Unlock the “secret” of cancer metastasis!

Unlock the “secret” of cancer metastasis!   Why some cancers have metastasized, but some cancers do not?

Why does cancer metastasize more easily in some people? What factors cause tumors to easily metastasize? Let us find out, solve the puzzle from the source, and help you fight cancer!

Cancer metastasis is related to the “soil” of cancer cells?

The metastasis of cancer depends on the local environment, and the origin of this idea can be said to have a long history. As early as 1889, a British doctor named Stephen Paget set out to figure out the “primary growth and the secondary growth derived from the primary growth” of cancer.

After Paget collected the case files of 735 female patients who died of breast cancer, he found that the metastasis and spread of cancer cells showed a peculiar pattern. Their metastasis was not centrifugal spread, but appeared in unrelated and unrelated cases. On the part far apart.

The pattern of spread is also not random: cancer cells have a strange and strong preference for specific organs. Among more than 300 cases of metastasis, Paget found that 241 were on the liver, 17 were on the spleen, and 70 were on the lung. Between these organs lies a large empty “zone”, that is, an anatomical area that is not infested by metastatic cancer cells.

Paget created the “seed and soil” theory! The seeds are cancer cells, and the soil represents the ecosystem in which cancer cells can or cannot thrive, also known as the tumor microenvironment. Whether an organ is easily metastasized or not seems to depend on the characteristics or location of the organ; cancer cells in some people are easy to metastasize, while others are not.

The theory of “seed soil” was corroborated by Nature in the 21st century. Scientists have discovered that tumors can release a type of vesicle. These vesicles are like “communication ships” or “reconnaissance ships”. They ensure that the recipient organ is ready to “enter” tumor cells.

What other factors are related to cancer metastasis?

01, genetics

Genetic factors are also closely related to the occurrence and metastasis of tumors. Among them, scientists have discovered the existence of tumor metastasis genes, which mainly refer to some genes encoding cell surface receptors. If this gene is mutated or inactivated, it can lead to a decline in cell adhesion and promote tumor occurrence and metastasis.

02, Angiogenesis

Whether tumor cells can grow and reproduce in metastatic organs is inseparable from blood vessels to provide sufficient nutrients, so whether tumor cells can form blood vessels in metastatic organs is very important. Scientists have found that when the tumor body grows to 2-3mm, if there is no new blood vessel formation, the tumor tissue will remain dormant or degenerate.

03, Tumor cell metabolism

The metabolism of tumor cells is more vigorous than that of normal cells, which is a self-adaptive process in order to meet the needs of self-proliferation and migration. Studies have found that through sugar, lipid and nucleic acid metabolism, tumor cells not only provide material materials for their cell proliferation, but also provide continuous proliferation signals to meet their needs for survival in a specific microenvironment.

04, Tumor cell differentiation

Tumor metastasis has a certain relationship with cell differentiation. Differentiation refers to the degree of maturity of tumor tissue. The closer the tumor cell differentiation is to normal cells, the more mature it is observed through a microscope. It is called high differentiation, otherwise it is poorly differentiated. Generally speaking, well-differentiated tumors have lower malignancy, slower growth rate, lower metastasis rate, and better prognosis. Poorly differentiated tumors are highly malignant, grow faster, have a high metastasis rate, and have a poor prognosis.

05, factors such as stress, diet, exercise, etc.

Stress, diet, exercise, sleep, emotions… can also affect the immune status of the body, which ultimately affects the recurrence and metastasis of cancer cells.

How to “strangle” cancer in the soil?

Cancer cells run through your blood like seeds, looking for an opportunity to find a piece of fertile soil to take root. What you have to do is to let them never find such an opportunity until they run out of their last energy or are recognized and destroyed by your active defense system.

Immunotherapy is a kind of “soil” therapy. It does not directly kill cancer cells, but acts on the immunity of the tissue microenvironment and changes the ecology of the host.

In addition to immunotherapy, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, targeted, immune and other treatment methods are also “combined punches” to kill cancer cells. As a patient, in addition to cooperating with the doctor’s various diagnosis and treatment activities, it is also necessary to control the controllable factors in life.

Taking breast cancer as an example, a study compared the life style of 6,295 breast cancer survivors (5-year ER-positive stage I to III) and the relationship between cancer recurrence rate and mortality. The following methods have been found to “strangle” cancer in the soil:

Maintain a healthy body mass index, obesity (index equal to or more than 30) = 40% increase in recurrence rate;

Try to reduce alcohol intake, drinking every day = 28% increase in recurrence rate;

Exercise, long-term inactivity = 29% increase in recurrence rate;

Do not smoke, smoking = 30% increase in recurrence rate after 5 years.

Remember to follow the doctor’s instructions for review. Once the following symptoms appear, it may indicate that the cancer has metastasized and spread. You must seek medical attention in time.

Unexplained weight loss: specifically including weight loss, weight loss, loss of appetite, anemia and other symptoms.

Unexplained low-grade fever: Cancer cells snatch food from normal cells, leading to “necrosis” of normal cells. The absorption of necrotic cells may lead to low-grade fever.

Painless lumps near the lymph nodes: If you feel one or more painless, hard, and poorly movable lumps, worry about whether the cancer has metastasized to the lymph nodes.

Other pain symptoms: such as transfer to the brain, can cause dizziness and headache; transfer to the bones, can cause severe pain or pathological fractures; transfer to the liver, can cause abdominal pain, jaundice, elevated transaminases, etc.

Sum up: 

In 1962, British doctor DW Smithers wrote in The Lancet: “Cancer is not a car breakdown, but a traffic jam.” Regardless of whether the car itself can operate normally, problems may occur due to the “relationship between the car and the environment”.

Therefore, channeling “traffic”, changing the “soil” of the body, and improving immunity is a good way to kill cancer cells in the “soil”, successfully avoiding the first stop of recurrence and metastasis.

(source:internet, reference only)

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