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內文摘錄
Chapter 1 Some Cancer May Disappear, while Some May Not
˙Rapid- and Slow-Growing Cancers
Did you know that the growth rate of various carcinomas, albeit all being called by the same name as cancer, may vary based on their primary origins? Certain types of cancer, such as pancreatic cancer and cholangiocarcinoma, are difficult to detect at their early stage and fast-growing compared with other cancers. In these cases, remission is rarely seen, and significantly increased recurrence risks are observed even when the tumor is surgically removed. Poor prognosis has made close post-operative monitoring a necessity for these patients. On the other hand, thyroid cancer is a good example of slow-growing cancers. With its generally good prognosis, it has been reported that many patients have survived up to ten years in peaceful coexistence with thyroid cancer.
In 2017, cancer types shown with a higher mortality rate were inclusive of lung, colorectal, stomach, pancreatic, liver and breast cancers. Among them, colorectal cancer and breast cancer are associated with better prognosis, followed by stomach cancer and lung cancer. In contrast, pancreatic cancer is linked to substantially poorer prognosis, while liver cancer shows a slightly less poor scenario. Prognosis is highly related to the probability of metastasis. In other words, cancers associated with good prognosis are basically non-metastatic.
Moreover, the growth rate of various carcinomas may differ depending on cancer grading and immunogenicity. The concept of cancer grading is referred to as the fact that different organs may give rise to different types of cancer cells, and the growth rate of cancer cells is primarily determined by its grading. That is to say, a single type of cancer cells does not spread across the whole body to cause multiple diseases. Instead, cancer cells may be generated differently by the individually cancerized organs. For example, pancreatic cancer developed from cancer cells originating and proliferating in the pancreas is considered of high grading, which can be aggressive and rapidly progressing. On the contrary, thyroid cancer formed by cancer cells generating in the thyroid gland is considered of low grading, and may be equally implied as slowly progressing.
Another decisive factor is immunogenicity, which is correlated with the amount of antigens (cancer markers) expressed on a specific type of cancer cells and identifiable by immune cells. If the expressed antigens are easily recognized, it is highly likely that cancer cells, prior to proliferation, may be destroyed by the immune system to prevent metastasis and result in better prognosis. By contrast, in the event that early recognition of antigens is unachievable, which means that immune cells are easily evaded by cancer cells, the probability of metastasis may rise and lead to poorer prognosis. Consequently, cancer grading is also decided on whether malignant cells are easily identified by the immune system or not. To put it another way, cancer cells arising from the pancreas is considered of high grading because they are hardly identified by immune cells, whereas cancer cells generating in the thyroid gland is considered of low grading because they are easily spotted by the immune system.
˙Cancer Development Is Contributed by Your Lifestyle
Cancer is easily formed when our immune system becomes weakened. The primary causes of low immunity are stress and lifestyle, which means one of the keys to cancer prevention lies in immune enhancement achieved by stress reduction and lifestyle correction. According to some theory, there are 5 thousand cancer cells generated in the human body each day. People without cancer do not exhibit any signs of illness because their immunity is strong enough to suppress cancer cell proliferation. Yet, people affected by immunodeficiency may develop cancer since their natural defense mechanisms fail to stop the reproduction of cancer cells.
Allegedly, one in every two Japanese may suffer from cancer. This description may be translated into a 50% of abnormal immune responses in Japanese population. Starting from the 1970s, supermarkets and fast foods have begun to flourish in Japan. In the meantime, patients suffering from hay fever, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn's disease have started to increase in proportion. While these disorders are caused by an overreaction of the immune system, cancer is resulted from immune deficiency, which is at the complete opposite end of the spectrum of immune abnormality.
It has been suggested that such diseases are arisen from modern lifestyles. But in any case, dietary styles surely make the most impact on the status quo. Food products that are readily served by supermarkets and fast food restaurants contain a large amount of additives and preservatives, overconsumption of which should be avoided. Nonetheless, it is almost impossible to completely wipe them out of our lives. So what do we have to do with this?
First of all, immune enhancement is the most important thing for everyone. It is said that our body produces five thousand cancer cells per day. The maintenance of high levels of immunity may protect us against cancer development by suppressing cancer cell proliferation. In the case of patients with stage 4 cancer, immunotherapy may be helpful to strengthen the self-healing ability and to win a chance of extending survival for another 1, 3, or 5 years. We have been taking care of many stage 4 patients in our hospital, who have proven to us the utmost importance of immune enhancement during cancer treatment.
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