General Information On Cancer Metastasis Research

By Ruth Hayes


The world today is ravaged by diseases of every kind from fungal to infectious diseases. There are some that can be treated while others people simply have to learn to live with. One disease of this kind is cancer. Cancer affects the cells and tends to spread on to other parts of the body through a process known as metastasis. Discussed below is information on cancer metastasis research.

Cancer is one of the most feared diseases today. This is because it is really hard to control and can spread at very high speeds. However, it can be solvable if detected in the early stages. This can be taken care of by surgery or even radiation therapy. Cancer patients are at the risk of more illnesses and even death when the disease spreads.

It takes a while for growth to start spreading. This is because it takes some effort to be able to infect the healthy cells. The cancer cells create their way by destroying the protein matrix by the use of enzymes. They also are opposed to floating out of a tissue and usually crawl their way around. The force they use to move around is much different than the force used by normal cells.

Of course, the idea of growth spreading to different parts of the body is disturbing. However, it does not actually happen as easily as you would think. Different kinds of growth have different chances of actually spreading to other parts. They evaluate each kind and treat the patients accordingly. The further along in stages the growth is, the higher the chances of spreading.

For tumor cells, they have two main ways in which they can move around. They can use the blood vessels going to the tumor or the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system is easier as they go on to form lymph nodes that are taken out and studied to determine the level of tumor after surgery. The bloodstream is a tough place for a tumor cell and chances of survival are very low.

In some cases, the tumor cells go on to align themselves with the cells found in the lining of the blood vessels. These cells are known as endothelial and can contract thus leaving spaces for the tumor cells. They are also unable to detect the invasion of tumor cells as the cells may disguise themselves as lymphatic cells.

The tumor cells may face a lot of hostility in the bloodstream but may end up in a completely new organ. They then have to create an environment that allows them to grow. If the cells in the organ do cooperate, then there will be the growth of a secondary tumor. This will be very different from the primary tumor which is what makes it hard to treat cancer.

As above mentioned, the change in the cell structure causes difficulty in tumor treatment. A treatment that may work on the primary tumor may not have any effect on the secondary tumor. Therefore, the only way to treat tumor that has not spread is by removing the primary tumor. For metastatic tumor, it is best to consult a professional.




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