Causes of Gall Bladder Cancer
Gall Bladder Cancer Causes: Book Excerpts
Related information on causes of Gall Bladder Cancer:
As with all medical conditions,
there may be many causal factors.
Further relevant information on causes of Gall Bladder Cancer may be found in:
Causes of Gall Bladder Cancer: Online Medical Books
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Gallbladder and bile duct cancer:
Causes and incidence
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
Gallbladder cancer may result from a complication of gallstones. However, this inference rests on circumstantial evidence from postmortem examinations: 60% to 90% of gallbladder cancer patients also have gallstones, but postmortem data from patients with gallstones show gallbladder cancer in only 0.5%.
The predominant tissue type in gallbladder cancer is adenocarcinoma, 85% to 95%; squamous cell, 5% to 15%. Mixed-tissue types are rare.
Lymph node metastasis is present in 25% to 70% of patients at diagnosis. Direct extension to the liver is common (in 46% to 89%); direct extension to both the cystic and the common bile ducts, stomach, colon, duodenum, and jejunum also occurs and produces obstructions. Metastasis also spreads by portal or hepatic veins to the peritoneum, ovaries, and lower lung lobes.
The cause of extrahepatic bile duct cancer isn't known; however, statistics report an unexplained increased incidence of this cancer in patients with ulcerative colitis. This association may be due to a common cause — perhaps an immune mechanism, or chronic use of certain drugs by the colitis patient.
Extrahepatic bile duct cancer is the cause of approximately 3% of all cancer deaths in the United States. It occurs in both males and females (incidence is slightly higher in males) between ages 60 and 70. The usual site is at the bifurcation in the common duct. Cancer at the distal end of the common duct is commonly confused with cancer of the pancreas. Characteristically, metastatic spread occurs to local lymph nodes, the liver, lungs, and the peritoneum.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005
Introduction: Malignant Neoplasms:
What causes cancer?
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
Researchers have found that cancer develops from mutations within the genes of cells. Thus, cancer is a genetic disease. Cancer susceptibility genes are of two types. Some are oncogenes, which activate cell division and influence embryonic development, and some are tumor suppressor genes, which halt cell division.
These genes are typically found in normal human cells, but certain kinds of mutations may transform the normal cells. Inherited defects may cause a genetic mutation, whereas exposure to a carcinogen may cause an acquired mutation. Current evidence indicates that carcinogenesis results from a complex interaction of carcinogens and accumulated mutations in several genes.
In animal studies of the ability of viruses to transform cells, some human viruses exhibit carcinogenic potential. For example, the Epstein-Barr virus, the cause of infectious mononucleosis, has been linked to Burkitt's lymphoma and nasopharyngeal cancer.
High-frequency radiation, such as ultraviolet and ionizing radiation, damages the genetic material known as deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), possibly inducing genetically transferable abnormalities. Other factors, such as a person's tissue type and hormonal status, interact to potentiate radiation's carcinogenic effect. Examples of substances that may damage DNA and induce carcinogenesis include:
❑alkylating agents — leukemia
❑aromatic hydrocarbons and benzopyrene (from polluted air) — lung cancer
❑asbestos — mesothelioma of the lung
❑tobacco — cancer of the lung, oral cavity and upper airways, esophagus, pancreas, kidneys, and bladder
❑vinyl chloride — angiosarcoma of the liver.
Diet has also been implicated, especially in the development of GI cancer as a result of a high animal fat diet. Additives composed of nitrates and certain methods of food preparation — particularly charbroiling — are also recognized factors.
The role of hormones in carcinogenesis is still controversial, but it seems that excessive use of some hormones, especially estrogen, produces cancer in animals. Also, the synthetic estrogen diethylstilbestrol causes vaginal cancer in some daughters of women who were treated with it. It's unclear, however, whether changes in human hormonal balance retard or stimulate cancer development.
Some forms of cancer and precancerous lesions result from genetic predisposition either directly (as in Wilms' tumor and retinoblastoma) or indirectly (in association with inherited conditions such as Down syndrome or immunodeficiency diseases). Expressed as autosomal recessive, X-linked, or autosomal dominant disorders, their common characteristics include:
❑early onset of malignant disease
❑increased incidence of bilateral cancer in paired organs (breasts, adrenal glands, kidneys, and eighth cranial nerve [acoustic neuroma])
❑increased incidence of multiple primary malignancies in nonpaired organs
❑abnormal chromosome complement in tumor cells.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005
Malignant spinal neoplasms:
Causes and incidence
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
Primary tumors of the spinal cord may be extramedullary (occurring outside the spinal cord) or intramedullary (occurring within the cord itself). Extramedullary tumors may be intradural (meningiomas and schwannomas), which account for 60% of all primary malignant spinal cord neoplasms, or extradural (metastatic tumors from breasts, lungs, prostate, leukemia, or lymphomas), which account for 25% of these malignant neoplasms.
Intramedullary tumors, or gliomas (astrocytomas or ependymomas), are comparatively rare, accounting for only about 10%. In children, they're low-grade astrocytomas.
Spinal cord tumors are rare compared with intracranial tumors (ratio of 1:4). They occur equally in men and women, with the exception of meningiomas, which occur mostly in women. Spinal cord tumors can occur anywhere along the length of the cord or its roots.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005
Bladder cancer:
Causes and incidence
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
Certain environmental carcinogens, such as 2-naphthylamine, benzidine, tobacco, and nitrates, predispose people to transitional cell tumors. Thus, workers in certain industries (rubber workers, weavers and leather finishers, aniline dye workers, hair-dressers, petroleum workers, and spray painters) are at high risk for such tumors. The period between exposure to the carcinogen and development of symptoms is about 18 years.
Squamous cell cancer of the bladder is most common in geographic areas where schistosomiasis is endemic. It's also associated with chronic bladder irritation and infection (for example, from renal calculi, indwelling urinary catheters, and cystitis caused by cyclophosphamide).
Bladder tumors are most prevalent in men older than age 50 and are more common in densely populated industrial areas.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005
Gallbladder and bile duct cancers:
Causes
(Handbook of Diseases)
Many consider gallbladder cancer a complication of gallstones. This inference rests on circumstantial evidence from postmortem examinations: 60% to 90% of all gallbladder cancer patients also have gallstones. Postmortem data from patients with gallstones show gallbladder cancer in only 0.5%.
Adenocarcinoma accounts for 85% to 95% of all cases of gallbladder cancer; squamous cell carcinoma accounts for 5% to 15%. Mixed-tissue types are rare.
Lymph node metastasis is present in 25% to 70% of patients at diagnosis. Direct extension to the liver is common (46% to 89% of patients); direct extension to the cystic and the common bile ducts as well as the stomach, colon, duodenum, and jejunum produces obstructions. Metastasis also occurs through the portal or hepatic veins to the peritoneum, ovaries, and lower lung lobes.
The cause of extrahepatic bile duct cancer isn’t known, but statistics reveal an unexplained increased incidence of this cancer in patients with ulcerative colitis. This association may be attributed to a common cause — perhaps an immune mechanism or chronic use of certain drugs by the patient with colitis.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003
Bladder cancer:
Causes
(Handbook of Diseases)
Certain environmental carcinogens — such as 2-naphthylamine, benzidine, tobacco, and nitrates — predispose people to transitional cell tumors. Thus, workers in certain industries (rubber workers, weavers, leather finishers, aniline dye workers, hairdressers, petroleum workers, and spray painters) are at high risk for such tumors. The period between exposure to the carcinogen and development of symptoms is about 18 years.
Squamous cell carcinoma of the bladder is most common in geographic areas where schistosomiasis is endemic. It’s also associated with chronic bladder irritation and infection (for example, from kidney stones, indwelling urinary catheters, and cystitis caused by cyclophosphamide).
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003
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