Cancer Cell Invasion
Cancer cells spread by invading healthy cells and destroying them in order to create more abnormal cells, thereby allowing the cancer to grow larger and more menacing. These cells spread throughout the section of the body where it began, healthy cells becoming damaged and then changed into malignant cancer cells. This is known as metastasis, and it is how cancer spreads from one organ to another. If left unchecked, it eventually spreads throughout the body. Even though a certain type of cancer may spread from one organ to another, it is still referred to by the type it was originally. For example, if it begins as lung cancer and then spreads to the liver, it is still referred to as lung cancer and is treated as such. Doctors who diagnose the cancer prefer to do so early in the disease because it is easier for them to diagnose where in the body the disease began.
How Cancer Spreads
Cancer can spread in several ways. One is in the bloodstream, traveling through the veins. The most common way is through the lymph nodes, because the cells can flow through the liquid that runs through the lymph channels, which is why surgeons usually remove the nearby lymph nodes when they remove cancerous tumors. If even one cancerous cell gets into the lymph channels, the cancer will return but likely in a different place. Cancer can also spread by moving through the abdominal cavity or other open spaces in the body.
Cancer Needs a Blood Supply
All forms of cancer require access to the bloodstream in order to survive in the body. They are, however, much more likely to spread through veins rather than through the much larger arteries, so it is unlikely that cancerous tumors will grow near arteries. Malignant cells can break off from the original tumor and travel through the veins to a new location, where they implant and begin to grow. Some cancers also grow by spreading gradually in the area of origination, never venturing far beyond the original location.
Accidental Cancer Cell Implantation
In rare cases, metastasis can be initiated by accidentally dripping a sample of the cancerous cells into a healthy portion of the body. This is usually done during exploratory or biopsy surgery, where extractions of tissue are taken and some of it drips back into the incision again. This is called implantation or inoculation metastasis. To prevent this from happening it is best to remove as much of the cancer as possible during the initial surgery. Removing all of it is preferable if the tumor is small enough. Internal cancers rarely spread to the skin, but skin cancers will often move inward to invade the internal organs of the body. The liver is particularly susceptible to metastasis.
Tags: through veins, Cancer Cell, cancerous tumors, cells spread, from organ, from organ another, healthy cells