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‫بسم هللا الرحمن الرحيم‬
CANCER
Cancer is a group of diseases! It can
occur at any site or tissue of the body,
may involve any type of cells .
 Three main reasons are:
i Being a longer life expectancy,
ii More accurate diagnosis,
iii The rise in cigarette smoking,
especially among males

Characteristics of cancer

A cancer is characterised by an :
(i) abnormal growth of cells
(ii) ability to invade adjacent tissues and
even distant organs,
(iii) eventual death of the affected patient if
that tumour has progressed beyond the
stage wherein it can be successfully removed.
Categories of cancer
The major categories of cancer are :
 Carcinomas:
which arise from epitheial cells lining the internal
surfaces of the various organs (e.g. mouth, oesophagus,
intestines, uterus and from the skin epithelium;
 Sarcomas:
which arise from mesodermal cells constituting the
various connective tissue;
(e.g. fibrous tissue, fat and bone);

Lymphomas myeloma and leukaemias:
arising from the cells of bone marrow and immune
systems.
PREDOMINANT CANCERS
In males predominant cancer is lung
cancer. Stomach, esophageal and bladder
cancer are also much more common in
males.
 Among women of underdeveloped
countries , the cancers of cervix and
breast account for nearly 60 percent of all
cancers.

Incidence

Approximately, 10 million people are diagnosed
with cancer and more than 6 million die every
year.
The most common cancers worldwide are:
 Lung cancer; 11. 23 % of all cancers.



Breast cancer 10.4 %.
Colorectal cancer 9.4 %.
Mostly involved Organs

The two organ sites are most commonly involved;

(i) the uterine cervix in women

(ii) the oropharynx in both sexes
ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS



TOBACCO: ca. lung, larynx, mouth, pharynx,
oesghagus, bladder, pancreas.
ALCOHOL: ca esophageal, liver, beer associated
with ca rectal. 3% of all cancer deaths.
 DIETARY FACTORS:
 Smoked fish related to ca. stomach, dietary fibers –
intestinal, beef - bowel ca, fat- breast ca.
 OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURES: Exposure to benzene,
arsenic, cadmium, chromium, vinyl chloride,
polycyclic hydrocarbon and asbestos. 1-5 %
 VIRUSES: Hepatitis B & C -- hepatocellular
carcinoma, Kaposi ‘s sarcoma -- HIV. HPV -- ca
cervix,
 PARASITES. Schistosomiasis -- ca bladder.
ASSOCIATED FACTORS:

CUSTOMS,
 HABITS
 LIFE –STYLES,
increase risk of cancer i e smoking
associated with lung cancer and tobacco &
betel chewing with oral cancer.
GENETIC FACTORS

There is probably a complex interrelationship
between hereditary susceptibility and
environmental carcinogenic stimuli in the
causation of a number of cancers.

Retinoblastoma occur in children of same
parent.
Control of cancer
Consist series of measures based on :
 Present medical knowledge in the field of
prevention, detection, diagnosis,
treatment, aftercare and rehabilitation.
 The basic aim is to reduce significantly the
number of new cases and reduce the
invalidism due to cancer.
 It is estimated that at least 1/3 of all
cancers are preventable.

PRIMARY PREVENTION
It is concerned with early diagnosis of disease in pre
cancerous stage.

CANCER EDUCATION:
(a) CONTROL OF TOBACCO AND ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION;
(b)
©
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
(h)
(i)
PERSONAL HYGIENE
Protection from RADIATION:
OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURES :
IMMUNIZATION :
FOODS, DRUGS AND COSMETICS:
AIR POLLUTION
TREATMENT OF PRECANCEROUS LESIONS
LEGISLATION
PRIMARY PREVENTION
Danger signals of cancer:
a. lump are hard areas in breast.
b. Change in wart or mole.
c. persist change in digestive and bowel habits.
d. persistence cough or hoarseness.
e. Excessive loss of blood during menstruation / otherwise.
f. Blood loss from any natural orifice.
g. Swelling or sore that does not get better.
h. Unexplained loss of weight.
SECONDARY PREVENTION
i) CANCER REGISTRATION:
 (a) HOSPITAL -BASED REGISTRIES:
 (b) POPULATION-BASED REGISTRIES
ii) EARLY DETECTION OF CASES:
Iii) Treatment of cases.
TREATMENT



Treatment facilities should be available to all
cancer patients.
Certain forms of cancer are amenable to surgical
removal, while some others respond favorably to
radiation or chemotherapy or both.
Since most of the known methods of treatment
have complementary effect on the ultimate
outcome of the patient, multi-modality approach
to cancer control has become a standard practice
in cancer centers all over the wordlists.