer is a grave disease. However, ...

Introduction

Cells are independent units of life. However, when a cell becomes part of an organism, it becomes part of a tissue and organ system. Cells in a tissue are joined to each other and to the extracellular matrix (ECM) by cell junctions. There are three kinds of cell junctions: Occluding junctions, anchoring junctions and communication junctions. Occluding junctions occur in the epithelium where the adjacent cells are so tightly sealed together that even small molecules cannot pass. Communicating junctions allow the exchange of chemical and electrical signals between cells. Anchoring junctions are the ones which attach a cell either to its neighbor or ...

Malignant melanoma is a skin disorder, which produces tumors of melanocytes or tumors of cells produced by melanocytes . The disease was uncommon in the past; however, in the recent years, the number of cases of malignant melanoma increased significantly, especially, the number of deaths due to malignant melanoma. The disease develops in radical and vertical phases. In the radical phase, the malignant cells develop in a radical manner within the epidermis, while in the vertical phase; the malignant cells intrude into the dermis cells. The lesions developed by malignant melanoma are thin, moderate or thick depending upon the depth of the ...

Introduction

Cancer is an uncontrolled growth or spread of abnormal cells in a human body; it is not a single disease, and it has a group of 200 different diseases . It means that cancers are similar in some ways; however, every type of cancer differs in the way of its growth or how it multiplies. Since cancer is not a single disease, it consists of many different types of cancer that could start in different parts of the body. Cancers differ in types that share one characteristic that is, unchecked growth and progress to a limitless expansion or increase. For example, it could start in ...

Abstract

The research paper deals with the problem of whether or not cannabis and cancer are interrelated. There are arguments provided in favor of cannabis stimulating the growth and proliferation of cancer and counterarguments, claiming that not only has marijuana consumption no negative impact on human health, but it also has the potential of being used for medical purposes for treating brain, breast, lung, prostate, blood, oral, liver, and pancreatic cancer inasmuch as it serves as a natural inhibitor of tumor growth as well as providing apoptosis of malign cells. Cannabis treatment may also be used as a legitimate, harmless and far ...

Wilms tumor

Wilms Tumor Introduction Wilms Tumor or otherwise nephroblastoma is a rare form of kidney cancer that is often diagnosed on children more than on adults. The medical condition was first identified and described by the German surgeon named Dr. Max Williams (1867-1918) (Nordqvist, 2010). Although the tumor is often the most malignant among children particularly during the age three to four years old, but there are cases where both kidneys are affected. In the United States, there are about 500 cases of Wilms tumor reported, with almost 90% of the sufferers survive at least five more years (Nordqvist, ...

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of death and it`s because it is a silent killer and there is only a five year survival rate of 4 percent of the patients. Before the primary tumor is detected, metastasis has already spread to other parts. The current treatment options involve the removal of the tumor then followed by chemotherapy or radio therapy and the use of drops like Gemcitabine and Erlotinib. There are different types of metastasis therefore there are other treatment alternatives to be sought after hence the option of radioactive listeria monocytogene which is a bacteria used as a ...

Bone cancer is the malignant tumor, or in other words, an abnormal growth of the bone that destroys the normal bony tissue. An abnormal growth is termed as cancer, when cells in that part of the body start to grow out of control. - Classification Bone cancers are currently classified according to the line of differentiation of cancerous cells and their resemblance to normal cells. Cancer can begin in any type of bone tissue. The two parts of the bone are the hard tissue, termed osteoid; and the flexible tissue, termed cartilage. Accordingly, bone cancer can arise ...

(Course No.) (City & State) Growing cells are located within defined environmental niches and any area outside the niche is very hostile. Because normal cells lack survival techniques, it leads to anoikis. The tumor development process strives when malignant cells escape from the local issues and resist anoikis. The cells of the immune system play a dual role of stimulating adaptive immune responses against tumor-specific antigens and at the same time promoting tumor angiogenesis and progression. This is through the support of the innate and inflammatory responses (Ravi et al., 2000). Integrins are termed as a family of adhesion ...

Breast cancer is a disease of epithelial cells that line the ducts of the breast. Malignancies of the breast are some of the most common cancers in women (aside from skin cancer) and are responsible for up to one-third of all cancers in women. Mortality because of the cancer is on the decline in the United States due to better detection and treatment. Breast cancer is a clonal disease, meaning that a single transformed cell that eventually expresses full malignant potential causes it. Therefore, it may exist for a long period before it becomes invasive and metastatic (Harrisons, 2008, p.563) The major ...

Approach to cancer care

Introduction Cancer is a group of diseases that are characterized by unregulated cellular growth. The uncontrolled cellular division leads to malignant tumors that invade and destroy surrounding organs and tissues. It may eventually spread to other far parts of the body from where it started through the bloodstream and the lymphatic system. Basically, there are three forms of cancer depending on the affected body parts: carcinomas (surface tissues such as the breast), sarcomas (soft tissue or bone) and lymphomas that affect the bone marrow or the lymph nodes (Pories, 2009). The disease accounts for 25% of total mortality annually ...

The epidermal growth factor belongs to the HER family receptor tyrosine kinases and it regulates cell differentiation and cell growth and interlinked with several human cancers. The signal transductions in the cells are controlled by EGFR. It is one of the oncogene which is involved in producing cancers via over expression of the ligands and the continuous activation and amplification of EGFR. The activity of the EGFR can be reduced by monoclonal antibodies against them. The activation of the EGFR is activated by binding of the transforming growth factor. The EGFR binds to receptor of HER family in order ...

The lung cancer is of primary concern among western population in the western world by virtue of exaggerated rate of smoker compared to non smokers. The pathology of lung cancer comprises of genomic instability resulting in abnormalities over a long span. The variations occur at gene level via process called as gene silencing mediated methylation; amplification of DNA, sequence changes in DNA along with looses and gains of whole chromosome. The genetic alterations observed in cell lung cancer contain a loss of regions which are in turn part of the genome especially chromosomes 9p and 3p and it is also observed ...

Every profession has its own ethical considerations, but the area of social work has some of the most heart-wrenching ethical stories, because when practitioners act unethically, either through neglect or through malice, the effects are so tragic. In this case study, the patient was a 52-year-old single man (never married). Because he had multiple handicaps, he had a social worker serving as his legal guardian. He did have two relatives in the area – two sisters. Both of them took care of their brother as much as they could, but they also had full-time jobs of their own to hold down. Over ...

Cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled division of body cells. The uncontrolled division of body cells is caused by genetic mutations in the genes coding for proteins that regulate cell growth and apoptosis. Cancerous cells have some unique characteristics like increased rate of cell division, avoidance of cell death, and initiation of angiogenesis. Cancer cells also exhibit altered differentiation, nonresponsiveness to antigrowth factors and contact inhibition and self-sufficiency in growth factors (Connie et al, 2011, pg 39). Cancerous cells are highly invasive. The ability of the cancerous cells to spread to other regions of the body is called ...

MicroRNAs are small, single-stranded, non-coding, 16–29 nucleotide RNA molecules comprising of an evolutionarily conserved class of endogenous ribo-regulators that regulate gene expression (Wiemer, 2007; Garzon et al., 2009). They were discovered in 1993 in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (Espinosa & Slack, 2006). Currently, 4167miRNAs are listed in the miRNA registry and 474 human miRNAs have been identified (Wiemer, 2007). MicroRNAs are crucial for the development of vertebrates due to the fact that depletion of the components of the miRNA processing pathway, or interfering with maturation of miRNAs, is not compatible with life (Wiemer, 2007). The miRNA ...

Article 1

This article is basically a review of microRNAs and their role in cancer. It briefly introduces miRNAs and focuses on miRNA biogenesis and mode of action. It then looks at the functions of miRNAs with respect to their involvement in cancer, and their potential use in clinics. My literature review topic is about the role of miRNAs in tumorigenesis while this article is about the role of microRNAs in cancer. These two topics are technically the same. My review topic therefore shares a lot in common with this article, such as the miRNA biogenesis and mode of action and the ...

Discussion Questions

Response to Question 1 A diagnosis of cancer in any patient brings to the fore a host of emotions. It usually activates the patient's worst health fears. A diagnosis of cancer in any patient may bring up emotions like fear, anxiety and a feeling of isolation (National Cancer Institute, 2012). The patient is eager to know many things about their condition. Adjustment to cancer is arguably one of the most difficult and most stressful periods of most people's lives (Melchor-Beaurpe 2008). A poorly differentiated cancer cell is a pointer to the fact that the cancer cell is a rapidly dividing cell. ...

MicroRNAs are small, single-stranded, non-coding, 16–29 nucleotide RNA molecules (approximately 22 nucleotides in length) comprising of an evolutionarily conserved class of endogenous ribo-regulators that regulate (modulate) gene expression (Wiemer, 2007, p.1529; Zhang et al., 2006, p.9136; Garzon et al., 2009, p.168). They were discovered in 1993 in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (Espinosa & Slack, 2006, p.131). Currently, 4167 miRNAs are listed in the miRNA registry and 474 human miRNAs have been identified (Wiemer, 2007, p.1530).

The miRNA genes are dispersed across the genome in gene clusters or as single genes. At least 50% of the miRNA genes are ...

Today, the United States is faced by a number of medical conditions that have proved costly both financially and socially. These medical conditions, not only affect the physical conditions of patients, they also have vast psychological effects on the society. Most of such diseases are terminal and may not be curable and thus put patients and affected families under psychological strains. One such disease is cancer. Diagnosis of cancer has been known to put the patient and family members under extreme psychological strains. However, clinical psychologist have argued that lack of public information about these conditions aggravate the situation. Proper ...

"Are Protein-Protein interactions likely to be valid therapeutic targets for cancer therapy?" In her paper entitled “Protein-Protein interactions and cancer: small molecules going in for the kill” Michelle Arkin raises questions regarding the grooved and linear regions that permit protein-protein bonds, the binding peptides also found in those regions, if those interfaces are tractable for small molecule discovery and what compounds might serve as bonding agents. Further investigation of compounds would include if they are active, inhibiting, and do they help further characterize the target. She documents tubulin and several others that have potential. Her conclusion confirms that ...

Hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) exhibit genetic heterogeneity. Most of the HCC tumors are associated with activation of insulin/IGF-1/IRS-1/Ras/Raf/MAPK/Erk and a WNT/Frizzled receptors/β catenin signaling cascade which provides targets for therapy. All the pathways are mediated by genetic mutations and signaling compounds and the loss of regulatory proteins also contributes for tumor generation. Two signaling pathways are involved in the carcinogenesis which includes insulin/IGF 1/IRS 1/MAPK and Wnt/FZD/β catenin pathways. The insulin/IGF-1/IRS-1/MAPK cascade plays a crucial role in regulating regeneration of liver and embryonic development. The constitutive activation of these cascades which is due to IRS 1 over expression leads to HCC ...

Introduction

Data by the US Institute of Medicine indicates that the number of patients diagnosed with breast cancer yearly stands at an alarming figure of two hundred and fifty thousand. It further shows that breast cancer claims forty thousand lives each year 1. The aforementioned statistics coupled with the fact that current research estimates on the probability of a woman developing breast cancer during the course of her lifetime stand at one out of eight women are the factors that prompted my interest in writing on this particular topic. This paper will therefore focus on the symptoms and treatment of breast ...