Group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth and spread
Medical condition
Cancer Other names Malignant tumor , malignant neoplasm A coronal CT scan showing a malignant mesothelioma Legend: → tumor ←, ✱ central pleural effusion , 1 & 3 lungs , 2 spine , 4 ribs , 5 aorta , 6 spleen , 7 & 8 kidneys , 9 liver Pronunciation Specialty Oncology Symptoms Lump, abnormal bleeding, prolonged cough, unexplained weight loss , change in bowel movements [1] Risk factors Exposure to carcinogens , tobacco, obesity , poor diet , lack of physical activity , excessive alcohol , certain infections[2] [3] Treatment Radiation therapy , surgery, chemotherapy , targeted therapy [2] [4] Prognosis Average five-year survival 66% (USA)[5] Frequency 24 million annually (2019)[6] Deaths 10 million annually (2019)[6]
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body.[2] [7] These contrast with benign tumors , which do not spread.[7] Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bleeding, prolonged cough, unexplained weight loss , and a change in bowel movements .[1] While these symptoms may indicate cancer, they can also have other causes.[1] Over 100 types of cancers affect humans.[7]
Tobacco use is the cause of about 22% of cancer deaths.[2] Another 10% are due to obesity , poor diet , lack of physical activity or excessive alcohol consumption .[2] [8] [9] Other factors include certain infections, exposure to ionizing radiation , and environmental pollutants.[3] In the developing world , 15% of cancers are due to infections such as Helicobacter pylori , hepatitis B , hepatitis C , human papillomavirus infection , Epstein–Barr virus and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).[2] These factors act, at least partly, by changing the genes of a cell.[10] Typically, many genetic changes are required before cancer develops.[10] Approximately 5–10% of cancers are due to inherited genetic defects.[11] Cancer can be detected by certain signs and symptoms or screening tests.[2] It is then typically further investigated by medical imaging and confirmed by biopsy .[12]
The risk of developing certain cancers can be reduced by not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, limiting alcohol intake, eating plenty of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains , vaccination against certain infectious diseases, limiting consumption of processed meat and red meat , and limiting exposure to direct sunlight.[13] [14] Early detection through screening is useful for cervical and colorectal cancer .[15] The benefits of screening for breast cancer are controversial.[15] [16] Cancer is often treated with some combination of radiation therapy , surgery, chemotherapy and targeted therapy .[2] [4] Pain and symptom management are an important part of care.[2] Palliative care is particularly important in people with advanced disease.[2] The chance of survival depends on the type of cancer and extent of disease at the start of treatment.[10] In children under 15 at diagnosis, the five-year survival rate in the developed world is on average 80%.[17] For cancer in the United States, the average five-year survival rate is 66% for all ages.[5]
In 2015, about 90.5 million people worldwide had cancer.[18] In 2019, annual cancer cases grew by 23.6 million people and there were 10 million deaths worldwide, representing over the previous decade increases of 26% and 21%, respectively.[6] [19]
The most common types of cancer in males are lung cancer , prostate cancer , colorectal cancer , and stomach cancer .[20] [21] In females, the most common types are breast cancer , colorectal cancer, lung cancer , and cervical cancer .[10] [22] If skin cancer other than melanoma were included in total new cancer cases each year, it would account for around 40% of cases.[23] [24] In children, acute lymphoblastic leukemia and brain tumors are most common, except in Africa, where non-Hodgkin lymphoma occurs more often.[17] In 2012, about 165,000 children under 15 years of age were diagnosed with cancer.[20] The risk of cancer increases significantly with age, and many cancers occur more commonly in developed countries.[10] Rates are increasing as more people live to an old age and as lifestyle changes occur in the developing world.[25] The global total economic costs of cancer were estimated at US$ 1.16 trillion (equivalent to $1.56 trillion in 2022) per year as of 2010[update] .[26]
Video summary (script )
^ a b c "Cancer – Signs and symptoms" . NHS Choices . Archived from the original on 8 June 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2014 .
^ a b c d e f g h i j "Cancer" . World Health Organization . 12 September 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2018 .
^ a b Anand P, Kunnumakkara AB, Sundaram C, Harikumar KB, Tharakan ST, Lai OS, Sung B, Aggarwal BB (September 2008). "Cancer is a preventable disease that requires major lifestyle changes" . Pharmaceutical Research . 25 (9): 2097–116. doi :10.1007/s11095-008-9661-9 . PMC 2515569 . PMID 18626751 .
^ a b "Targeted Cancer Therapies" . cancer.gov . National Cancer Institute. 26 February 2018. Retrieved 28 March 2018 .
^ a b "SEER Stat Fact Sheets: All Cancer Sites" . National Cancer Institute. Archived from the original on 26 September 2010. Retrieved 18 June 2014 .
^ a b c Kocarnik, JM; others (2022). "Cancer Incidence, Mortality, Years of Life Lost, Years Lived With Disability, and Disability-Adjusted Life Years for 29 Cancer Groups From 2010 to 2019. A Systematic Analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019" . JAMA Oncology . 8 (3): 420–444. doi :10.1001/jamaoncol.2021.6987 . PMC 8719276 . PMID 34967848 .
^ a b c "Defining Cancer" . National Cancer Institute. 17 September 2007. Retrieved 28 March 2018 .
^ "Obesity and Cancer Risk" . National Cancer Institute. 3 January 2012. Archived from the original on 4 July 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2015 .
^ Jayasekara H, MacInnis RJ, Room R, English DR (May 2016). "Long-Term Alcohol Consumption and Breast, Upper Aero-Digestive Tract and Colorectal Cancer Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis" . Alcohol and Alcoholism . 51 (3): 315–30. doi :10.1093/alcalc/agv110 . PMID 26400678 .
^ a b c d e World Cancer Report 2014 . World Health Organization. 2014. pp. Chapter 1.1. ISBN 978-92-832-0429-9 . Archived from the original on 12 July 2017.
^ "Heredity and Cancer" . American Cancer Society . Archived from the original on 2 August 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2013 .
^ "How is cancer diagnosed?" . American Cancer Society . 29 January 2013. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2014 .
^ Kushi LH, Doyle C, McCullough M, Rock CL, Demark-Wahnefried W, Bandera EV, Gapstur S, Patel AV, Andrews K, Gansler T (2012). "American Cancer Society Guidelines on nutrition and physical activity for cancer prevention: reducing the risk of cancer with healthy food choices and physical activity" . CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians . 62 (1): 30–67. doi :10.3322/caac.20140 . PMID 22237782 . S2CID 2067308 .
^ Parkin DM, Boyd L, Walker LC (December 2011). "16. The fraction of cancer attributable to lifestyle and environmental factors in the UK in 2010" . British Journal of Cancer . 105 (Suppl 2): S77–81. doi :10.1038/bjc.2011.489 . PMC 3252065 . PMID 22158327 .
^ a b World Cancer Report 2014 . World Health Organization. 2014. pp. Chapter 4.7. ISBN 978-92-832-0429-9 . Archived from the original on 12 July 2017.
^ Gøtzsche PC, Jørgensen KJ (June 2013). "Screening for breast cancer with mammography" . The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews . 2013 (6): CD001877. doi :10.1002/14651858.CD001877.pub5 . PMC 6464778 . PMID 23737396 .
^ a b World Cancer Report 2014 . World Health Organization. 2014. pp. Chapter 1.3. ISBN 978-92-832-0429-9 . Archived from the original on 12 July 2017.
^ GBD ; et al. (Disease and Injury Incidence and Prevalence Collaborators) (8 October 2016). "Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 310 diseases and injuries, 1990–2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015" . The Lancet . 388 (10053): 1545–1602. doi :10.1016/S0140-6736(16)31678-6 . PMC 5055577 . PMID 27733282 .
^ Sciacovelli M, Schmidt C, Maher ER, Frezza C (2020). "Metabolic Drivers in Hereditary Cancer Syndromes" . Annual Review of Cancer Biology . 4 : 77–97. doi :10.1146/annurev-cancerbio-030419-033612 .
^ a b World Cancer Report 2014 . World Health Organization. 2014. pp. Chapter 1.1. ISBN 978-92-832-0429-9 .
^ Siegel, Rebecca L.; Miller, Kimberly D.; Wagle, Nikita Sandeep; Jemal, Ahmedin (January 2023). "Cancer statistics, 2023" . CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians . 73 (1): 17–48. doi :10.3322/caac.21763 . ISSN 0007-9235 .
^ Siegel, Rebecca L.; Miller, Kimberly D.; Wagle, Nikita Sandeep; Jemal, Ahmedin (January 2023). "Cancer statistics, 2023" . CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians . 73 (1): 17–48. doi :10.3322/caac.21763 . ISSN 0007-9235 .
^ Dubas LE, Ingraffea A (February 2013). "Nonmelanoma skin cancer". Facial Plastic Surgery Clinics of North America . 21 (1): 43–53. doi :10.1016/j.fsc.2012.10.003 . PMID 23369588 .
^ Cakir BÖ, Adamson P, Cingi C (November 2012). "Epidemiology and economic burden of nonmelanoma skin cancer". Facial Plastic Surgery Clinics of North America . 20 (4): 419–22. doi :10.1016/j.fsc.2012.07.004 . PMID 23084294 .
^ Jemal A, Bray F, Center MM, Ferlay J, Ward E, Forman D (February 2011). "Global cancer statistics" . CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians . 61 (2): 69–90. doi :10.3322/caac.20107 . PMID 21296855 . S2CID 30500384 .
^ World Report 2014 . World Health Organization. 2014. pp. Chapter 6.7. ISBN 978-92-832-0429-9 . Archived from the original on 12 July 2017.