Cause and development of cancer

Image

Cause and development of cancer

 

The epidemiology of cancer is the study of the factors affecting cancer, as a way to infer possible trends and causes. The study of cancer epidemiology uses epidemiological methods to find the cause of cancer and to identify and develop improved treatments.

This area of study must contend with problems of lead time bias and length time bias. Lead time bias is the concept that early diagnosis may artificially inflate the survival statistics of a cancer, without really improving the natural history of the disease. Length bias is the concept that slower growing, more indolent tumors are more likely to be diagnosed by screening tests, but improvements in diagnosing more cases of indolent cancer may not translate into better patient outcomes after the implementation of screening programs. A related concern is over diagnosis, the tendency of screening tests to diagnose diseases that may not actually impact the patient's longevity. This problem especially applies to prostate cancer and PSA screening.

Research into the cause of cancer involves many different disciplines including genetics, diet, environmental factors (i.e. chemical carcinogens). In regard to investigation of causes and potential targets for therapy, the route used starts with data obtained from clinical observations, enters basic research, and, once convincing and independently confirmed results are obtained, proceeds with clinical research, involving appropriately designed trials on consenting human subjects, with the aim to test safety and efficiency of the therapeutic intervention method. An important part of basic research is characterization of the potential mechanisms of carcinogenesis, in regard to the types of genetic and epigenetic changes that are associated with cancer development. The mouse is often used as a mammalian model for manipulation of the function of genes that play a role in tumor formation, while basic aspects of tumor initiation, such as mutagenesis, are assayed on cultures of bacteria and mammalian cells.

Insight Medical Publishing (iMedPub)

The open access journal is published by Insight Medical Publishing (iMedPub) who hosts more than 100 open access peer-reviewed journals as well as organizes many International scientific Conferences. Established in the 2005, iMedPub has been serving the scientific community relentlessly with its open access platform for publishing the research outcome to reach the global scientific fraternity.

The Journal of Cancer Epidemiology & Prevention is a peer-reviewed, open access Journal that expects to distribute the most recent improvements in cancer studies. The journal looks forward to associate with you.

Regards

Michelle

Managing Editor

Tel: +3225889658