Understanding Tumors!!!!!!!!!!!
Chemotherapy and radiation therapy have only been shown to have the ability to reduce overall tumor mass in certain kinds of tumors. In no case do they significantly reduce the number of cancer stem cells within the tumor.
Even if the tumor shrinks with conventional medical treatments, the dangerous, treatment-resistant cancer stem cells, remain within your body. An additional, serious concern here is that—because benign cells are predominantly targeted and destroyed by chemotherapy and radiation—the ratio of stem cells to non-stem cells increases.
As a result, tumors can actually become more malignant as treatment progresses.
Targeting Cancer Stem Cells!!!!! 🙂
Cancer stem cells are also responsible for tumor progression. Such progression increases risk of death. This process has been shown to occur despite chemotherapy treatment. The remaining presence of stem cells can trigger a later cancerous growth.
Why do tumors reemerge in so many cancer patients? Current cancer treatments target the cells that make up the bulk of a tumor, but may miss the cells that cause metastasis and relapse. Recent evidence suggests that many cancers, including breast cancer, are driven by a small subpopulation of “cancer stem cells” that are relatively resistant to radiation and chemotherapy. Dr. Wicha discusses the “cancer stem cell” model and its implications to the biology and treatment of tumors, including the early clinical trials of treatments that specifically target cancer stem cells.
http://caribbeanmedicalnews.com/2014/05/physical-activity-found-to-prevent-cancer/
http://caribbeanmedicalnews.com/2014/06/blood-clots-linked-to-air-pollution/
http://www.mcancer.org/research/stem-cells/introduction
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11689955
The Center for Genetic Medicine Silverstein Lecture Series was established by the Herman M. and Bea L. Silverstein Medical Research Fund for Genetic Medicine to bring advances in genetics research and medicine to the general public.
According to recent research, traditional cancer treatments may actually invite the growth of cancer stem cells. These stem cells, just one type of cell found throughout cancerous tumors, promote tumor growth as well as the spread of cancer within the body.
By Dr. Cory Couillard
Cancer stem cells have also shown the ability to be resistant to chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
“So radiation and chemotherapy not only might create cancer stem cells, any pre-existing cancer stem cells in a tumor were very resistant to radiation and chemotherapy, so they remain as well,” says Dr. Chiang Li of Harvard Medical School. “This could help explain why these therapies are sometimes not as effective as we might hope.”
These common cancer treatments have shown the ability to reduce overall tumor mass, but have not successfully reduced the number of cancer stem cells. This increases the ratio of stem cells to non-stem cells. As a result, tumors can actually become more malignant as treatment progresses.
Even if a tumor’s size is greatly reduced, the remaining presence of stem cells can trigger a later, more deadly cancerous growth.
“If we are thinking about a way to get rid of the tumor forever, it’s important to make sure that not only the bulk of the tumor disappears, but also the cancer stem cells,” said María Vivanco of the Center for Cooperative Research in Biosciences in Bilbao, Spain. Vivanco and her colleagues studied the effects of estrogen on the development of breast cancer.
Cancer stem cells are also responsible for tumor progression, as they generate new cancer cells. Such progression increases risk of death. This process has been shown to occur despite chemotherapy treatment.
On the bright side, recent research on prostate cancer has described the discovery of cancer stem cells as the “Achilles’ heel” of cancer.
“By targeting these newly identified cancer ‘stem’ cells, we are attacking the foundation of tumor growth, rather than treating the symptoms of it,” said Dr. Josep Domingo-Domenech, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Pathology at Mount Sinai. By identifying cancer stem cells as the cause of cancer’s spread and growth, researchers can now focus efforts on a way to inhibit their function in patients who’ve already been diagnosed with the deadly disease.
Fitness test versus cancer test
One of the challenges in health care biz .. is that patients wait until they are sick to take corrective steps. Cancer is a prime example. Thank goodness for tests and research to treat cancer but we must not look past the importance of not getting it in the first place.
Instead of testing for cancer solely, perhaps we should be testing fitness, toxicity and nutrition.
Only 5-10 percent of all cancer diagnoses are hereditary or genetic. The remaining 90- 95 percent of people can drastically reduce their risk of cancer by simply maintaining an active lifestyle, eating a plants-first diet and limiting their intake of toxic substances.
The body has a natural healing ability. Cells in the body have a limited life cycle – they die and are created. This is a key concept as the food that we eat, the activities that we do and the stress that we experience will impact the health of the future cells.
A healthier lifestyle equals healthier cells and a reduced risk of developing cancer and other lifestyle-caused conditions such as heart disease and diabetes.
Dr. Cory Couillard is an international healthcare speaker and columnist for numerous newspapers, magazines, websites and publications throughout the world. He works in collaboration with the World Health Organization’s goals of disease prevention and global healthcare education. Views do not necessarily reflect endorsement.
Email: drcorycouillard@gmail.com
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