Cancer how does it kill

Although at first glance it might seem odd to use a fish to study metastasis, this fish develops cancer and ultimately dies from it. Importantly, the fish is transparent, allowing us to understand how tumors start and ultimately disseminate.

Because of its remarkable capacities for genetic manipulation, drug studies and imaging, my laboratory is trying to understand the mechanisms by which cancer cells kill their host organism. To do this, we will study highly metastatic melanoma cells in our transparent zebrafish. These cells invariably form tumors that lead to the death of the host animal within weeks due to mutli-organ dissemination. The goal of this project is to identify zebrafish strains which still develop tumors, but do not die from those tumors.

We will then determine the genes that allow the animal to live with their tumor. By essentially studing animals "tolerant" of their tumors, we will uncover the specific mechanisms by which most animals die from cancer. Because death from metastasis cuts across all species, we hope that what we learn in this fish will allow us to discover methods to allow humans to live with their cancer cells, rather than dying from those cancer cells. The vast majority of cancer treatments aim to kill cancer cells.

Chemotherapies act to simply kill cancer cells faster than normal cells. More modern "targeted" therapies aim to kill cancer cells due to specific genetic vulnerabilities. In all cases, these approaches are thwarted by resistance to the drugs, likely because we try to kill billions of cells which are incredibly adaptable and aim for their own survival.

A very different way of trying to treat cancer is to "teach" the body to live with the cancer cells.

In this paradigm, we would not aim to kill cancer cells; instead we would teach the normal cells of the body how to avoid dying in response to the cancer cells. Although initially this sound unappealing, we all live with cancer cells at some point in our lives - our bodies are constantly generating mutated pre-cancerous cells, but these cells rarely kill us.

Our studies in the zebrafish aim to identify specific genes and pathways that allow the animal to live with widely disseminated, metastatic cancer, without negatively affecting survival of the animal. Although we cannot always extrapolate from a fish to a human, we feel that by discovering these basic mechanisms of cancer tolerance, we can rapidly apply this knowledge to human patients with metastatic cancer.

The ultimate goal is two-fold: 1 understand the basic mechanisms underlying why the body can sometimes live with cancer, and 2 can we identify drugs that can educate any person to become "tolerant" to their cancer without affecting their survival?

This study is aimed squarely at patients with metastatic cancer. Our initial studies will focus upon metastatic melanoma, but we believe that the underlying principles that regulate why organisms die from disseminated cancer will apply to most solid tumors such as pancreatic, breast and colon cancer, for example. This is a very difficult question to answer, since cancer can exert a multitude of effects on the body, and induces changes in metabolism, blood flow and brain function.

With this systemic concept in mind, we decided to use a cancer model that allows us to study the entire organism at the same time. Cancer is almost unspeakably awful, from the potential hardships of treatment to the prospect of leaving behind grieving loved ones.

This horrible illness has a sweeping reach. An estimated 1. Around , people were estimated to die from the disease by the end of the year. While the emotional and physical tolls of cancer are often clear, it can be confusing as to how, exactly, cancer kills someone. Is it due to the cancer itself? And does it vary depending on the type of cancer a person has?

This can be a terrifying topic to discuss with a doctor or loved one, depending on your situation. But sometimes you need answers to even the scariest questions. Here, we spoke to several oncologists to explain how cancer can lead to death. It can be easy to forget how intricate human biology is, but your body is made up of trillions of cells.

In order to function properly, these cells are constantly growing and dividing to form new cells, the NCI explains. In the normal cellular cycle, cells that become old or damaged die off and get replaced by newer, healthier versions. Cancer forces this usual process to go terribly wrong. These cells can start to divide uncontrollably and, as a result, form tumors, the NCI says. You might have heard of metastatic cancer but not known exactly what it means. Metastatic cancer happens when cancerous cells disperse into surrounding tissues or even travel to other parts of the body through the blood or lymph systems, according to the NCI.

These cells can then form tumors in their new locations. So, if you had ovarian cancer that spread to your stomach, it would be considered metastatic ovarian cancer, not stomach cancer. For this reason, cancer staging is largely dependent on how extensively the cancer has traveled.

Many treatments can control cancer for a long time, even if they can't cure it. But if a cancer continues to grow, then it can become too much for the body to cope with. Talking about dying can be very difficult and people often avoid the subject.

Sharing your feelings can help everyone involved to cope better. Dying is something most people worry about at some point. Talking about the way the cancer is affecting your body can help to lessen at least some of those worries. What happens in the last days of life is different for everyone. Many people are relieved to find out that they, or their relative, are likely to become unconscious shortly before they die.

When someone is dying with cancer, they and their carers can get help and support. The information here might help at a very emotional and difficult time. In the last weeks of life there are ways to manage your symptoms and keep you comfortable. It can help carers to know what might happen in the final days. Coping with cancer can be difficult. There is help and support available.

Find out about the emotional, physical and practical effects of cancer and how to manage them. Search for the cancer type you want to find out about. Each section has detailed information about symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, research and coping with cancer. Treatments can include surgery, radiotherapy and drug treatments such as chemotherapy, hormone therapy or targeted cancer drugs.

Find out about treatments and how to cope with side effects. About Cancer generously supported by Dangoor Education since Questions about cancer?

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