| Cancer Information | All About Cancers |

A part of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, the appendix is a pouch-like tube that is attached to the cecum (the first section of the large intestine or colon) and averages 10 centimeters (cm) in length. Generally thought to have no significant function in the body, the appendix may be a part of the lymphatic, exocrine, or endocrine systems.

Appendix cancer occurs when cells in the appendix become abnormal and multiply without control. These cells form a growth of tissue, called a tumor. A tumor can be benign (noncancerous) or malignant (cancerous, meaning it can spread to other parts of the body).

Cancer describes a set of diseases in which normal cells in the body, through a series of genetic changes, lose the ability to control their growth. As cancers grow, they invade the tissues around them (local invasion). They may also spread to other locations in the body via the blood vessels or lymphatic channels where they may implant and grow (metastases).

The anal canal is a passage that connects the rectum to the outside of the body. The anal canal is surrounded by muscles that keep the anal canal closed except for when the muscles are relaxed during a bowel movement. Anal cancer arises from the cells around the anal opening or in the anal canal just inside the anal opening. Anal cancers arise from skin cells and are called squamous cell carcinomas.

A tumor is a lump or mass of tissue that forms when cells divide uncontrollably. Bone cancer is the development of abnormal cells in bone tissue, which result in a tumour. For most bone tumors, the cause is unknown.

A growing tumor may replace healthy tissue with abnormal tissue. It may weaken the bone, causing it to break (fracture). Aggressive tumors can lead to disability or death, particularly if signs and symptoms are ignored.

It accounts for 1% of all cancer diagnosed in Ireland each year. Cancer may spread to the bone from other parts of the body and this is known as metastases or secondaries

Most bone tumors are noncancerous (benign). Some are cancerous (malignant). Occasionally, infection, stress fractures, and other non-tumor conditions can closely resemble tumors.

Benign tumors are usually not life threatening. Malignant tumors can spread cancer cells throughout the body (metastasize). This happens via the blood or lymphatic system.

Cancer that begins in bone (primary bone cancer) is different from cancer that begins somewhere else in the body and spreads to bone (secondary bone cancer).

The bladder is a hollow organ in the lower part of the abdomen that stores urine. It is shaped like a small balloon, and it has a muscular wall that allows it to change in size. Urine is the liquid waste that is made by the kidneys when they clean the blood.

Urine passes from the two kidneys into the bladder through two tubes called ureters. When the bladder is emptied during urination, the urine goes from the bladder to the outside of the body through another tube called the urethra.

Bladder cancer is a disease in which cancerous cells are found in the bladder. A person with any of the following symptoms should see a doctor: blood in the urine (urine that looks bright red or rusty), pain during urination, passing urine often, or feeling the need to urinate even though nothing comes out.

If a patient has these symptoms, a doctor may use several tests to look for cancer of the bladder. A urine sample may be sent to a laboratory for tests to see if any cancer cells are present. The doctor may also do an internal examination by inserting gloved fingers into the vagina and/or rectum to feel for lumps.

The doctor may then order a special x-ray called an intravenous pyelogram (IVP). For this x-ray, a special dye containing iodine is injected into a vein. The dye goes into the urine, making the bladder easier to see on the x-rays. The patient may feel warm as the dye is injected.

A doctor may also look directly into the bladder with a thin, lighted tube called a cytoscope. The cytoscope is inserted into the bladder through the urethra. If the doctor finds tissue that is not normal, he or she doctor will need to cut out a small piece of this tissue and look at it under the microscope to see if there are any cancer cells. This procedure is called a biopsy. Other special x-rays may also be done to help diagnose cancer of the bladder.

The chance of recovery from the disease (prognosis) and the choice of treatment for bladder cancer depend on the stage of the cancer (whether it is just in the lining of the bladder or has spread to other places in the body) and the patient's general state of health.

Cancer is a disease in which certain body cells don't function right, divide very fast, and produce too much tissue that forms a tumor. Cervical cancer is cancer in the cervix, the lower, narrow part of the uterus (womb). The uterus is the hollow, pear-shaped organ where a baby grows during a woman's pregnancy. The cervix forms a canal that opens into the vagina (birth canal), which leads to the outside of the body.

If the Pap test finds serious changes in the cells of the cervix, the doctor will suggest more powerful tests such as a coloscopy. In this procedure, the doctor uses a tool called a colposcope to see the cells of the vagina and cervix in detail.

If there are still some concerns of precancerous cells, the doctor may use the LUMA Cervical Imaging System. The doctor uses this device right after a colposcopy. This system, recently approved by the FDA, shines a light on the cervix and looks at how different areas of the cervix respond to this light. It gives a score to tiny areas of the cervix. It then makes a color map that helps the doctor decide where to further test the tissue with a biopsy. The colors and patterns on the map help the doctor tell between healthy tissue and tissue that might be diseased.

Breast cancer, the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in American women, is the disease women fear most. Experts predict 178,000 women will develop breast cancer in the United States in 2007. Breast cancer can also occur in men, but it's far less common. For 2007, the predicted number of new breast cancers in men is 2,000.

Yet there's more reason for optimism than ever before. In the last 30 years, doctors have made great strides in early diagnosis and treatment of the disease and in reducing breast cancer deaths. In 1975, a diagnosis of breast cancer usually meant radical mastectomy — removal of the entire breast along with underarm lymph nodes and muscles underneath the breast. Today, radical mastectomy is rarely performed. Instead, there are more and better treatment options, and many women are candidates for breast-sparing operations.

The colon, in four sections, makes up the majority of the 5-foot length of the large intestine. In the alimentary canal (the path that food follows through your body), the colon follows the small intestine and comes before the rectum. The colon is responsible for absorbing water, vitamins, and minerals from the intestinal contents and conserving them. It also mixes the intestinal contents, forms stools, and rids the body of undigested material.

Colon and rectum cancers are sometimes referred to together as “colorectal cancer” - in this article, they will be referred to as “colon cancer.” Together they are the third most common cancer in adults and the second leading cause of cancer deaths in men and women in the United States. Most cases of colon cancer begin with the development of benign polyps, finger-like growths that protrude into the intestinal cavity. These benign polyps are relatively common in people over age 50. They can become cancerous, though, with the ability to invade the normal colon and spread to other parts of the body (metastasize). The tumors can create blockages in the intestine, preventing elimination. As estimated by the American Cancer Society, about 50,000 Americans die from colon cancer each year, and approximately 149,000 new cases are diagnosed.

The exact causes of colon and rectal cancer are not known, but risk appears to be associated with genetic, dietary, and lifestyle factors. Those with a personal or family history of colon cancer or polyps are at a higher risk, as are those with ulcerative colitis, a form of inflammatory bowel disease, and immunodeficiency disorders. A rare inherited disease called familial adenomatosis or polyposis causes benign polyps to develop early in life and causes cancer in almost all affected persons unless the colon is removed. Risk also increases with age and with the occurrence of cancers in other parts of the body. High fat and meat diets are a risk factor, especially combined with minimal fruit, vegetable, and fiber intake. Lifestyle factors include cigarette smoking, obesity, and a sedentary lifestyle.

Bowel is the general term for the long muscular tube that starts at the bottom of the stomach and ends at the anus.

The first part of the bowel is involved with the digestion of food and is known as the 'small bowel' because the tube is narrower here.

The 'large bowel' follows the small bowel and in a healthy person, the main part of the large bowel (colon) is responsible mostly for absorbing water from the faeces. The last part of the large bowel is known as the rectum, which leads to the anus.

Bowel (colorectal) cancer is cancer of the colon or rectum, and it arises from the cells that line the bowel. The small bowel is strikingly free from cancer risk, and almost all bowel cancers arise in the large bowel.

About 6 per cent of the population in Western countries develop bowel cancer at some time during their lives, making this the second commonest cause of cancer-related death. However, it is curable in 40 to 50 per cent of cases, usually by surgery.

The cancer develops when one of the cells in the colon develops a series of changes (mutations) in some of the genes that control how the cell divides and survives. As a result, the cell divides uncontrollably to form a clump of malignant (cancerous) cells. Initially, these cell changes commonly produce a polyp (a clump of abnormal cells the size of a pea on the end of a stalk of normal cells) called an adenoma.

At this stage, an adenoma is still pre-cancerous (a stage at which it may or may not become cancer), and probably only about 5 per cent of the polyps progress further to become life-threatening cancers.

The polyp enlarges very slowly, probably over about 10 years, up to between 1cm and about 5cm in diameter. The abnormal cells first invade the stalk of the polyp, then the underlying tissue of the colon to which the stalk is attached. This invasion indicates that cancer has developed. The patient will then usually have symptoms, which can include bleeding from the ulcerated tip of the cancer and diarrhoea caused by disturbance in the muscle activity of the colon or to obstruction. The risk of invasive cancer becomes appreciable once the polyp diameter has exceeded 1cm.

About 30 per cent of bowel cancers arise from flat lesions and do not pass through a polyp stage. This particularly occurs with cancers of the proximal (right-sided) colon and caecum.

If the cancer is not removed quickly, cancerous cells can break off from the tumour and move through veins or lymph vessels to form tumour growths (called metastases or secondaries) elsewhere, particularly in lymph glands or in the liver. The cure rate falls sharply once this has happened.

The average age when bowel cancer is first discovered is 65, and it becomes increasingly common with advancing age. Very occasionally, it may affect much younger adults from the age of 20. The rates do not differ strikingly between the sexes, although men are slightly more prone to developing rectal cancer and women to developing cancer of the caecum. This is the point where the appendix is attached.

The appendix itself is rarely the site of cancer, although it can be the site of a much rarer tumour called a 'carcinoid'. Previous appendicectomy (removal of the appendix) seems to have no effect on the subsequent risk of bowel cancer.

The definition of a tumor is a mass of quickly and abnormally growing cells. Tumors can be either benign or malignant. Benign tumors have uncontrolled cell growth, but without any invasion into normal tissues and without any spread. A malignant tumor is called cancer when these tumor cells gain the propensity to invade tissues and spread locally as well as to distant parts of the body. In this sense, gastric cancer occurs when cells in the lining of the stomach grow uncontrollably and form tumors that can invade normal tissues and spread to other parts of the body.

Cancers are described by the types of cells from which they arise. Over 90% of gastric cancers arise from the lining of the stomach. Since this lining has glands, the cancer that comes from it is called adenocarcinoma. Although there are other cancers that can arise in the stomach (lymphomas-from lymph tissue, leiomyosarcoma-from muscle tissue, squamous cell carcinoma-from lining without glands), the vast majority are adenocarcinomas. Hence, these are the most commonly studied.

The definition of a tumor is a mass of abnormally growing cells. Tumors can be either benign or malignant. Benign tumors have uncontrolled cell growth, but without any invasion into normal tissues and without any spread. A tumor is called malignant (cancer) when tumor cells gain the propensity to invade tissues and spread locally as well as to distant parts of the body. In this sense, laryngeal cancer occurs when cells in the lining of the throat grow uncontrollably and form tumors that can invade normal tissues and spread to other parts of the body.

Cancers are described by the types of cells from which they arise. Over 95% of laryngeal cancers arise from the lining of the throat (not from the actual muscle or cartilage cells) and are called squamous cell carcinomas. Approximately 5% of these are called verrucous carcinoma, which have a wart-like appearance to them and are often less aggressive and slow-growing. Although there are other cancers that can arise in the larynx (salivary gland tumors-from minor salivary glands contained in the larynx, lymphomas of the larynx, and sarcomas-from muscle and cartilage cells), the vast majority are squamous cell carcinomas. Hence, these are the most commonly studied.

In addition to invasive cancers, patients are sometimes diagnosed with precancerous lesions, called carcinoma-in-situ. These most commonly occur in the glottis itself (where the true vocals cords are), as this area is more likely to produce early signs of disease. Carcinoma-in-situ occurs when the lining of the throat undergoes changes similar to cancerous changes without any invasion into the deeper tissues. Hence, while the cells themselves have cancer-like qualities, there is no risk of spread, as no invasion has occurred.