What Is Malignant Transformation?

Compared with normal cells, cancerous cells have some unique characteristics.

The internal mechanism of canceration

[ái biàn]

Carcinogenesis is a folk saying. There are two specific situations: the first kind of malignancy: refers to the process of benign tumor cells turning into malignant tumor cells; the second kind is canceration: refers to the process of benign epithelial tumor cells turning into cancer cells.

Cancerous cell

Compared with normal cells, cancerous cells have some unique characteristics.

The internal mechanism of canceration

1. Can multiply indefinitely. Under the right conditions, cancer cells can proliferate indefinitely. In a person's life, somatic cells can divide 50 to 60 times, but cancer cells are not restricted and can proliferate for a long time.

2. The morphology and structure of cancer cells changed. For example, normal fibroblasts in culture are flat-fusiform and become spherical when the cells are transformed into cancer cells.

3. The surface of cancer cells has also changed. Due to the reduction of glycoprotein and other substances on the cell membrane, the adhesion between the cells is reduced, resulting in the cancer cells being easily dispersed and metastasized in the organism. In addition to the above characteristics, cancer cells have other characteristics.

Cancerous condition

Medical term is also called malignant neoplasm, which is called rock in Chinese medicine. It is a disease caused by the abnormal mechanism of controlling cell growth and proliferation. In addition to the uncontrolled growth of cancer cells, they also invade the surrounding normal tissues and even metastasize to other parts of the body via the circulatory or lymphatic system.

Cause of cancer

A very important reason for canceration is because the genome of the cell has been mutated, and then abnormalities in cell growth and division have occurred, and defective genetic material is passed on until the appearance of cancerous tissue. Carcinogens that cause cell canceration can be roughly classified into three major categories.

One type is physical carcinogens, mainly radiation carcinogens. Long-term exposure to radioactive materials can cause radiation damage to the body and can cause cancer. For example, ionizing radiation, X-rays, and ultraviolet rays can cause cancer. The other is chemical carcinogens, such as arsenic, benzene, coal tar, etc. There is another type of virus carcinogen, a virus that can cause cell canceration, called tumor virus or oncogenic virus. Now more than 150 viruses have been found to cause tumors in animals or plants.

In addition to the three major types of carcinogens mentioned above, some scientists have shown that cancer cells are caused by the activation of oncogenes and cell transformation. Specifically, oncogenes are prevalent on the chromosomes of human and animal cells. Under normal circumstances, the genetic material on the chromosome is passed down from generation to generation as the cells divide, and the oncogenes are in a suppressed state. Once the cell's normal regulatory process is impeded, it may turn oncogenes into an activated state, and this cell turns into a cancer cell.

Cancerous precursor

Carcinogenesis does not occur immediately, but gradually evolves due to the atypical proliferation of normal cells at the lesion. Common precursors of canceration are:

Cancerous oral leukoplakia

It is a precursor of oral cancer. The patient feels a local astringent feeling, and white plaques are visible to the naked eye, which mostly occur on the lips, tongue, palate, and gums.

Cancerous gastric polyps

Often, there is mild pain and discomfort in the upper abdomen. 95% of patients have gastric acid deficiency or hypoxia, and have symptoms such as nausea, anorexia, indigestion, diarrhea, and intermittent or persistent bloody stool.

Atypical hyperplasia of cancerous esophageal epithelium

When the patient swallows food, there is pain, burning, or foreign body sensation behind the sternum. The staining method under esophagoscopy can clarify the location and extent of the lesion, suggesting that it is a precancerous manifestation of esophageal cancer.

Cancerous liver disease

Hepatitis B, C or history of cirrhosis and a history of 10 years, such as sudden onset of pain in the liver area, dry mouth, insomnia, bleeding of the gums and nasal cavity, accompanied by epigastric fullness and discomfort in the liver area; It is obvious in the waist and back, with anorexia and irritability; repeated diarrhea, with indigestion and bloating, and gradually lose weight, and you need to be alert to the possibility of canceration.

Cancerous vulvar white lesions

It occurs in the female vulva, with dry skin, atrophy, and whitening, itching and burning, and severe pain in the place where urine dips into the vulva, and the possibility of canceration needs to be considered.

Cancerous proliferative endometrial disease

It is more common in older women who are not fertile or infertile, and is accompanied by obesity, hypertension, and diabetes. Irregular vaginal bleeding, delayed menopause, and premenopausal and menopausal menstrual disorders. The above symptoms need to consider uterine cancer. may.

Cancer prevention

In order to prevent normal cells from becoming cancerous, people should try to avoid contact with various carcinogens such as physical, chemical, and viral. At the same time, we must pay attention to strengthening our physique, maintain a healthy mentality, develop good living habits, and actively take protective measures from various aspects.

How to prevent canceration of gallbladder polyps

1. Prohibition of alcohol and alcoholic beverages: Alcohol is mainly decomposed and detoxified by the liver in the body. Therefore, alcohol can directly damage liver function, cause liver and gallbladder dysfunction, disturb the process of bile secretion and excretion, and stimulate the gallbladder to form new polyps and / Or make the original polyps grow, become larger, increase the canceration coefficient of gallbladder polyps.

2. Regular diet and good breakfast: Regular diet and good breakfast are extremely important for patients with gallbladder polyps. The liver in the human body secretes bile, which is stored in the gallbladder, and the function of bile is mainly to digest oily foods. If you do not eat breakfast, the bile secreted at night cannot be used, and it remains in the gallbladder. If the bile stays in the gallbladder for too long, it can stimulate the gallbladder to form gallbladder polyps or enlarge and increase the original polyps. Therefore, it is best to eat breakfast. Some foods containing vegetable oils.

3. Low-cholesterol diet: Excessive cholesterol intake can increase the liver and gallbladder metabolism and the burden of cleaning up, and cause excess cholesterol to crystallize, accumulate, and precipitate in the gallbladder wall, thereby forming polyps. Therefore, patients with gallbladder polyps should reduce their cholesterol intake. , Especially at night, should avoid eating high cholesterol foods such as: eggs (especially egg yolks), fatty meat, seafood, scaleless fish, animal offal and other foods. ^[1]

Which gastrointestinal diseases can become cancerous

I. Chronic atrophic gastritis: Spicy food, strong tea, coffee, alcoholism, gobbling and taking certain drugs such as aspirin can induce or aggravate atrophic gastritis and even cancer. Therefore, you should pay attention to avoid these stimuli. Patients are advised to have a gastroscopy once a year. Gastric ulcers: About 5% of gastric ulcers can become cancerous. Therefore, you should seek medical treatment in a timely manner: the original rhythm of gastric pain disappears or worsens, the effect of drug treatment is getting worse, weight loss, weight loss, and occult blood tests of unknown cause continue to be positive. III. Gastric polyps: This disease is a benign tumor of the stomach. A small number of them may also become cancerous, especially those with multiple polyps and polyps larger than 2 cm are more likely to become cancerous. Therefore, once gastric polyps are found, surgical resection should be performed immediately to prevent future complications. Those who cannot be removed for any reason should be checked immediately when epigastric pain, nausea, vomiting, and bleeding occur. 4. Stomach Residual: A few people have left the stomach after most of the stomach resection. It can be cancerous due to inflammation, mucosal atrophy, nutritional deficiencies and other factors, but this usually happens many years after surgery. Therefore, 5 to 10 years after gastric surgery, if conditions permit, regular gastroscopy should be performed. For sudden abdomen pain and vomiting, you should always ask your doctor to check.