Cancer | Definition Meaning and Types

Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. In all types of cancer, some of the body’s cells begin to divide without stopping and spread into surrounding tissues.

In the most basic terms, cancer refers to cells that grow out-of-control and invade other tissues. Cells become cancerous due to the accumulation of defects, or mutations, in their DNA.

When cancer develops, there is an orderly process breaks down.As cells become more and more abnormal, old or damaged cells survive when they should die, and new cells form when they are not needed. These extra cells can divide without stopping and may form growths called tumors.

 

 Cancer symptoms and signs depend on the specific type and grade of cancer; although general signs and symptoms are not very specific.

 

Possible signs and symptoms include:

• fatigue,
• unexplained weight loss,
• pain,
• skin changes,
• a lump,
• fever,
• abnormal bleeding,
• change in bowel or bladder function,
• unusual bleeding,
• persistent cough or voice change,
• prolonged cough,
• tissue masses
• change in bowel movements.

 

While these symptoms may indicate cancer, they may have other causes. Over 100 cancers affect humans.

Many cancers can be prevented by not

• smoking,
• maintaining a healthy weight,
• not drinking too much alcohol,
• eating plenty of vegetables,
• fruits and whole grains,
• vaccination against certain infectious diseases,
• not eating too much processed and red meat,
• and avoiding too much sunlight exposure.

Cancer is often treated with some combination of radiation therapy, surgery, chemotherapy, and targeted therapy. Pain and symptom management are an important part of care.

List of cancer types in alphabetical ordered

A
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)
Acute myeloid leukemia
Adrenocortical carcinoma
AIDS-related cancers
AIDS-related lymphoma
Anal cancer
Appendix cancer
Astrocytoma, childhood cerebellar or cerebral

B
Basal-cell carcinoma
Bile duct cancer, extrahepatic (see cholangiocarcinoma)
Bladder cancer
Bone tumor, osteosarcoma/malignant fibrous histiocytoma
Brainstem glioma
Brain cancer
Brain tumor, cerebellar astrocytoma
Brain tumor, cerebral astrocytoma/malignant glioma
Brain tumor, ependymoma
Brain tumor, medulloblastoma
Brain tumor, supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumors
Brain tumor, visual pathway and hypothalamic glioma
Breast cancer
Bronchial adenomas/carcinoids
Burkitt's lymphoma

C
Carcinoid tumor, childhood
Carcinoid tumor, gastrointestinal
Carcinoma of unknown primary
Central nervous system lymphoma, primary
Cerebellar astrocytoma, childhood
Cerebral astrocytoma/malignant glioma, childhood
Cervical cancer
Childhood cancers
Chondrosarcoma
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia
Chronic myelogenous leukemia
Chronic myeloproliferative disorders
Colon cancer
Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma

D
Desmoplastic small round cell tumor

E
Endometrial cancer
Ependymoma
Epitheliod Hemangioendothelioma (EHE)
Esophageal cancer
Ewing's sarcoma in the Ewing family of tumors
Extracranial germ cell tumor, childhood
Extragonadal germ cell tumor
Extrahepatic bile duct cancer
Eye cancer, intraocular melanoma
Eye cancer, retinoblastoma
Epidemics of Cancer

G
Gallbladder cancer
Gastric (stomach) cancer
Gastrointestinal carcinoid tumor
Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST)
Germ cell tumor: extracranial, extragonadal, or ovarian
Gestational trophoblastic tumor
Glioma of the brain stem
Glioma, childhood cerebral astrocytoma
Glioma, childhood visual pathway and hypothalamic
Gastric carcinoid

H
Hairy cell leukemia
Head and neck cancer
Heart cancer
Hepatocellular (liver) cancer
Hodgkin lymphoma
Hypopharyngeal cancer
Hypothalamic and visual pathway glioma, childhood

I
Intraocular melanoma
Islet cell carcinoma (endocrine pancreas)

K
Kaposi sarcoma
Kidney cancer (renal cell cancer)

L
Laryngeal cancer
Leukaemias
Leukaemia, acute lymphoblastic (also called acute lymphocytic leukaemia)
Leukaemia, acute myeloid (also called acute myelogenous leukemia)
Leukaemia, chronic lymphocytic (also called chronic lymphocytic leukemia)
Leukemia, chronic myelogenous (also called chronic myeloid leukemia)
Leukemia, hairy cell
Lip and oral cavity cancer
Liposarcoma
Liver cancer (primary)
Lung cancer, non-small cell
Lung cancer, small cell
Lymphomas
Lymphoma, AIDS-related
Lymphoma, Burkitt
Lymphoma, cutaneous T-Cell
Lymphoma, Hodgkin
Lymphomas, Non-Hodgkin (an old classification of all lymphomas except Hodgkin's)
Lymphoma, primary central nervous system

M
Macroglobulinemia, Waldenström
Male breast cancer
Malignant fibrous histiocytoma of bone/osteosarcoma
Medulloblastoma, childhood
Melanoma
Melanoma, intraocular (eye)
Merkel cell cancer
Mesothelioma, adult malignant
Mesothelioma, childhood
Metastatic squamous neck cancer with occult primary
Mouth cancer
Multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome, childhood
Multiple myeloma/plasma cell neoplasm
Mycosis fungoides
Myelodysplastic syndromes
Myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative diseases
Myelogenous leukemia, chronic
Myeloid leukemia, adult acute
Myeloid leukemia, childhood acute
Myeloma, multiple (cancer of the bone-marrow)
Myeloproliferative disorders, chronic
Myxoma

N
Nasal cavity and paranasal sinus cancer
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma
Neuroblastoma
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
Non-small cell lung cancer

O
Oligodendroglioma
Oral cancer
Oropharyngeal cancer
Osteosarcoma/malignant fibrous histiocytoma of bone
Ovarian cancer
Ovarian epithelial cancer (surface epithelial-stromal tumor)
Ovarian germ cell tumor
Ovarian low malignant potential tumor

P
Pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer, islet cell
Paranasal sinus and nasal cavity cancer
Parathyroid cancer
Penile cancer
Pharyngeal cancer
Pheochromocytoma
Pineal astrocytoma
Pineal germinoma
Pineoblastoma and supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumors, childhood
Pituitary adenoma
Plasma cell neoplasia/Multiple myeloma
Pleuropulmonary blastoma
Primary central nervous system lymphoma
Prostate cancer

R
Rectal cancer
Renal cell carcinoma (kidney cancer)
Renal pelvis and ureter, transitional cell cancer
Retinoblastoma
Rhabdomyosarcoma, childhood

S
Salivary gland cancer
Sarcoma, Ewing family of tumors
Sarcoma, Kaposi
Sarcoma, soft tissue
Sarcoma, uterine
Sézary syndrome
Skin cancer (non-melanoma)
Skin cancer (melanoma)
Skin carcinoma, Merkel cell
Small cell lung cancer
Small intestine cancer
Soft tissue sarcoma
Squamous cell carcinoma – see skin cancer (non-melanoma)
Squamous neck cancer with occult primary, metastatic
Stomach cancer
Supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumor, childhood

T
T-Cell lymphoma, cutaneous – see Mycosis Fungoides and Sézary syndrome
Testicular cancer
Throat cancer
Thymoma, childhood
Thymoma and thymic carcinoma
Thyroid cancer
Thyroid cancer, childhood
Transitional cell cancer of the renal pelvis and ureter
Trophoblastic tumor, gestational

U
Unknown primary site, carcinoma of, adult
Unknown primary site, cancer of, childhood
Ureter and renal pelvis, transitional cell cancer
Urethral cancer
Uterine cancer, endometrial
Uterine sarcoma

V
Vaginal cancer
Visual pathway and hypothalamic glioma, childhood
Vulvar cancer
W
Waldenström macroglobulinemia
Wilms tumor (kidney cancer), childhood


 Early detection through screening is useful for cervical and colorectal cancer. The benefits of screening in breast cancer are controversial.

The chance of survival depends on the type of cancer and extent of disease at the start of treatment. In children under 15 at diagnosis the five-year survival rate in the developed world is on average 80%. For cancer in the United States the average five-year survival rate is 66%.