The American Cancer Society defines cancer as a group of diseases characterized by uncontrolled growth and the spread of abnormal cells. There are more than 100 different cancer diseases. In each, cancer cells divide haphazardly and typically create a non-structured mass or tumor. Unlike benign growths, which remain in the part of the body in which they start, malignant tumors will destroy the part of the body where they originate before spreading elsewhere, starting new growth and causing additional destruction. The organ where cancer cells originate determines the characteristics of those cells when they migrate to other parts of the body.
For people under age 85, cancer is the leading cause of death from disease in the United States. It is estimated that in 2004, 290,890 men and 272,810 women will die from cancer.
Half of all US males and one-third of all US females can expect to develop cancer in their lifetimes.
Gastric Cancer
Although gastric cancer (adenocarcimona of the stomach) is the tenth leading malignancy worldwide, it is the second leading cause of cancer death with approximately 800,000 reported each year. In the U.S., approximately 21,000 cases of gastric cancer are diagnosed each year and more than 10,000 deaths are attributable to this disease. Gastric cancer occurs with greatest frequency in the Far East, particularly in Japan and South Korea, as well as in South America and certain European countries. A number of risk factors have been identified and include familial adenomatous polyposis, gastric adenomas or high grade dysplasia, chronic atrophic gastritis, Helicobacter pylori infection, pernicious anemia and tobacco smoking. Possible risk factors are excess alcohol ingestion, high intake of salted, pickled or smoked foods, Peutz-Jeghers Syndrome and gastric ulcers.
Soft Tissue Sarcomas
Soft tissue sarcomas comprise a group of relatively uncommon tumors that may arise in a variety of sites that include soft tissues, skin muscle and internal organs. The extremities (50%), trunk and retroperitoneum (40%) or head and neck (10%) account for the sites where these tumors develop. The three major types of soft tissue sarcomas are leiomyosarcomas, malignant fibrous histiocytomas and liposarcomas. Most tumors arise in the soft tissues, including the heart, skin, uterus and retroperitoneum.
Approximately 25,000 new cases of soft tissue sarcomas will be diagnosed and nearly 10,000 deaths will be attributed to this cancer worldwide this year. Incidence rates rise exponentially with age with a modest peak in childhood due primarily to the increased development of embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma. Peak rates of other soft tissue sarcomas occur in individuals 75 years and older, except for uterine leiomyosarcomas, which reach peak incidence in women between ages 40 and 50 years. In general, African-Americans have a higher rate of soft tissue sarcoma development than Caucasians.
Pancreatic Cancer
Pancreatic cancer, although a relatively rare form of cancer, is the fourth leading cause of cancer mortality in the U.S. with only a 20% one-year survival rate, according to the American Cancer Society. This year in the U.S., the American Cancer Society estimates approximately 42,000 new pancreatic cancer cases and more than 35,000 deaths due to this disease. One in 76 people is expected to develop pancreatic cancer sometime in their life.
Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is the second most common malignancy and second-leading cause of cancer death among American men, according to the American Cancer Society. Of those diagnosed, one in 35 will die of prostate cancer. Treatment of the disease can vary significantly from watchful waiting to survery, radition or both, followed by hormonal treatment. Hormonal treatment can shrink the cancer, delay its growth and reduce symptoms; however, patients with metastatic prostate cancer usually stop responding to this therapy within two years. The disease at this stage, called metastatic hormone-refractory prostate cancer, is typically treated with chemotherapeutic agents, and patients have a median survival period of less than two years, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia
Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is a subtype of acute myelogenous leukemia, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. In APL, an abnormal accumulation of immature granulocytes called promyelocytes in the bone marrow results in a reduction in the production of normal red blood cells and platelets, resulting in anemia and thrombocytopenia. Either leukopenia (low white cell count) or leukocytosis (high white cell count) may be observed in the peripheral blood. Symptoms include fatigue, weakness, shortness of breath from anemia, easy bruising and bleeding from thrombocytopenia and coagulopathy, and fever and infection from lack of normal white blood cells.
