What is cancer?
The human body is made up of approximately 60 trillion cells. Cancer begins when a single cell out of this vast number of normal cells changes into a cancer cell. When a normal cell is transformed into a cancer cell, it has the following characteristics.
| Infinitely multiply | Infiltrate | Metastasize |
|---|---|---|
| ガCancer cells take as much nourishment as they can from the host (patient) and just try to keep going. | Cancer cells produce protein-destroying enzymes that eat through the walls of surrounding tissues and organs, invading and spreading deep into the body. | When cancer cells grow to the point of swarming, they migrate to other parts of the body in the blood and lymphatic fluids, destroying tissues and organs wherever they go. |
These characteristics are manifested as the cancer grows. Cancer can be divided into “early-stage cancer,” “advanced cancer,” and “late-stage cancer” according to its growth process. Among early-stage cancers, those in the very early stages are called “early-stage cancers,” and those that are not currently cancerous but may develop into cancer in the future if left untreated are called “precancerous lesions.
Early-stage cancer is a condition in which cancer cells are present but have not yet invaded or metastasized. Therefore, the cancer can be removed by surgery without fail and a complete cure can be expected.
Treatment becomes more difficult after the advanced stage, when invasion and metastasis occur. In this stage, the cancer has often spread to other parts of the body, making it very difficult to completely remove the cancerous lesions by surgery. In addition, as the cancer cells spread, the normal function of organs and tissues is affected, and the patient’s general condition deteriorates.
Since the nature of cancer changes as it progresses, the approach to treatment will naturally differ between the early and advanced stages and later stages.
Cancer Treatments
Immuno-cell therapySystematic Therapy
There are two types of immuno-cell therapy: specific and nonspecific. Specific immuno-cell therapy includes dendritic cell therapy, and nonspecific immuno-cell therapy includes activated lymphocyte (LAK) therapy. They are expected to be cancer therapies with few side effects, but their cost and manpower are problematic.
OperationLocal therapy
Surgery can remove cancerous lesions directly from the body. It is mainly effective for early-stage cancers. In advanced cancers, metastatic cancers or microscopic cancers may remain, and it is difficult to remove them completely. In addition, some normal parts of the body (organs) may also have to be removed, which may lead to complications and inconvenience.
Chemotherapy (anticancer drugs)Systematic Therapy
Chemotherapy is a treatment that uses chemical substances (anticancer drugs) to suppress the division of cancer cells and destroy them. Anticancer drugs have the effect of killing cancer cells and damaging normal cells as well. The ideal anticancer drug would act only on cancer cells and not on normal tissues, but unfortunately such a drug does not exist at present.
Radiation & Particle BeamLocal therapy
Radiation and particle beams, like surgery, are localized treatments that treat only the cancer and the surrounding area. The difference from surgery is that it is a means of treatment that does not require the removal of organs, allowing patients to live their lives as they did before treatment. In recent years, these techniques have advanced rapidly, making it possible to irradiate only the cancerous tissue and as little irradiation as possible to the surrounding normal tissue.
Hormone therapySystematic Therapy
Certain types of cancer require hormones for the development of cancer cells. This treatment is to inhibit the growth of cancer cells by administering hormones that have the opposite effect of those hormones. The main types of cancers treated include breast, uterine, prostate, thyroid, and kidney cancer.
Molecularly labeled pharmaceuticalsSystematic Therapy
The development of conventional anti-cancer drugs has focused on how to kill cancer cells, resulting in a lack of ability to distinguish between cancer cells and normal cells and, as a result, many side effects. However, recent advances in molecular biology have made it possible to identify characteristics unique to cancer cells at the molecular level. Drugs that target these characteristics are molecularly targeted drugs.
Bristol-Myers Squibb TherapySystematic Therapy
BRM therapy is a treatment that attempts to achieve therapeutic effects by regulating the functioning of the immune system and the body as a whole. In other words, it assists and strengthens the patient’s own ability to cure cancer. This therapy is not given alone, but rather in combination with surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and other therapies that reduce the immune system.
Others
Drugs that inhibit angiogenesis
Celebrex, thalidomide, etc.
Thermal therapy
Dietary Supplements