Thyroid Cancer

Thyroid Cancer : Definition of thyroid cancer: Cancer that forms in the thyroid gland (an organ at the base of the throat that makes hormones that help control heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, and weight). Four main types of thyroid cancer are papillary, follicular, medullary, and anaplastic thyroid cancer. The four types are based on how the cancer cells look under a microscope.Estimated new cases and deaths from thyroid cancer in the United States in 2009:
New cases: 37,200
Deaths: 1,630See the online booklet What You Need To Know About™ Thyroid Cancer to learn about thyroid cancer symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and questions to ask the doctor.
TreatmentInformation about treatment, including surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, and vaccine therapy
Thyroid Cancer Treatment[patient] [health professional]Clinical Trials to Treat Thyroid CancerRadiation Therapy for Cancer: Q & ALasers in Cancer Treatment: Q & AMetastatic Cancer: Q&A
Prevention, Genetics, CausesInformation related to prevention, genetics, risk factors
Genetics of Medullary Thyroid Cancer[health professional]Understanding Gene TestingSearch: Cancer Genetics Services DirectoryCancer Genetics Overview[health professional]Radioactive I-131 from Fallout
Screening and TestingInformation about methods of cancer detection including new imaging technologies, tumor markers, and biopsy procedures
Interpreting Laboratory Test Results

Clinical TrialsInformation and current news about clinical trials and trial-related data
Thyroid Cancer Trial ResultsClinical Trials for Thyroid CancerHow to Find a Cancer Treatment Trial
Cancer LiteratureResources available from the PubMed database
Cancer Topic Searches: Endocrine CancersCancer Literature in PubMed
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StatisticsInformation related to cancer incidence, mortality, and survival
Cancer Stat Fact Sheet: Cancer of the ThyroidFinding Cancer StatisticsUnderstanding Cancer Statistics

Bladder Cancer

Bladder Cancer

Definition of bladder cancer: Cancer that forms in tissues of the bladder (the organ that stores urine). Most bladder cancers are transitional cell carcinomas (cancer that begins in cells that normally make up the inner lining of the bladder). Other types include squamous cell carcinoma (cancer that begins in thin, flat cells) and adenocarcinoma (cancer that begins in cells that make and release mucus and other fluids). The cells that form squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma develop in the inner lining of the bladder as a result of chronic irritation and inflammation.Estimated new cases and deaths from bladder cancer in the United States in 2009:
New cases: 70,980
Deaths: 14,330See the online booklet What You Need To Know About™ Bladder Cancer to learn about bladder cancer symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and questions to ask the doctor.
TreatmentInformation about treatment, including surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, and vaccine therapy
Bladder Cancer Treatment[patient] [health professional]Clinical Trials to Treat Bladder CancerBiological Therapies for Cancer: Q & ALasers in Cancer Treatment: Q & AMetastatic Cancer: Q&ABiological Therapy
Prevention, Genetics, CausesInformation related to prevention, genetics, risk factors
Smoking Home PageArtificial Sweeteners and CancerMore...
Screening and TestingInformation about methods of cancer detection including new imaging technologies, tumor markers, and biopsy procedures
Bladder and Other Urothelial Cancers Screening[patient] [health professional]Validation Study of Test to Detect Bladder CancerInterpreting Laboratory Test ResultsTumor Markers: Q&A

Clinical TrialsInformation and current news about clinical trials and trial-related data
Bladder Cancer Trial ResultsClinical Trials for Bladder CancerHow to Find a Cancer Treatment Trial
Cancer LiteratureResources available from the PubMed database
Cancer Topic Searches: Urinary Tract CancersCancer Literature in PubMed
Research and Related InformationIncludes NCI-supported research, funding opportunities, and special reports
NCI Funded Research PortfolioGenitourinary (GU) SPOREs
StatisticsInformation related to cancer incidence, mortality, and survival
Cancer Stat Fact Sheet: Cancer of the Urinary BladderSnapshot of Bladder CancerFinding Cancer StatisticsUnderstanding Cancer Statistics

Breast Cancer

Breast cancer refers to cancers originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas. There are many different types of breast cancer, with different stages (spread), aggressiveness, and genetic makeup; survival varies greatly depending on those factors.[1] Computerized models are available to predict survival.[2] With best treatment and dependent on staging, 10-year disease-free survival varies from 98% to 10%. Treatment includes surgery, drugs (hormonal therapy and chemotherapy), and radiation.
Worldwide, breast cancer comprises 10.4% of all cancer incidence among women, making it the second most common type of non-skin cancer (after lung cancer) and the fifth most common cause of cancer death.[3] In 2004, breast cancer caused 519,000 deaths worldwide (7% of cancer deaths; almost 1% of all deaths).[4] Breast cancer is about 100 times more common in women than in men, but survival rates are equal in both sexes.[5][6][7]
Some breast cancers require the hormones estrogen and progesterone to grow, and have receptors for those hormones. After surgery those cancers are treated with drugs that interfere with those hormones, usually tamoxifen, and with drugs that shut off the production of estrogen in the ovaries or elsewhere; this may damage the ovaries and end fertility. After surgery, low-risk, hormone-sensitive breast cancers may be treated with hormone therapy and radiation alone. Breast cancers without hormone receptors, or which have spread to the lymph nodes in the armpits, or which express certain genetic characteristics, are higher-risk, and are treated more aggressively. One standard regimen, popular in the U.S., is cyclophosphamide plus doxorubicin (Adriamycin), known as CA; these drugs damage DNA in the cancer, but also in fast-growing normal cells where they cause serious side effects. Sometimes a taxane drug, such as docetaxel, is added, and the regime is then known as CAT; taxane attacks the microtubules in cancer cells. An equivalent treatment, popular in Europe, is cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and fluorouracil (CMF).[8] Monoclonal antibodies, such as trastuzumab (Herceptin), are used for cancer cells that have the HER2 mutation. Radiation is usually added to the surgical bed to control cancer cells that were missed by the surgery, which usually extends survival, although radiation exposure to the heart may cause damage and heart failure in the following years.
Signs and symptoms.

The first noticeable symptom of breast cancer is typically a lump that feels different from the rest of the breast tissue. More than 80% of breast cancer cases are discovered when the woman feels a lump.[17] By the time a breast lump is noticeable, it has probably been growing for years. The earliest breast cancers are detected by a mammogram.[18] Lumps found in lymph nodes located in the armpits[17] can also indicate breast cancer.
Indications of breast cancer other than a lump may include changes in breast size or shape, skin dimpling, nipple inversion, or spontaneous single-nipple discharge. Pain ("mastodynia") is an unreliable tool in determining the presence or absence of breast cancer, but may be indicative of other breast health issues.[17][18][19]
When breast cancer cells invade the dermal lymphatics—small lymph vessels in the skin of the breast—its presentation can resemble skin inflammation and thus is known as inflammatory breast cancer (IBC). Symptoms of inflammatory breast cancer include pain, swelling, warmth and redness throughout the breast, as well as an orange-peel texture to the skin referred to as peau d'orange.[17]
Another reported symptom complex of breast cancer is Paget's disease of the breast. This syndrome presents as eczematoid skin changes such as redness and mild flaking of the nipple skin. As Paget's advances, symptoms may include tingling, itching, increased sensitivity, burning, and pain. There may also be discharge from the nipple. Approximately half of women diagnosed with Paget's also have a lump in the breast.[20]
Occasionally, breast cancer presents as metastatic disease, that is, cancer that has spread beyond the original organ. Metastatic breast cancer will cause symptoms that depend on the location of metastasis. Common sites of metastasis include bone, liver, lung and brain.[21] Unexplained weight loss can occasionally herald an occult breast cancer, as can symptoms of fevers or chills. Bone or joint pains can sometimes be manifestations of metastatic breast cancer, as can jaundice or neurological symptoms. These symptoms are "non-specific", meaning they can also be manifestations of many other illnesses.[22]
Most symptoms of breast disorder do not turn out to represent underlying breast cancer. Benign breast diseases such as mastitis and fibroadenoma of the breast are more common causes of breast disorder symptoms. The appearance of a new symptom should be taken seriously by both patients and their doctors, because of the possibility of an underlying breast cancer at almost any age.
Treatment

Breast cancer is treated first with surgery, and then with drugs, radiation, or both. Treatments are given with increasing aggressiveness according to the prognosis and risk of recurrence.Stage 1 cancers (and DCIS) have an excellent prognosis and are generally treated with lumpectomy with or without radiation.[55] Although the aggressive HER2+ cancers should also be treated with the trastuzumab (Herceptin) regime.[56]Stage 2 and 3 cancers with a progressively poorer prognosis and greater risk of recurrence are generally treated with surgery (lumpectomy or mastectomy with or without lymph node removal), radiation (sometimes) and chemotherapy (plus trastuzumab for HER2+ cancers).Stage 4, metastatic cancer, (ie spread to distant sites) is not curable and is managed by various combinations of all treatments from surgery, radiation, chemotherapy and targeted therapies. These treatments increase the median survival time of stage 4 breast cancer by about 6 months.

Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma, more precisely malignant mesothelioma, is a rare form of cancer that develops from the protective lining that covers many of the body's internal organs, the mesothelium. It is usually caused by exposure to asbestos.[1]
Its most common site is the pleura (outer lining of the lungs and internal chest wall), but it may also occur in the peritoneum (the lining of the abdominal cavity), the heart,[2] the pericardium (a sac that surrounds the heart) or tunica vaginalis.
Most people who develop mesothelioma have worked on jobs where they inhaled asbestos particles, or they have been exposed to asbestos dust and fiber in other ways. It has also been suggested that washing the clothes of a family member who worked with asbestos can put a person at risk for developing mesothelioma.[3] Unlike lung cancer, there is no association between mesothelioma and smoking, but smoking greatly increases the risk of other asbestos-induced cancers.[4] Compensation via asbestos funds or lawsuits is an important issue in mesothelioma (see asbestos and the law).
The symptoms of mesothelioma include shortness of breath due to pleural effusion (fluid between the lung and the chest wall) or chest wall pain, and general symptoms such as weight loss. The diagnosis may be suspected with chest X-ray and CT scan, and is confirmed with a biopsy (tissue sample) and microscopic examination. A thoracoscopy (inserting a tube with a camera into the chest) can be used to take biopsies. It allows the introduction of substances such as talc to obliterate the pleural space (called pleurodesis), which prevents more fluid from accumulating and pressing on the lung. Despite treatment with chemotherapy, radiation therapy or sometimes surgery, the disease carries a poor prognosis. Research about screening tests for the early detection of mesothelioma is ongoing.

Signs and symptoms

Symptoms or signs of mesothelioma may not appear until 20 to 50 years (or more) after exposure to asbestos. Shortness of breath, cough, and pain in the chest due to an accumulation of fluid in the pleural space (pleural effusion) are often symptoms of pleural mesothelioma.
Symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma include weight loss and cachexia, abdominal swelling and pain due to ascites (a buildup of fluid in the abdominal cavity). Other symptoms of Peritoneal Mesothelioma may include bowel obstruction, blood clotting abnormalities, anemia, and fever. If the cancer has spread beyond the mesothelium to other parts of the body, symptoms may include pain, trouble swallowing, or swelling of the neck or face.
These symptoms may be caused by mesothelioma or by other, less serious conditions.
Mesothelioma that affects the pleura can cause these signs and symptoms:
Chest wall pain
Pleural effusion, or fluid surrounding the lung
Shortness of breath
Fatigue or anemia
Wheezing, hoarseness, or cough
Blood in the sputum (fluid) coughed up (hemoptysis)
In severe cases, the person may have many tumor masses. The individual may develop a pneumothorax, or collapse of the lung. The disease may metastasize, or spread, to other parts of the body.
Tumors that affect the abdominal cavity often do not cause symptoms until they are at a late stage. Symptoms include:
Abdominal pain
Ascites, or an abnormal buildup of fluid in the abdomen
A mass in the abdomen
Problems with bowel function
Weight loss
In severe cases of the disease, the following signs and symptoms may be present:
Blood clots in the veins, which may cause thrombophlebitis
Disseminated intravascular coagulation, a disorder causing severe bleeding in many body organs
Jaundice, or yellowing of the eyes and skin
Low blood sugar level
Pleural effusion
Pulmonary emboli, or blood clots in the arteries of the lungs
Severe ascites
A mesothelioma does not usually spread to the bone, brain, or adrenal glands. Pleural tumors are usually found only on one side of the lungs.

Treatment

The prognosis for malignant mesothelioma remains disappointing, although there have been some modest improvements in prognosis from newer chemotherapies and multimodality treatments. Treatment of malignant mesothelioma at earlier stages has a better prognosis, but cures are exceedingly rare. Clinical behavior of the malignancy is affected by several factors including the continuous mesothelial surface of the pleural cavity which favors local metastasis via exfoliated cells, invasion to underlying tissue and other organs within the pleural cavity, and the extremely long latency period between asbestos exposure and development of the disease. The histological subtype and the patient's age and health status also help predict prognosis.