Tissue Changes that Are Not Cancer

Not every change in the body’s tissues is cancer. Some tissue changes may develop into cancer if they are not treated, however. Here are some examples of tissue changes that are not cancer but, in some cases, are monitored:

Hyperplasia occurs when cells within a tissue divide faster than normal and extra cells build up, or proliferate. However, the cells and the way the tissue is organized look normal under a microscope. Hyperplasia can be caused by several factors or conditions, including chronic irritation.

Dysplasia is a more serious condition than hyperplasia. In dysplasia, there is also a buildup of extra cells. But the cells look abnormal and there are changes in how the tissue is organized. In general, the more abnormal the cells and tissue look, the greater the chance that cancer will form.

Some types of dysplasia may need to be monitored or treated. An example of dysplasia is an abnormal mole (called a dysplastic nevus) that forms on the skin. A dysplastic nevus can turn into melanoma, although most do not.

An even more serious condition is carcinoma in situ. Although it is sometimes called cancer, carcinoma in situ is not cancer because the abnormal cells do not spread beyond the original tissue. That is, they do not invade nearby tissue the way that cancer cells do. But, because some carcinomas in situ may become cancer, they are usually treated.

Normal cells may become cancer cells. Before cancer cells form in tissues of the body, the cells go through abnormal changes called hyperplasia and dysplasia. In hyperplasia, there is an increase in the number of cells in an organ or tissue that appear normal under a microscope. In dysplasia, the cells look abnormal under a microscope but are not cancer. Hyperplasia and dysplasia may or may not become cancer.

Source: https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/understanding/what-is-cancer#tissue-changes-not-cancer

Five points about communication that a cancer caregiver should knows

1. Ask rather than assume what’s needed. It’ll make things easier for both of you.
2. Offer to help with certain practical matters such as medical paperwork, but let them do things for themselves when they want to. Don’t make them more dependent than they need to be.
3. Respect the patient’s choices about anticancer treatment, care, and who they want to see.
4. Share feelings. Allow cancer patients to talk about their emotions without feeling judged. It’s important to share your feelings too. Don’t let your caregiver-patient role overtake your relationship.
5. Listen cancer patients help to relieve their emotional distress   

Cancer Research: Toward Killing Cancer with Bacteria

In the late 1800s, bone surgeon William Coley pioneered the use of bacteria as a cancer treatment after discovering that a cancer patient who suffered a bacterial infection survived longer than expected. Back then, before radiation and chemotherapies prevailed, bacteria injection “was a first line therapy,”

A genetically manipulated version of the gastroenteritis-causing bacteria Salmonella typhimurium is a potent destroyer of mouse tumors, according to a report published today (February 8) in Science Translational Medicine. The paper adds to a growing body of research investigating bacterial cancer treatments, and reveals an immunological mechanism that contributes to bacteria-driven, cancer–killing activity. To boost the potency of the Salmonella, Researchers engineered the bacteria to overexpress a protein proven to induce a strong immune response—flagellin B (a component of the tail-like swimming appendage of some bacteria). Intravenous injections of the flagellin-expressing Salmonella eradicated the experimental tumors in 55 percent of mice, which then remained healthy until the end of the four-month observation period, the researchers reported. Without overexpression of flagellin, the Salmonella initially shrank tumors in the mice, but the tumors tended to regrow.