[Fat Bear Science] What are the characteristics of people who are prone to cancer?

“Why did I have to get cancer?”

“What causes cancer?”

......

Many cancer patients usually ask this question after being diagnosed.

The occurrence and development of cancer is multifactorial, involving both congenital and acquired factors.

Congenital factors are hereditary. Studies have shown that some cancers, such as breast cancer and colon cancer, are hereditary. Acquired factors include bad living habits, long-term exposure to carcinogens, and not paying attention to precancerous lesions.

So, what are the characteristics of people who are prone to cancer? Let's talk about it in detail below.

The first feature

Have bad living habits and hobbies

Cancer is caused by bad habits - this is a sentence that many doctors often say. The "bad habits" here refer to bad lifestyles and bad habits.

1. Smoking

Smoking is a universally recognized carcinogenic factor, and is closely related to the age at which one starts smoking, the number of years of smoking, and the number of cigarettes smoked per day. It can be confirmed that there are many cancers related to smoking, including lung cancer, oral cancer, laryngeal cancer, esophageal cancer, bladder cancer, renal pelvis cancer, and prostate cancer. It should be noted that "second-hand smoke" and "third-hand smoke" can also cause great harm to the human body, seriously threatening people, especially the health of teenagers and children.

2. Drinking

The World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research have both stated that drinking alcohol can cause cancers in the oral cavity, oropharynx, hypopharynx, esophagus, colon, rectum, liver and intrahepatic bile duct, larynx and female breast, and the risk of cancer is directly related to the amount of alcohol consumed. "Every drop of alcohol brings you closer to cancer." This statement is not an exaggeration, and I hope everyone will try to drink less.

3. Often eat kimchi, bacon,

Barbecue and other smoked products

After relevant reactions, a large amount of nitrite is produced in this type of food. Nitrite is also a recognized carcinogen. It can combine with protein decomposition products in the stomach to form carcinogenic nitrosamines, thereby increasing the risk of gastric cancer.

4. Eating food that is too hot

Hot food can damage the esophageal mucosa, causing oral mucositis, esophagitis, etc. Over time, cancer may occur.

5. Share chopsticks and eat together

As early as 1944, the World Health Organization has listed Helicobacter pylori as a class I carcinogen that causes gastric cancer. Helicobacter pylori prefers to survive in an acidic environment and can be transmitted through food and tableware. If a family shares dishes and chopsticks, the risk of Helicobacter pylori infection will increase, and both adults and children are not immune.

6. Food storage

Cereals and grains that we eat every day, such as corn, yellow cabbage, and rice, may become moldy and contaminated by aflatoxin during growth and storage, which can lead to liver cancer. Therefore, moldy food must be thrown away in time, and you must not be reluctant to throw it away.

The second feature

Lack of awareness of "occupational cancer" protection

Occupational cancer refers to certain specific tumors caused by long-term exposure to carcinogenic factors in the working environment. Common occupational tumors include:

1. Lung cancer caused by long-term exposure to asbestos, chloromethyl ether, dichloromethyl ether, coke oven emissions, erionite and hexavalent chromium compounds;

2. Bladder cancer caused by long-term exposure to benzidine and β-naphthylamine;

3. Leukemia caused by long-term exposure to benzene;

4. Skin cancer caused by long-term exposure to coal tar pitch and petroleum asphalt;

5. Long-term exposure to vinyl chloride causes hepatic angiosarcoma;

6. Skin cancer caused by long-term exposure to arsenic and its compounds;

Occupational exposure is difficult to completely avoid in the workplace. We can prevent and control it by strengthening occupational protection, formulating strict rules and regulations, implementing reasonable staff rotations, and conducting strict health examinations and early cancer screenings, so as to achieve prevention, early detection, and diagnosis as much as possible.

The third feature

Lack of correct understanding of "precancerous lesions" and "precancerous diseases"

"Precancerous lesions" are not equivalent to "cancer". They are actually a pathological diagnosis. In the development of the disease, they are in a two-way state. They can turn into cancer, but they can also return to normal through proper prevention and treatment. In other words, precancerous lesions are a controllable and even reversible state.

Identify several common precancerous lesions and precancerous diseases. If these conditions and words are detected during a physical examination, please be sure to consult a professional doctor.

“Chronic atrophic gastritis” ----> “gastric cancer”

The general process of gastric cancer development: normal gastric mucosa----chronic superficial gastritis----chronic atrophic gastritis--intestinal metaplasia (gastric mucosa is replaced by intestinal mucosa)---dysplasia (intraepithelial neoplasia)-----gastric cancer.

Intervention methods

1) Quit smoking and drinking, and eat regularly.

2) It is recommended that superficial gastritis be treated with gastroscopy every 3 years, and chronic atrophic gastritis should be treated with gastroscopy every 1-2 years. If the patient is infected with Helicobacter pylori, anti-Helicobacter pylori treatment should be standardized according to the patient's overall condition.

“Severe cervical erosion and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia”

Can worsen into cervical cancer

After persistent infection with the HPV virus, cervical epithelial cells can develop from atypical hyperplasia to cervical cancer, which takes an average of more than 10 years.

Intervention methods

1) Actively treat cervicitis and pay attention to sexual hygiene.

2) Get the HPV vaccine for cervical cancer.

3) Women who have sex need to undergo TCT and HPV testing once a year. If precancerous lesions are found, timely and standardized diagnosis and treatment should be provided.

"Adenomatous intestinal polyps" ----> "intestinal cancer"

Statistics show that more than 95% of colon cancers come from colon adenomas. It usually takes an average of 5-15 years for polyps to develop into cancer.

Intervention methods

1) Quit smoking and drinking, eat more foods rich in dietary fiber and exercise moderately.

2) It is recommended that people over 40 years old undergo a colonoscopy every 5 years and a digital rectal examination once a year, and that standardized treatment be given if intestinal polyps are found.

"Mucosal leukoplakia" ----> "cancer"

Leukoplakia generally occurs on the mucous membranes of the mouth, esophagus, vulva, penis and cervix. It is named mainly because of the excessive proliferation and keratinization of the squamous epithelium of the mucosa, and a certain degree of shape change. The white patches can be seen with the naked eye.

Intervention methods

Once abnormal mucosal leukoplakia is found, you need to go to the hospital for standardized diagnosis and treatment in time.

"Liver cirrhosis"---->"liver cancer"

The three stages of liver cancer development in China are hepatitis --- cirrhosis --- liver cancer. This is a slow evolution process.

Intervention methods

1) Quit smoking, drinking and avoiding overwork.

2) Hepatitis B patients need to monitor hepatitis B virus replication and liver function levels, and standardize anti-hepatitis B virus treatment.

3) Patients with hepatitis B cirrhosis need to follow up with liver color Doppler ultrasound and alpha-fetoprotein levels every 3 months to 6 months.

"Atypical hyperplasia of the breast" ----> "breast cancer"

The general process of breast cancer development: normal breast duct hyperplasia --- atypical hyperplasia --- carcinoma in situ - invasive breast cancer.

Intervention methods

1) Do not abuse estrogen products, eat less high-fat foods, and exercise moderately.

2) Regularly self-examine your breasts. Women aged 45-55 years old and in the perimenopausal period should have a mammogram every year. If precancerous lesions are found, they should be diagnosed and treated promptly.

“Borderline hemorrhoids” → “melanoma”

Junctional hemorrhoids generally grow in places where there is frequent friction, such as the palms, soles of the feet, and vulva. If you find that the hemorrhoids are of varying shades, have blurred edges, protrude from the skin surface, or have ulcers or bleeding, you need to seek medical attention promptly.

Intervention methods

1) For hemorrhoids with danger signs, friction should be avoided, and standardized surgical resection and pathological biopsy are best to confirm the diagnosis.

2) It is not recommended to use highly irritating methods such as chemical or laser to remove hemorrhoids.

The fourth characteristic

Family history is not taken seriously

Cancer does not fall into the category of hereditary diseases, but cancer does have a familial genetic clustering phenomenon, which is often manifested by early age of onset, familial clustering, strong invasiveness and poor prognosis.

Common malignant tumors with genetic predisposition are as follows:

1. Hereditary breast cancer

Hereditary breast cancer often occurs in familial clusters, that is, there are often multiple (such as 2 or more) primary breast cancer and/or ovarian cancer patients among the first to third degree relatives in the family, so it is called familial hereditary breast cancer.

2. Hereditary ovarian cancer syndrome

It is an autosomal dominant syndrome involving increased susceptibility to ovarian cancer, including hereditary locus-specific ovarian cancer syndrome, hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome, Lynch syndrome and other tumor syndromes associated with hereditary ovarian cancer.

3. Hereditary gastric cancer

Refers to gastric cancer that occurs in clusters in a family, which is often caused by a common living environment, diet or certain accidental factors, and can also be caused by genetic factors. Therefore, the category of familial clustered gastric cancer should include familial hereditary gastric cancer. Familial hereditary gastric cancer is an autosomal dominant genetic disease (or hereditary tumor syndrome), most of which have clear pathogenic gene mutations that are inherited along the family lineage, mainly including three syndromes: hereditary diffuse gastric cancer, gastric adenocarcinoma with proximal multiple polyps and familial intestinal gastric cancer.

4. Hereditary colorectal cancer

According to the clinical phenotype, it can be divided into two categories: non-polyposis syndrome and polyposis syndrome. The former mainly refers to hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (Lynch syndrome), and the latter includes familial adenomatous polyposis, MutY human gene-related polyposis, and hamartomatous polyposis syndrome.

5. Hereditary kidney cancer

The familial hereditary renal cancer syndromes and corresponding susceptibility genes discovered so far include: VHL syndrome, tuberous sclerosis syndrome, hereditary papillary renal cancer, hereditary leiomyoma and renal cell carcinoma syndrome, Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome, familial clear cell carcinoma caused by chromosome 3 translocation, BAP1 cancer syndrome, Cowden syndrome, succinate dehydrogenase deficiency renal cancer, etc.

6. Hereditary thyroid cancer

Hereditary thyroid cancer includes hereditary medullary thyroid cancer and familial non-medullary thyroid cancer.

7. Hereditary prostate cancer

It has been confirmed that germline mutations in multiple DNA damage repair genes are associated with genetic susceptibility to prostate cancer. DNA damage repair genes represented by BRCA1 and BRCA2 are the most well-known prostate cancer susceptibility genes to date. Other DNA damage repair genes, such as ATM, PALB2, CHEK2, and mismatch repair genes (MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, and PMS2), are also believed to be associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer.

For the above-mentioned malignant tumors with genetic predisposition, it is recommended that the patient's relatives go to a specialist clinic for cancer risk assessment and genetic testing, in order to maximize "early detection, early diagnosis, and early treatment."

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Li Yongsheng

Director of the Department of Oncology, Director of the Teaching and Research Section, Director of Phase I Ward, Chongqing University Cancer Hospital, Chief Physician, Doctor of Medicine, and Doctoral Supervisor.

Chief expert in colorectal cancer MDT and malignant tumor clinical trial MDT. Postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School, chief scientist of key international cooperation projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China.

Clinic hours: Special outpatient clinic on Wednesday morning, specialist outpatient clinic on Friday morning

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Tang Ying

Attending physician of the Department of Oncology, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Chongqing University, Doctor of Medicine.

He presided over one National Natural Science Foundation project and one Chongqing municipal project.

He is good at diagnosing and treating tumor diseases such as lung cancer, gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, and cancer pain.

Text/Fat Bear

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