| Cancer is a class of diseases or
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| | that cancer could occur anywhere in the
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| disorders characterized by uncontrolled
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| | body, but humor-theory based treatment
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| division of cells and the ability of
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| | remained popular until the 19th century
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| these cells to invade other tissues,
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| | with the discovery of cells.
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| either by direct growth into adjacent
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| | Though treatment remained the same, in
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| tissue through invasion or by
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| | the 16th and 17th centuries it became
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| implantation into distant sites by
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| | more acceptable for doctors to dissect
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| metastasis. Metastasis is defined as the
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| | bodies to discover the cause of death.
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| stage in which cancer cells are
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| | The German professor Wilhelm Fabry
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| transported through the bloodstream or
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| | believed that breast cancer was caused by
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| lymphatic system. Cancer may affect
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| | a milk clot in a mammary duct. The Dutch
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| people at all ages, but risk tends to
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| | professor Francois de la Boe Sylvius, a
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| increase with age, due to the fact that
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| | follower of Descartes, believed that all
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| DNA damage becomes more apparent in aging
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| | disease was the outcome of chemical
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| DNA. It is one of the principal causes of
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| | processes, and that acidic lymph fluid
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| death in developed countries.
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| | was the cause of cancer. His contemporary
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| There are many types of cancer. Severity
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| | Nicolaes Tulp believed that cancer was a
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| of symptoms depends on the site and
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| | poison that slowly spreads, and concluded
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| character of the malignancy and whether
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| | that it was contagious.[citation needed]
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| there is metastasis. A definitive
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| | With the widespread use of the microscope
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| diagnosis usually requires the histologic
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| | in the 18th century, it was discovered
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| examination of tissue by a pathologist.
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| | that the 'cancer poison' spread from the
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| This tissue is obtained by biopsy or
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| | primary tumor through the lymph nodes to
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| surgery. Most cancers can be treated and
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| | other sites ("metastasis"). The use of
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| some cured, depending on the specific
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| | surgery to treat cancer had poor results
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| type, location, and stage. Once
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| | due to problems with hygiene. The
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| diagnosed, cancer is usually treated with
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| | renowned Scottish surgeon Alexander Monro
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| a combination of surgery, chemotherapy
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| | (1697-1767) saw only 2 breast tumor
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| and radiotherapy. As research develops,
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| | patients out of 60 surviving surgery for
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| treatments are becoming more specific for
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| | two years. In the 19th century, asepsis
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| the type of cancer pathology. Drugs that
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| | improved surgical hygiene and as the
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| target specific cancers already exist for
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| | survival statistics went up, surgical
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| several cancers. If untreated, cancers
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| | removal of the tumor became the primary
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| may eventually cause illness and death,
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| | treatment for cancer. With the exception
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| though this is not always the case.
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| | of William Coley who in the late 1800s
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| The unregulated growth that characterizes
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| | felt that the rate of cure after surgery
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| cancer is caused by damage to DNA,
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| | had been higher before asepsis (and who
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| resulting in mutations to genes that
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| | injected bacteria into tumors with mixed
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| encode for proteins controlling cell
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| | results), cancer treatment became
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| division. Many mutation events may be
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| | dependent on the individual art of the
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| required to transform a normal cell into
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| | surgeon at removing a tumor. During the
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| a malignant cell. These mutations can be
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| | same period, the idea that the body was
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| caused by chemicals or physical agents
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| | made up of various tissues, that in turn
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| called carcinogens, by close exposure to
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| | were made up of millions of cells, laid
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| radioactive materials, or by certain
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| | rest the humor-theories about chemical
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| viruses that can insert their DNA into
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| | imbalances in the body. The age of
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| the human genome. Mutations occur
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| | cellular pathology was born.
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| spontaneously, and may be passed down
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| | When Marie Curie and Pierre Curie
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| from one generation to the next as a
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| | discovered radiation at the end of the
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| result of mutations within germ lines.
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| | 19th century, they stumbled upon the
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| Many forms of cancer are associated with
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| | first effective non-surgical cancer
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| exposure to environmental factors such as
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| | treatment. With radiation came also the
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| tobacco smoke, radiation, alcohol and
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| | first signs of multi-disciplinary
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| certain viruses. While some of these risk
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| | approaches to cancer treatment. The
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| factors can be avoided or reduced, there
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| | surgeon was no longer operating in
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| is no known way to entirely avoid the
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| | isolation, but worked together with
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| disease.
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| | hospital radiologists to help patients.
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| Today, carcinoma is the medical term for
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| | The complications in communication this
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| a malignant tumor derived from epithelial
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| | brought, along with the necessity of the
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| cells. It is Celsus who translated
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| | patient's treatment in a hospital
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| carcinos into the Latin cancer, also
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| | facility rather than at home, also
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| meaning crab. Galen used "oncos" to
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| | created a parallel process of compiling
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| describe all tumours, the root for the
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| | patient data into hospital files, which
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| modern word oncology.
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| | in turn led to the first statistical
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| Breast cancer in a mastectomy specimen
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| | patient studies.
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| (top). The cancerous tumour (pale yellow)
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| | Cancer patient treatment and studies were
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| resembles a crab (bottom photo, by
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| | restricted to individual physicians'
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| Chouby, Hippocrates described several
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| | practices until WWII, when medical
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| kinds of cancers. He called benign
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| | research centers discovered that there
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| tumours oncos, Greek for swelling, and
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| | were large international differences in
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| malignant tumours carcinos, Greek for
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| | disease incidence. This insight drove
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| crab or crayfish. This name probably
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| | national public health bodies to make it
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| comes from the appearance of the cut
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| | possible to compile health data across
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| surface of a solid malignant tumour, with
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| | practises and hospitals, a process that
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| a roundish hard center surrounded by
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| | many countries do today. The Japanese
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| pointy projections, vaguely resembling
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| | medical community observed that the bone
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| the shape of a crab (see photo). He later
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| | marrow of bomb victims in Hiroshima and
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| added the suffix -oma, Greek for
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| | Nagasaki was completely destroyed. They
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| swelling, giving the name carcinoma.
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| | concluded that diseased bone marrow could
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| Since it was against Greek tradition to
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| | also be destroyed with radiation, and
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| open the body, Hippocrates only described
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| | this led to the discovery of bone marrow
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| and made drawings of outwardly visible
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| | transplants for leukemia. Since WWII,
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| tumors on the skin, nose, and breasts.
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| | trends in cancer treatment are to improve
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| Treatment was based on the humor theory
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| | on a micro-level the existing treatment
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| of four bodily fluids (black and yellow
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| | methods, standardize them, and globalize
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| bile, blood, and phlegm). According to
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| | them as a way to find cures through
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| the patient's humor, treatment consisted
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| | epidemiology and international
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| of diet, blood-letting, and/or laxatives.
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| | partnerships.
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| Through the centuries it was discovered
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