Malignancy is the development of cancer cells in the body from completely healthy or already altered, but not malignant. Malignization - what is it and what are the causes, signs and mechanism of its occurrence? We will deal with these issues.
Malignization - what is it? Mechanism of occurrence
The basis of this process is the genetic failure of the program for the formation of a specialized phenotype of cells and their enhanced division. Thus, tissue proliferation occurs.
At the same time, altered cells begin to grow and divide actively. At an early stage, cancer cells do not cause any discomfort to the patient, so it is difficult to detect pathological changes at the initial stage. Often there is malignancy of a benign tumor, stomach ulcer or polyp. That is why such patients should undergo regular examinations so that the doctor in time can notice unwanted changes and take measures.
Malignization - what is it? There are many hypotheses for its occurrence, but these are only assumptions. Only the fact that with a combination of certain unfavorable conditions, the process of the transformation of healthy cells into pathological ones is exactly established.
Causes
Conditionally, the causes of this process can be divided into external and internal.
External reasons:
- Adverse environmental conditions.
- Exceeding the substantially normal dose of x-ray exposure.
- Chemically active substances that affect the body for a long time.
- Malnutrition, namely the consumption of carcinogens, prohibited stabilizers and dyes, transgenic products, etc.
Internal reasons:
- Decreased immunity.
- Inflammatory diseases of the chronic course.
- Endocrine Disorders
- Fungal and viral diseases.
- Prolonged stress.
- Strong psychological upheaval.
- Hormonal disruptions.
- Burdened by heredity.
Signs
Malignization - what is it? Let us dwell on its signs. The symptoms of pathological changes will also depend on the location of localization. But despite this, there are common signs that unite the process of malignancy, no matter which organ is affected.
These signs include:
- Genetic changes in cells of a certain phenotype that perform individual functions. Newly formed cells can no longer fulfill the functional load imposed on them.
- The structure of cells is changing.
- Metastasis.
- Cell proliferation, i.e. enhanced division of them.
- Cell polymorphism, i.e. their ability to perform different functions.
Malignancy of a stomach ulcer
Statistics show that degeneration of a stomach ulcer into a cancerous tumor occurs in 4-15% of cases. Reliably the reasons for this process have not been identified. But it is known that malnutrition plays a significant role in this transformation. First of all, this is a meal of too spicy, fried or smoked food. In sick people with a history of stomach ulcers who abuse alcohol and tobacco, the risk of malignancy increases many times.
Symptoms of ulcer malignancy include:
- Changing taste preferences, such patients often refuse meat dishes.
- Decreased appetite.
- The relationship between the occurrence of pain and eating is no longer observed.
- Pain in the stomach becomes constant.
- Pain does not disappear from drugs that previously helped.
- Nausea is added, which is present almost constantly.
- There is an eructation with a fetid odor.
- There are bouts of vomiting.
- There is a feeling of heaviness in the stomach.
- Patients are exhausted.
- Pallor of the skin is observed.
- Decreases vitality.
They diagnose malignancy in the same way as a stomach ulcer. It is enough to do fibrogastroscopy (FGS), during which a biopsy will be taken and sent for examination.
Tumor malignancy
A tumor is the proliferation of cells of any tissue. If this growth occurs within the tissue in which it was formed, then this is a benign tumor. Examples of benign tumors include:
- Myoma - occurs in muscle tissue.
- Lipoma - is formed in adipose tissue.
- Fibroma - proliferation of connective tissue.
- Osteoma - occurs in bone tissue.
If the growing cells retain the properties of the tissue from which they are formed, and the tumor has clear boundaries that do not extend beyond the organ, then this is a benign tumor. But there is always a risk that malignancy of the tumor will occur.
In this case, the tumor cells grow into neighboring tissues and nearby organs. In addition, with the flow of lymph and blood, its individual cells can spread throughout the body and penetrate into distant organs and tissues, forming metastases in healthy structures. This is possible with the germination of a tumor in a vessel. That is why doctors, at the slightest suspicion, always recommend removing the neoplasm if the proliferation of cells begins too quickly. Before this, a biopsy is always taken and a histological examination is performed .