Grandma Wang is 68 years old this year, and she has been coughing since winter last year, and Grandma Wang also thought that the weather was too cold so she was a little cold, so she didn't care, and recently she saw that Grandma Wang's cough has not been good, and her son wanted to take her to the hospital to see, for fear that there would be any problems.
But this investigation found that Grandma Wang's lungs had a tumor at some point, and this tumor had been compressing Grandma Wang's trachea, and the surface of the tumor would also secrete some mucus, which together caused Grandma Wang's cough.
But Grandma Wang's body felt quite healthy before, why did she suddenly have a tumor?
1. How does cancer come about? It is inseparable from these reasons
There are not a few cases like Grandma Wang, some people usually feel that they have no problem, but suddenly they have a tumor, and if we want to figure it out, we first need to understand what this "tumor" is.
The essence of a tumor is the abnormal proliferation of cells, which is due to damage or mutation of the cell's DNA, which leads to the breaking of the law of cell growth, division and death, thus forming a tumor.
The DNA of the cell mentioned here, in fact, A is the genetic material of the cell, which carries all the information of the cell, determines the function and characteristics of the cell, and the DNA of the cell will be copied and passed on to the newborn cell every time the cell divides.
This replication process is very precise, but sometimes there are some errors that lead to a change in the pairing of bases, which is called a genetic mutation.
However, genetic mutations are sometimes harmless and even beneficial because it can increase the diversity and adaptability of cells, but sometimes they are also harmful because they can cause changes in the function and properties of cells, which can affect the normal functioning of cells.
So, why does a cell's DNA get damaged or mutated? What are the factors that may affect the DNA of cells?
In fact, this involves the cause of cancer, which is what we often call carcinogenic causes, carcinogenic factors are some factors that can cause damage to the DNA of cells, or mutations, they can be divided into two categories, one is genetic factors, and the other is environmental factors.
Among them, genetic factors refer to some defects or abnormalities in the DNA of cells themselves, which are inherited from parents to children, or produced during embryonic development, and these genetic factors can cause the DNA of cells to be more susceptible to damage or mutation, thereby increasing the risk of cancer.
For example, some people are born with susceptibility genes that are themselves mutated versions of normal genes that make their cells' DNA more fragile and more susceptible to other cancer-causing factors.
Environmental factors refer to some harmful substances or factors that the DNA of cells are exposed to in life, which can directly or indirectly damage or change the DNA of cells, thereby inducing the occurrence of cancer.
In addition to the normal condition, the DNA of cells also contains some special genes that play a key role in regulating cell growth, division and death to maintain cell homeostasis and balance, and these special genes are divided into tumor suppressor genes and oncogenes.
Tumor suppressor genes, on the other hand, belong to a class of genes that inhibit cell proliferation and differentiation, and generally help prevent normal cells from turning into cancer cells.
On the other hand, oncogenes are a class of genes that remain closed or inactive under normal conditions, and are activated only when they receive a specific signal or stimulus, resulting in disordered multiplication of cells, and when one of the tumor suppressor genes and oncogenes misoperates, it may lead to the occurrence of cancer.
For example, if tumor suppressor genes are mutated or overactivated, they may overstimulate cell proliferation and differentiation, which can lead to cancer, so maintaining a balance between these two types of genes is essential for cell health.
2. SCI research found that inactivation of tumor suppressor genes can help cancer cells escape immunity
As we have just mentioned, mutations or inactivations of tumor suppressor genes can lead to constant division and overactivation of oncogenes. But why can't our body's immune system quickly recognize cancer cells and destroy them? The latest medical research explains this problem.
In 2021, two studies published in the journal SCI mentioned the latest scientific findings on cancer, one of which found that:
When tumor suppressor genes are inactivated or mutated, they will help cancer cells evade the attack of the immune system to a certain extent, making it easier for cancer cells to survive and spread.
In this study, the research team of Harvard Medical School used the latest technology to delete 7,500 cancer cell genes on the DNA strand, and then transplanted these excised cancer cells into random mice to observe tumor formation, and found that:
• When the immune system selects cancer cells, it favors those cells with mutations in tumor suppressor genes, making them more likely to survive and spread.
Another study, a team from Weil Cornell Medical College, also used a mouse model to study the relationship between the immune system and the epigenetics of liver cancer cells, and they found:
• The immune system is able to alter gene expression and function in liver cancer cells by releasing interferon γ.
In simple terms, the immune system influences the evolution and metastasis of cancer cells by regulating their epigenetics.
These two studies have revealed a new mechanism of cancer occurrence and progression, that is, mutations in tumor suppressor genes, which can promote the immune escape of cancer cells, making them more likely to survive and spread, and this mechanism also explains why cancers such as melanoma, lymphoma, and ovarian cancer often do not have a detailed and accurate cause, but may cluster in families.
At the same time, the results of the study provide us with a new therapeutic strategy, by designing more effective cancer treatments for mutations in tumor suppressor genes, perhaps improving the cure rate and survival rate, and using some new technologies and methods, such as gene testing, gene repair, gene editing, gene therapy, etc., to achieve the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of tumor suppressor gene mutations.
However, the treatment of cancer cannot only rely on these new technologies, and for ordinary people, early prevention and early treatment are the best ways to treat cancer.
3. Early screening and early treatment is the "king", and new technologies help cancer treatment
We already know that cancer occurs and progresses due to damage or mutation in the DNA of cells, resulting in a disruption of the balance between tumor suppressor genes and oncogenes, which causes cells to grow and divide uncontrollably, so how can we prevent and treat cancer?
The answer to this question is the prevention and treatment strategy of cancer, which is what we often call early screening and early treatment.
Before the occurrence of cancer or in the early stage, it is possible to detect precancerous lesions or early cancer in time through some detection methods, and then eliminate or control the growth and spread of cancer cells in time through some treatment methods, so as to improve the cure rate and survival rate of cancer.
The benefits of early screening and early treatment are obvious, it can help us reduce the incidence and mortality of cancer, improve the quality of life and social benefits of cancer, such as according to statistics:
• Early screening and treatment can increase the five-year survival rate of cancer by more than 50%, and the cost and side effects of early screening and treatment are much lower than those of advanced screening and treatment.
Currently, there are many different cancer screening and treatments, some are specific to a specific cancer type, some are for multiple cancer types, some are tissue-based, some are blood-based, some are image-based, and some are gene-based......
Each of these methods has its own advantages and disadvantages, and it is necessary to choose the appropriate screening and treatment plan according to the individual's situation and the doctor's recommendation.
For example, in 2022, a new cancer screening method appeared in China, which is a blood-based pan-cancer early detection technology called OncoSeek. This is a technology that can calculate the risk score of cancer by detecting 7 specific protein tumor markers (PTMs) in the blood, so as to achieve early screening and tissue traceability of a variety of cancers.
The results of the study showed that the OncoSeek technology can significantly reduce the false positive rate compared with traditional hematology testing methods, with a specificity of 92.9% and an accuracy of 84.3%.
Among the 9 common cancers, the sensitivity of OncoSeek technology ranged from 37.1%~77.6%, and it could predict the location of tumors in 88% of positive cases, especially for high-mortality cancers that lacked routine screening methods, such as pancreatic cancer, the sensitivity of OncoSeek technology reached 77.6%.
This study shows that OncoSeek technology is a non-invasive, simple, efficient and robust blood-based pan-cancer early detection technology, which is expected to provide a new means for cancer prevention and control.
Bibliography:
1. Martin, T. D., Cook, D. R., Choi, C. H., Jang, Y., Li, J., Wang, X., … & Elledge, S. J. (2021). The adaptive immune system is a major driver of selection for tumor suppressor gene inactivation. Science, 373(6561)
2. Del Poggetto, E., Ho, I. L., Liu, X., Huang, H., Kang, Y., & Tuveson, D. A. (2021). Epithelial memory of inflammation limits tissue damage while promoting pancreatic tumorigenesis. Science, 373(6561)