Cancer: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Debate - Research Paper

Introduction

Cancer refers to the development and the uncontrollable replication of a large number of cells that result in the damage of the body tissues. The infection is often able to spread in almost all the body organs. In recent researches, cancer has been declared as one of the fatal diseases in the world. However, there is an improvement in cancer diagnosis and treatment due to the discovery of cancer treatment equipment (Torre 93). Although there have been numerous debates revolving around the possible causes of cancer, it is agreed that the factors that cause cancer could include environmental (Czene 261), biological, occupational as well as lifestyle factors.

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The Biological Causes of Cancer

Gene mutation within the body cells is the leading cause of cancer among many patients diagnosed over the world. The DNA within the cells always contain a set of information that is responsible for the growth and the division of the body cells. An error in the information contained in the cell DNA could result in the abnormal growth of some body cells and tissues. This would lead to cancer.

The Roles of Gene Mutation in Causing Cancer

Gene mutations in any of the body cells may allow rapid growth of the cells and the tissues. This may subsequently result in the creation of many cells that undergo the same mutation (Czene 263). Furthermore, gene mutation within the body cells could fail to stop the rapid cell growth. In a healthy body cell, there is always a controlled number of the cells that result from the mutation process. However, cancerous cells often continue with uncontrolled replication and growth. There are often mutations within the tumor suppressor gene that permit the cells to keep with the growth and the accumulation within the body.

Gene mutations can also make errors and mistakes in the reparation of gene errors. The DNA repair genes in a normal cell usually look for the errors within the gene and make appropriate corrections. In case there is a mutation in the DNA repair gene, the errors within the genes would go uncorrected, leading to cancer (Siegel 13). Although there would be other gene mutations within the body cells that could cause cancer, these mutations have often been noted to be much cancerous.

There are several causes of gene mutations within the body cells. Some of these mutations are inborn, while others are acquired after birth. The hereditary gene mutations could have been inherited from the parents while the acquired gene mutation could be contracted from several pathways such as carcinogens that are cancer-causing materials. The acquired mutation could also be from radiations, viruses, lack of exercise, and chronic inflammation, among others.

A combination of the inborn and acquired gene mutations may lead to cancer. For example, in case someone has inherited a gene that would predispose him or her to cancer, this could not mean a lot of certainty of developing cancer. Instead, there could be another gene mutation required to cause cancer. An inherited gene mutation results in an increased chance of cancer upon interaction with other cancer-causing substances.

Environmental Causes of Cancer

Exposure to environmental cancer-causing agents can result in cancer. These cancer-causing agents are biological, chemical, and physical. The biological cancer-causing agents include viruses and bacteria, while the physical agents could be radiations such as x-rays and Ultraviolet rays. Exposure to environmental chemical pollutants in water and air contribute immensely to cancer (Czene 262). However, the health effects of exposure to these chemicals are dependent on the strength, dose, and the length of exposure. Together with the health conditions of the individual, these environmental agents could cause cancer.

Some of the environmental chemicals are toxic and can result in cancer among individuals. They act through causing the first step the cancer development process (Czene 261). They contribute to the alteration of the DNA, thus acting as cancer promoters among individuals. These cancers causing chemicals were initially noted at the workplace (Torre 93). The uniqueness of the workplace exposes the individuals to chemicals leading to cancer.

Environmental factors such as pollution of the ambient air have been suggested to lead to lung cancer (Czene 261). For instance, urban air usually contains numerous particles of chemicals. Studies have shown that there is an increased number of cases of lung cancers in urban areas than in rural because of the presence of chemical substances in the air (Torre 97).

Studies have also shown that water pollution from arsenic and other pollutants are some of the causes of skin cancers (Torre 96). The byproducts of chlorinated water, such as the halogenated organic compounds, have resulted in rectal and bladder cancers. The halogenated substances in chlorinated water include chloroforms, among others (Czene 262).

Furthermore, the exposures to all the forms of radiations, such as the Ultraviolet and the ionizing radiations have been suggested to contribute to almost four percent of all the cancer cases globally. Most of these radiations are often from natural sources the Radon concentrations, which normally affected by the chemical composition and characteristics of the underlying rocks.

Lifestyle and Cancer

Diet is one of the lifestyle cause of cancer. For instance, the consumption of a large amount of junk food and saturated fatty foods has an increased relationship with breast cancer among women. These fats are deposited in the soft tissues of the woman, such as the breast leading to uncontrolled growth of the breast tissues and cells (Fitzmaurice 517). Subsequently, this leads to cancer. Furthermore, overconsumption of refined carbs and sugars result in a drastic increase in the blood sugar level, thereby causing breast and stomach cancers.

The consumption of a high amount of sugary food often stimulates the production of insulin. High levels of insulin have been associated with increasing the rate of cell division within the body organs and tissues. Furthermore, a further increase in the levels of insulin in the body has often been associated with the inflammation of some body parts and in the long term resulting to abnormal cell growth leading to cancer on the affected individuals.

Furthermore, the heavy consumption of processed food has also been suggested to cause cancer. The processed meat refers to those that have been preserved to maintain the flavor through processes like smoking and salting.These meat products include the hotdogs and bacon, among others. Processed meat often results in increased levels of cholesterol in the body, thus exposing the body to cholesterol cancer. The consumption of more than five slices of hot dogs per day raised the risks of cancer by over 20% (Siegel 16).

Some lifestyle practices such as overcooking food have also been linked been noted to cause cancer. This is because there are some substances such as heterocyclic amines that are produced when some meals are cooked at very high temperatures. These chemicals build-ups play significant roles in the inflammation of the body tissues leading to cancer. Most of the animal products release these substances when overcooked. Additionally, research has shown that the overconsumption of dairy products could result in increased cases of prostate cancer.

Furthermore, tobacco smoking has been registered as one of the causes of cancer all over the world. The tobacco smoke destroys all the organs of the body and is responsible for cancer of the throat, lungs, mouth stomach, pancreas, liver, among others (Fitzmaurice 509). The cases of cancers that result from smoking have been on the increase since the early 1960s (Clapp 4).

Occupational Causes of Cancer

The exposure to carcinogens at the workplace has increased the cases of cancer. Research indicates that thousands of people die annually around the world because of cancers caused by occupational exposures to carcinogens (Clapp 2). Various chemical, biological, and physical carcinogens at the workplace are highly responsible for cancer. The biological causes of cancer at the workplace include viruses, bacteria, and other microorganisms. These microorganisms are responsible for the inflammation of the body tissues, thus subsequently causing cancer.

The chemicals at the workplace are either naturally occurring or manufactured. The natural carcinogenic chemicals at the workplace include the asbestos among others while the manufactured chemical carcinogens at the workplace include the vinyl chloride (Torre 95). Certain occupations predispose individuals to cancer. For instance, a painter is exposed to cancer because of the chemicals that they use during their painting work (Clapp 5). The occupational substances that cause cancer include wood ash, UV radiations, Arsenic, Environmental tobacco, naturally occurring radon, and smoke, among many others (Siegel 11).

Conclusion

In conclusion, chemical, physical, and biological carcinogenic materials are the major causes of cancer death cases. However, some cancer gene mutations are inherited, and in the presence of carcinogens, they may cause rapid cell division causing cancer.

Works Cited

Clapp, Richard W., Molly M. Jacobs, and Edward L. Loechler. "Environmental and occupational causes of cancer: new evidence 2005-2007" Reviews on environmental health 23.1 (2008): 1-38.

Czene, Kamila, Paul Lichtenstein, and Kari Hemminki. "Environmental and heritable causes of cancer among 9.6 million individuals in the Swedish familycancer database" International journal of cancer 99.2 (2002): 260-266.

Fitzmaurice, Christina, et al. "The global burden of cancer 2013." JAMA oncology 1.4 (2015):505-527.

Siegel, Rebecca L., Kimberly D. Miller, and Ahmedin Jemal. "Cancer statistics, 2016" CA: a cancer journal for clinicians 66.1 (2016): 7-30.

Torre, Lindsey A., et al. "Global cancer statistics, 2012" CA: a cancer journal for clinicians 65.2 (2015): 87-108.