Dr. Muzammil Waheed Kamboh

The World of Health

 

First of all we know that what is bone (Hadi) & bone Cancer.

Bone is know that

Definition of Bone Cancer

Cancer that begins in the bone is called primary bone cancer. Primary bone cancer is relatively uncommon in comparison with secondary or metastatic cancer (cancer that occurs initially in another organ and then spreads to bone tissue).

Description of Bone Cancer

The bones in the body serve several purposes. They support and protect internal organs (for example, the skull protects the brain and the ribs protect the lungs). Muscles pull against the bones to make the body move. Bone marrow (the soft, spongy tissue in the center of many bones) makes and stores blood cells.

Cancer that begins is the bone is called primary bone cancer. It is found most often in the arms and legs, but it can occur in any bone in the body. Children and young people are more likely than adults to have bone cancer.

Primary bone cancers are called often called sarcomas. There are several types of sarcoma. Each type begins in a different kind of bone tissue. The most common are osteosarcoma, Ewing's sarcoma and chondrosarcoma.

Osteosarcoma is the most common type of bone cancer in young people. It usually occurs between the ages of 10 and 25. Males are affected more often than females. Osteosarcoma often starts in the ends of bones, where new bone tissue forms as a young person grows. It usually affects the long bones of the arms or legs.

Ewing's sarcoma usually is found in people between 10 and 25 years of age; teenagers are most often affected. This cancer forms in the middle part (shaft) of large bones. It most often affects the hipbones and the long bones in the thigh and upper arm. It also occurs in the ribs.

Chondrosarcoma is found mainly in adults. This type of tumor forms in cartilage, the rubbery tissue around joints.

Cancers that begin in the bone are quite rare. On the other hand, it is not unusual for cancers to spread to the bones from other parts of the body. When this happens, the disease is not called primary bone cancer. Each type of cancer is named for the organ or the tissue in which it begins. Cancer that spreads is the same disease and has the same name as the original (or primary) cancer.

Treatment for cancer that has spread to the bones depends on where the cancer started and the extent of the spread. About 80 percent of these metastatic lesions are from primary carcinomas, particularly of the breast, prostate, lung, kidney, thyroid, pancreas and stomach.

Symptoms of Bone Cancer

Patients may present with persistent pain, swelling, or tenderness of a bone. They may have unexplained fracture of one or more bones, sometimes without noticeable trauma.

Diagnosis of Bone Cancer

The presenting symptom is usually pain. Pathologic fracture may be present and is more common in the lower than the upper extremity.

The presenting radiologic finding on X-ray is often destruction of bone. In a patient with a known primary malignant tumor presenting with a painful, destructive lesion of bone, a diagnosis of metastatic cancer can be made with some assurance. However, there are individuals in whom the primary cancer is not yet recognized at the time when the early metastatic lesion in bone becomes painful.

A CAT scan, MRI, radionuclide bone scan or a skeletal survey may be done to pinpoint which bones have been affected.

Treatment of Bone Cancer

The treatment of cancer of the bone, especially metastatic cancer, has two goals: management of the neoplasm and management of the symptoms produced by the local lesion. Prognosis is affected by a patient's age, the size of the primary tumor, grade and stage, degree of lymphatic and blood vessel invasion, the duration of symptoms and the location of the tumor on the arm, leg or trunk.

There are two ways bone metastasis is treated. Systemic therapy, aimed at cancer cells that have spread throughout the body, includes chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and immunotherapy. Local therapy, aimed at killing cancer cells in one specific part of the body, includes radiation therapy and surgery.

Surgery often has to be extensive, with a wide margin of tissue around the tumor being removed. Sarcomas involving muscles require removal of the entire affected muscle group.
Radiation therapy is used to prevent local recurrences of radiosensitive tumors and may be given either before or after surgery.
Chemotherapy - a number of drugs have proven to be effective in treating bone and soft tissue sarcomas. The dosages required to provide a good chance for cure often produce significant side effects. Effective single agents may include doxorubicin (Adriamycin), cyclophosphamide, high-dose methotrexate (with leucovorin rescue), ifosfamide, dacarbazine, vincristine, dactinomycin (Actinomycin D), etoposide and investigational agents. Combinations of these drugs are often used.
Hormone therapy is either the removal of the organs which produce hormones which can promote the growth of certain types of cancer (such as testosterone in males and estrogen in females), or drug therapy to keep the hormones from promoting cancer growth.
Biphosphonates are drugs that can be used to reduce bone pain and slow down bone damage in people who have cancer that has spread to their bones.

Even if a bone or soft tissue sarcoma is appears to be localized and could apparently be completely removed, there is still significant risk that tumor cells too small to detect have already spread to other places in the body. Additional treatment with chemotherapy (adjuvant chemotherapy) attempts to eliminate these tumor deposits.

There are also safe and effective ways to treat pain. Medications can allow people to be free of pain so that they can continue the activities that are important to them.

Questions To Ask Your Doctor About Bone Cancer

Is it primary or secondary cancer of the bone?

Where has it spread from?

Do you recommend chemotherapy?

What is the prognosis?

Lungs cancer
it is very dangerous disease.as it is related to our breathing and if stop berating then we must die  always pray to god that you are safe from this disease and you are able to get rid of this disease

Lung cancer is the primary cause of cancer death

In the United States, lung cancer is the primary cause of cancer death among both men and women, killing over 160 thousand people in 2007, which exceeds the combined mortality attributable to breast, prostate and colon cancer. In 2007 there were more than 200 thousand new cases of lung cancer diagnosed in the United States: more among men than women. On average, 1 in 13 men and 1 in 16 women will be diagnosed with lung cancer (a lifetime risk of 8% and 6%, respectively).

Smoking is the single most important risk factor for lung cancer

The single most important factor influencing the risk of developing lung cancer is smoking. In the United States, smoking is estimated to account for 87% of lung cancer cases (90% in men and 85% in women). The lifetime risk of developing lung cancer is 17.2% among male smokers and 11.6% among female smokers. This risk is significantly lower in non-smokers: 1.3% in men and 1.4% in women.

Genetic factors also contribute to risk of developing lung cancer

Epidemiological studies have shown that genetic factors also contribute to the risk of developing lung cancer. Recently, scientists at deCODE Genetics discovered an association between the diagnosis of Lung cancer and two specific variants in the genome. One variant is located on chromosome 15 within the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor gene cluster. In smokers, this same variant also increases the risk for Nicotine Dependence and Peripheral Arterial Disease. The second variant is located on chromosome 5 near the TERT gene.

deCODEme can calculate your genetic risk for lung cancer

The deCODEme Complete Scan and the deCODEme Cancer Scan identify the two risk variants and provide an interpretation of the associated risk for developing lung cancer for individuals of European descent who smoke. More studies need to be conducted to test if the variant also increases risk of lung cancer in people who do not smoke. Currently no risk data are available for people of other ethnicities for these variants.

Risk factors for lung cancer

• Smoking is the greatest known risk factor for lung cancer and is estimated to be responsible for approximately 90% of lung cancer in men and 85% in women. Lung cancer risk attributable to tobacco smoking is strongly affected by the duration of smoking, and declines with increasing time from cessation. Thus, the estimated lifetime risk of lung cancer among former smokers ranges from approximately 6% in smokers who give up at the age of 50, to 10% for smokers who give up at age 60, compared to 15% for lifelong smokers and approximately 1% in never-smokers.
• Secondary smoke is estimated to cause approximately 3,000 lung cancer deaths per year among non-smokers and contributes to more than 35,000 deaths linked to cardiovascular disease.
• Genetics. Regardless of exposure to tobacco smoke, there are important individual differences in the risk of developing lung cancer, some of which are attributable to genetic factors. Thus, for example, even though smoking is the primary cause of lung cancer, only about 15% of lifelong smokers will actually develop this disease. Genetic factors may influence who ends up developing the disease. The role of genetics is further demonstrated by the fact that close relatives of lung cancer patients have an approximately two-fold greater risk of developing the disease compared to the general population.
• Environmental pollutants. Exposure to a variety of environmental factors or industrial substances has been associated with increased risk of lung cancer. These include asbestos, radon and arsenic. Certain lung diseases can also increase the risk for lung cancer. However, these factors combined still contribute much less to the disease risk than tobacco smoking.

The best way to prevent lung cancer is not to smoke

The best way to avoid lung cancer by far is not to smoke and to avoid second-hand smoke and other environmental factors that may increase the risk of the disease.

Dietary choices may affect lung cancer

There is some evidence that suggests that a diet rich in fruit may have protective effect against lung cancer. Furthermore, smokers may benefit from eating vegetables. Several large studies have been conducted in order to test if intake of vitamins or other supplements might protect against lung cancer. To date, there is limited evidence that this might be the case. Highly publicized studies of beta-carotene and vitamin A supplementation in smokers actually showed an increase in lung cancers in the supplementation groups. In another study of over 75,000 individuals it was shown that the long-term use of supplemental multivitamins, such as vitamin C, vitamin E, and folate did not reduce the risk of lung cancer. On the contrary, the results of the study indicated that high doses of vitamin E might even increase the risk of lung cancer.

Lung cancer screening

Individuals who are identified as being at high risk for lung cancer may be referred to have chest X-rays or sputum cytology examination. In addition, a spiral CT scan is a newly-developed procedure for lung cancer screening. Numerous lung cancer screening trials are currently taking place but presently, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) concludes that evidence is insufficient to recommend for or against screening asymptomatic persons for lung cancer.

Treatment options for lung cancer

The outcome of lung cancer depends on the tumor type, how advanced the disease is when it is diagnosed, and the general health of the person diagnosed. Overall, lung cancer is one of the most difficult cancers to treat. If the disease is diagnosed early, then more treatment options are available and prognosis is better. Treatment options include surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, or a combination of these.

More information

You can find out more information about lung cancer and smoking by talking to your doctor and visiting these Web sites: