Continued from yesterday—-
Cancer can affect any organ or part of the body but the most common cancers in men are that of lung, prostate, colorectal, stomach and liver cancer. In women the most common cancers are that of breast, colorectal, lung, cervix and stomach.
In 2015, it caused about 8.8 million deaths globally, one in every six deaths. The yearly figure of new cases is expected to rise to about 22 million in the next twenty (20) years.
As a follow up to yesterday, additional causes of cancer are discussed below:-
1. Radiation
Most forms if not all can cause cancer, from medical x-rays to radio-pharmaceuticals. Even solar radiation is said to damage DNA and inactivates tumor suppressor gene leading to cancer – especially skin cancer. Exposure to high dose of various forms of radiation increases risk of leukaemia five –fold.
2. Drugs.
Certain drugs used in the treatment of cancer can cause cancer in other locations. Also drugs used to suppress rejection of foreign bodies and some anti-hormone drugs have also being found to cause cancer.
3. Chronic Infection
Some chronic infections are associated with cancer. It is said that about 25% of all cancers in developing countries can be traced to chronic infections. Such infections include – Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C (associated with liver cancer), HUMAN Papilloma Virus infection (associated with cancer of the cervix) and Helicobacter Pylori Infection (associated with stomach cancer). About 30 – 40% of HIV patients end up with cancer.
4. Immune-suppression.
Drugs used to prevent the body from rejecting transplants can cause cancers. A particular virus is implicated in this and it rarely affects persons who are not immunosuppression. A person’s immunity can also be suppressed by certain virus like HIV, and the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV).
5. Heredity
About 5 percent of all cancers are attributed to heredity. This could be due to a change in the sperm or ovum before fertilization. Thus cancers are known to run in families- such breast cancer, prostate cancer and colon cancer. Studies have gone for enough to identify the particular genes involved in these cancers.
6. Reproductive factor and Hormones.
Risk of breast cancer depends to an extent on use of oestrogen hormone. Long use (above 5 years) of oestrogen replacement therapy in post menopausal women increases risk of cancer of the breast, same with high levels of male hormones in post menopausal women. Some hormones are also associated with cancers of the prostate, endometrium, colon and the lungs.
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