What causes cancer?

Cancer is a term used to describe a complex group of diseases that have a

variety of causes. Each cancer has its own biology and pathophysiology.
Agents that may cause cancer include:
 Chemical carcinogens – Particular substances have been linked to specific
types of cancer, one example of this this is tobacco as this contains
carcinogens (mutagens that cause cancers). Tobacco smoking causes 90%
of lung cancer and is also related to other cancers such as larynx, head,
neck, stomach, bladder, kidney, esophagus and pancreas.
 Ionizing radiation – Melanoma and other skin cancers can be caused by
radon gas radiation and extended exposure to UV radiation from the sun.
Radiation therapy for one type of cancer may result in the develop of another
type of cancer. Those who receive chest radiation for example, may later
develop breast cancer.
 Viral and bacterial infection - Infections with microorganisms can cause
some malignancies. Liver malignancies caused by Hepatitis B and C
infections, cervical cancer caused by Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infections,
Burkitt's lymphoma caused by the Epstein Barr virus, and gastric or stomach
cancer caused by Helicobacter pylori infection are among the most common.
 Genetic or inherited cancers - Inherited breast cancer and ovarian cancer
genes, such as BRCA1 and 2, are common instances. Defects in the p53
gene cause bone malignancies, breast cancers, soft tissue sarcomas, and
brain tumors, among other things. Malignancies such as leukemia and
testicular cancer are known to affect people with Down's syndrome.
 Hormonal changes - Alterations in the levels of the female hormone
estrogen, which has been related to uterine cancer, are one of the most
prominent hormone changes in the body.
 Cancers of the immune system - Impaired immunity, such as HIV infection,
causes a variety of cancers, including Kaposi's sarcoma, non-lymphoma,
Hodgkin's and HPV-related cancers such anal cancer and cervical cancer.

How is it treated?
Cancer can be treated in a variety of ways. Treatment options will be determined
by the sort of cancer a person have and how far it has progressed.
Different types of treatments for cancer are the following:
 Surgery – Surgery is a common treatment for many types of cancer.
During the operation, the surgeon removes the mass of cancerous cells
(tumor) as well as some surrounding tissue. Surgery is sometimes
performed to alleviate tumor-related adverse effects.
 Chemotherapy – Chemotherapy is a term that refers to the use of
medications to kill cancer cells. The medications can be either orally or
injected into a blood vessel (IV). Different types of medications might be
administered together or one after the other.
 Radiation – Radiation therapy uses x-rays, particles, or radioactive seeds
to kill cancer cells. Cancer cells grow and divide faster than normal cells in
 the body. Because radiation is most harmful to quickly growing cells,
radiation therapy damages cancer cells more than normal cells. This
prevents the cancer cells from growing and dividing, and leads to cell
death. The two main types of radiation therapy are external beam and
internal beam.
 Targeted Therapies – Targeted therapy drugs are given as pill or IV and
it works in different ways. They may turn off the process in cancer cells
that causes them to grown and spread, trigger cancer cells to die on their
own or kill cancer cells directly.
 Immunotherapy – This type of treatment works by stopping or slowing
the growth of cancer cells, preventing cancer from spreading to other parts
of the body and boosting the immune system’s ability to get rid of cancers
cells.
 Hormone Therapy - Breast, prostate, and ovarian cancers are all fueled
by hormones, hence hormone treatment is utilized to treat them. It stops
or blocks the body's natural hormones using surgery or medicines. The
proliferation of cancer cells is slowed as a result of this. The ovaries or
testes, which produce hormones, are removed during surgery. Injections
or pills are used to administer the medications.
 Hyperthermia – This type of treatment uses heat to damage and kill
cancer cells without harming normal cells. The heat is delivered from a
machine outside the body or through a needle or probe placed in the
tumor.
 Laser Therapy – Laser therapy can be used to destroy tumor and
precancerous growths, shrink tumors that are blocking the stomach, colon
or esophagus, help treat cancer symptoms, seal nerve endings after
surgery to reduce pain, seal lymph vessels after surgery to reduce
swelling and keep tumor cells from spreading.
 Photodynamic Therapy – A person receives a shot of a medication that
is sensitive to a specific type of light in photodynamic treatment. The
medicine lasts longer in cancer cells than in healthy cells. The doctor then
uses a laser or another form of light to target the cancer cells. The
medicine is transformed into a chemical that kills cancer cells when
exposed to light.
 Cryotherapy - This procedure, also known as cryosurgery, employs
extremely cold gas to freeze and kill cancer cells. It's occasionally used to
treat cells on the skin or cervix that could turn into cancer (called pre-
cancerous cells). Cryotherapy can also be delivered to tumors inside the
body, such as the liver or prostate, using a specific equipment.