BIOLOGY

INVESTIGATORY
PROJECT
ON
CANCER

BY
D.DHANUS
H
XII-ID
 CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that this “Biology
Investigatory Project” on the topic “Cancer”
has been successfully completed by D. Dhanush
of class XII-ID under the guidance of
Mrs.Sathyabama in particular fulfillment of the
curriculum of Central Board Of Secondary
Education (CBSE) leading to the award of
annual examination of the year 2019-20.
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I have taken efforts in this project. However it would
not have been possible without the kind support and help
of many individuals.

I would like to thank my principal Mrs.Kareema and

school for providing me with facilities required to do my
project.

I am highly indebted to my teacher, Mrs.Sathyabama,

for her invaluable guidance which has sustained my
efforts in all stages of this project work.

I would also like to thank my family for their continuous

support and encouragement.

My thanks and appreciations also go to my fellow

classmates and the laboratory assistant in developing the
project and to the people who have willingly helped me
out with their abilities.
CONTENTS
1 .Definitions
2. Signs and symptoms
3. Causes
4. Patho physiology
5. Diagnosis
6. Classification
7. Prevention
8. Screening
9. Management
10. Research
11. Pregnancy
12. Other animals
 CANCER
DEFINITION-
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to
invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors,
which do not spread .Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal
bleeding, prolonged cough, unexplained weight loss, and a change in bowel
movements. While these symptoms may indicate cancer, they can also have other
causes. Over 100 types of cancers affect humans.
Tobacco use is the cause of about 22% of cancer deaths. Another 10% are due
to obesity, poor diet, lack of physical activity or excessive drinking of alcohol.
Other factors include certain infections, exposure to ionizing radiation and
environmental pollutants In the developing world, 15% of cancers are due to
infections such as Helicobacter pylori, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, Epstein–Barr
virus and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).] These factors act, at least partly,
by changing the genes of a cell. Typically, many genetic changes are required
before cancer develops. Approximately 5–10% of cancers are due to inherited
genetic defects from a person's parents. Cancer can be detected by certain signs
and symptoms or screening tests. It is then typically further investigated
by medical imaging and confirmed by biopsy. Many cancers can be prevented by
not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, not drinking too much alcohol, eating
plenty of vegetables, fruits and vaccination against certain infectious diseases,
not eating too much processed and red meat and avoiding too
much sunlight exposure. 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%.
The most common types of cancer in males are lung cancer, prostate
cancer, colorectal cancer and stomach cancer. In females, the most common
types are breast cancer, colorectal cancer, lung cancer and cervical cancer. In
children, acute lymphoblastic leukemia and brain tumors are most common, except
in Africa where non-Hodgkin lymphoma occurs more often.
SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS-

Local symptoms
Local symptoms may occur due to the mass of the tumor or its ulceration. For
example, mass effects from lung cancer can block the bronchus resulting in cough
or pneumonia; esophageal cancer can cause narrowing of the esophagus, making it
difficult or painful to swallow. Although localized pain may occur in advanced
cancer, the initial swelling is usually painless.

Systemic symptoms
General symptoms occur due to effects that are not related to direct or
metastatic spread. These may include: unintentional weight loss, fever, excessive
fatigue and changes to the skin.
CAUSES-
The majority of cancers, some 90–95% of cases, are due to genetic mutations
from environmental and lifestyle factors. The remaining 5–10% are due
to inherited genetics, Environmental, as used by cancer researchers, means any
cause that is not inherited genetically, such as lifestyle, economic, and behavioral
factors and not merely pollution.] Common environmental factors that contribute
to cancer death include tobacco (25–30%), diet and obesity (30–35%), infections
(15–20%), radiation (both ionizing and non-ionizing, up to 10%), lack of physical
activity, and pollution. If a person who uses tobacco heavily develops lung cancer,
then it was probably caused by the tobacco use, but since everyone has a small
chance of developing lung cancer as a result of air pollution or radiation, the
cancer may have developed for one of those reasons. Excepting the rare
transmissions that occur with pregnancies and occasional organ donors, cancer is
generally not a transmissible disease.

Chemicals
Exposure to particular substances has been linked to specific types of cancer.
These substances are called carcinogens. Tobacco smoke, for example, causes
90% of lung cancerIt also causes cancer in the larynx, head, neck, stomach,
bladder,.kidney, esophagus and pancreas. Tobacco smoke contains over fifty
known carcinogens, including nitrosamines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
Tobacco is responsible for about one in five cancer deaths worldwide and about
one in three in the developed world. Cancer from work-related substance
exposures may cause between 2 and 20% of cases causing at least 200,000
deaths. Cancers such as lung cancer and mesothelioma can come from inhaling
tobacco smoke or asbestos fibers, or leukemia from exposure to benzene.

Diet and exercise

Diet, physical inactivity and obesity are related to up to 30–35% of cancer
deaths. In the United States, excess body weight is associated with the
development of many types of cancer and is a factor in 14–20% of cancer deaths.
A UK study including data on over 5 million people showed higher body mass
index to be related to at least 10 types of cancer and responsible for around
12,000 cases each year in that country. Some specific foods are linked to specific
cancers. A high-salt diet is linked to gastric cancer. Aflatoxin B1, a frequent food
contaminant, causes liver cancer.

Infection
Worldwide approximately 18% of cancer deaths are related to infectious
diseases. This proportion ranges from a high of 25% in Africa to less than 10% in
the developed world. Viruses are the usual infectious agents that cause cancer
but cancer bacteria and parasites may also play a role. Oncoviruses
include human papillomavirus (cervical cancer), Epstein–Barr virus (B-cell
lymphoproliferative disease and nasopharyngeal carcinoma), Kaposi's sarcoma
herpesvirus (Kaposi's sarcoma and primary effusion lymphomas), hepatitis
B and hepatitis C viruses (hepatocellular carcinoma).

Radiation
Radiation exposure such as ultraviolet radiation and radioactive material is a risk
factor for cancer. Many non-melanoma skin cancers are due to ultraviolet
radiation, mostly from sunlight. Sources of ionizing radiation include medical
imaging and radon gas. Radiation is a more potent source of cancer when combined
with other cancer-causing agents, such as radon plus tobacco smoke. Ionizing
radiation may be used to treat other cancers, but this may, in some cases, induce
a second form of cancer. It is also used in some kinds of medical imaging.
Prolonged exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun can lead
to melanoma and other skin malignancies. Clear evidence establishes ultraviolet
radiation, especially the non-ionizing medium wave UVB, as the cause of most non-
melanoma skin cancers, which are the most common forms of cancer in the world.
Non-ionizing radio frequency radiation from mobile phones, electric power
transmission and other similar sources has been described as a possible
carcinogen by the World Health Organization's International Agency for
Research on Cancer.
Hormones
Some hormones play a role in the development of cancer by promoting cell
proliferation. Insulin-like growth factors and their binding proteins play a key
role in cancer cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis, suggesting possible
involvement in carcinogenesis. Hormones are important agents in sex-related
cancers, such as cancer of the breast, endometrium, prostate, ovary
and testis and also of thyroid cancer and bone cancer. Other factors are
relevant: obese people have higher levels of some hormones associated with
cancer and a higher rate of those cancers.

Autoimmune diseases
There is an association between celiac disease and an increased risk of all
cancers. People with untreated celiac disease have a higher risk, but this risk
decreases with time after diagnosis and strict treatment, probably due to the
adoption of a gluten-free diet, which seems to have a protective role against
development of malignancy in people with celiac disease. However, the delay in
diagnosis and initiation of a gluten-free diet seems to increase the risk of
malignancies. Rates of gastrointestinal cancers are increased in people
with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, due to chronic inflammation.
Also, immunomodulators and biologic agents used to treat these diseases may
promote developing extra-intestinal malignancies.
PATHOPHYSIOLOGY-

Genetics
Cancer is fundamentally a disease of tissue growth regulation. In order for a
normal cell to transform into a cancer cell, the genes that regulate cell growth
and differentiation must be altered.
The affected genes are divided into two broad categories. Oncogenes are genes
that promote cell growth and reproduction. Tumor suppressor genes are genes
that inhibit cell division and survival. Malignant transformation can occur through
the formation of novel oncogenes, the inappropriate over-expression of normal
oncogenes, or by the under-expression or disabling of tumor suppressor genes.
Typically, changes in multiple genes are required to transform a normal cell into a
cancer cell.

Epigenetics

The classical view of cancer is a set of diseases that are driven by progressive
genetic abnormalities that include mutations in tumor-suppressor genes and
oncogenes and chromosomal abnormalities. Later epigenetic alterations' role was
identified. Epigenetic alterations are functionally relevant modifications to the
genome that do not change the nucleotide sequence. Each of these alterations
regulates gene expression without altering the underlying DNA sequence.
Epigenetic alterations occur frequently in cancers. While epigenetic alterations
are found in cancers, the epigenetic alterations in DNA repair genes, causing
reduced expression of DNA repair proteins, may be of particular importance.
Such alterations are thought to occur early in progression to cancer and to be a
likely cause of the genetic instability characteristic of cancers.
Metastasis
Metastasis is the spread of cancer to other locations in the body. The dispersed
tumors are called metastatic tumors, while the original is called the primary
tumor. Almost all cancers can metastasize. Most cancer deaths are due to cancer
that has metastasized. Metastasis is common in the late stages of cancer and it
can occur via the blood or the lymphatic system or both. The typical steps in
metastasis are local invasion, intravasation into the blood or lymph, circulation
through the body, extravasation into the new tissue, proliferation
and angiogenesis. Different types of cancers tend to metastasize to particular
organs, but overall the most common places for metastases to occur are
the lungs, liver, brain and the bones.

DIAGNOSIS-

Most cancers are initially recognized either because of the appearance of signs
or symptoms or through screening. Neither of these leads to a definitive
diagnosis, which requires the examination of a tissue sample by a pathologist.
People with suspected cancer are investigated with medical tests. These
commonly include blood tests, X-rays, (contrast) CT scans and endoscopy. The
tissue diagnosis from the biopsy indicates the type of cell that is proliferating,
its histological grade, genetic abnormalities and other features. Together, this
information is useful to evaluate the prognosis and to choose the best treatment.

CLASSIFICATION-
Cancers are classified by the type of cell that the tumor cells resemble and are
therefore presumed to be the origin of the tumor. These types include:
Carcinoma: Cancers derived from epithelial cells. This group includes many of the
most common cancers and include nearly all those in
the breast, prostate, lung, pancreas and colon.
Sarcoma: Cancers arising from connective tissue (i.e. bone, cartilage) each of
which develops from cells originating in mesenchymal cells outside the bone
marrow.
Lymphoma and leukemia: These two classes arise from hematopoietic (blood-
forming) cells that leave the marrow and tend to mature in the lymph nodes and
blood, respectively.
Germ cell tumor: Cancers derived from pluripotent cells, most often presenting in
the testicle or the ovary (seminoma and dysgerminoma, respectively).
Blastoma: Cancers derived from immature "precursor" cells or embryonic tissue.

Cancers are usually named using -carcinoma, -sarcoma or -blastoma as a suffix,

with the Latin or Greek word for the organ or tissue of origin as the root. For
example, cancers of the liver parenchyma arising from malignant epithelial cells is
called hepatocarcinoma, while a malignancy arising from primitive liver precursor
cells is called a hepatoblastoma and a cancer arising from fat cells is called
a liposarcoma.
Benign tumors (which are not cancers) are named using -oma as a suffix with the
organ name as the root. For example, a benign tumor of smooth muscle cells is
called a leiomyoma (the common name of this frequently occurring benign tumor in
the uterus is fibroid). Confusingly, some types of cancer use the -noma suffix,
examples including melanoma and seminoma.
Some types of cancer are named for the size and shape of the cells under a
microscope, such as giant cell carcinoma, spindle cell carcinoma and small-cell
carcinoma.
PREVENTION-
Cancer prevention is defined as active measures to decrease cancer risk. The
vast majority of cancer cases are due to environmental risk factors. Many of
these environmental factors are controllable lifestyle choices. Thus, cancer is
generally preventable. Between 70% and 90% of common cancers are due to
environmental factors and therefore potentially preventable. Greater than 30%
of cancer deaths could be prevented by avoiding risk factors
including: tobacco, excess weight, poor diet, physical inactivity, alcohol, sexually
transmitted infections and air pollution.

Dietary
While many dietary recommendations have been proposed to reduce cancer risks,
the evidence to support them is not definitive. The primary dietary factors that
increase risk are obesity and alcohol consumption.Dietary recommendations for
cancer prevention typically include an emphasis on vegetables, fruit, whole
grains and fish and an avoidance of processed and red meat (beef, pork,
lamb), animal fats, pickled foods and refined carbohydrates.

Medication
Medications can be used to prevent cancer in a few circumstances. In the general
population, NSAIDs reduce the risk of colorectal cancer; however, due to
cardiovascular and gastrointestinal side effects, they cause overall harm when
used for prevention. Aspirin has been found to reduce the risk of death from
cancer by about 7%. Vitamin supplementation does not appear to be effective at
preventing cancer.

Vaccination
Vaccines have been developed that prevent infection by carcinogenic viruses.
Human papillomavirus vaccine (Gardasil and Cervarix) decrease the risk of
developing cervical cancer.The hepatitis B vaccine prevents infection with
hepatitis B virus and thus decreases the risk of liver cancer. The administration
of human papillomavirus and hepatitis B vaccinations is recommended when
resources allow.[133]

SCREENING-
Unlike diagnostic efforts prompted by symptoms and medical signs, cancer
screening involves efforts to detect cancer after it has formed, but before any
symptoms appear. This may involve physical examination, blood or urine tests .
Cancer screening is not available for many types of cancers. Even when tests are
available, they may not be recommended for everyone. Several factors are
considered to determine whether the benefits of screening outweigh the risks
and the costs of screening. These factors include:
 Possible harms from the screening test: for example, X-ray images involve
exposure to potentially harmful ionizing radiation.
 The likelihood of the test correctly identifying cancer.
 The likelihood that cancer is present: Screening is not normally useful for
rare cancers.
 Possible harms from follow-up procedures.
 Whether the test is acceptable to the people: If a screening test is too
burdensome (for example, extremely painful), then people will refuse to
participate.

Genetic testing

Gene Cancer types

BRCA1, BRCA2 Breast, ovarian, pancreatic
HNPCC, MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, PMS1, PMS Colon, uterine, small bowel, stomach,
2 urinary tract

Genetic testing for individuals at high-risk of certain cancers is recommended by

unofficial groups Carriers of these mutations may then undergo enhanced
surveillance, chemoprevention, or preventative surgery to reduce their
subsequent risk.
MANAGEMENT-

Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with one or more cytotoxic anti-
neoplastic drugs (chemotherapeutic agents) as part of a standardized regimen.
Traditional chemotherapeutic agents act by killing cells that divide rapidly, a
critical property of most cancer cells. The efficacy of chemotherapy depends on
the type of cancer and the stage. In combination with surgery, chemotherapy has
proven useful in cancer types including breast cancer, colorectal
cancer, pancreatic cancer, osteogenic sarcoma, testicular cancer, ovarian cancer
and certain lung cancers. Chemotherapy is curative for some cancers, such as
some leukemias, ineffective in some brain tumors, and needless in others, such as
most non-melanoma skin cancers. Even when chemotherapy does not provide a
permanent cure, it may be useful to reduce symptoms such as pain or to reduce
the size of an inoperable tumor in the hope that surgery will become possible in
the future.

Radiation
Radiation therapy involves the use of ionizing radiation in an attempt to either
cure or improve symptoms. It works by damaging the DNA of cancerous tissue,
killing it. As with chemotherapy, cancers vary in their response to radiation
therapy. Radiation therapy is used in about half of cases. The radiation can be
either from internal sources (brachytherapy) or external sources. The radiation
is most commonly low energy x-rays for treating skin cancers, while higher energy
x-rays are used for cancers within the body. For painful bone metastasis, it has
been found to be effective in about 70% of patients.

Surgery
Surgery is the primary method of treatment for most isolated, solid cancers and
may play a role in palliation and prolongation of survival. It is typically an
important part of definitive diagnosis and staging of tumors, as biopsies are
usually required. In localized cancer, surgery typically attempts to remove the
entire mass along with, in certain cases, the lymph nodes in the area. For some
types of cancer this is sufficient to eliminate the cancer.
Laser therapy
Laser therapy uses high-intensity light to treat cancer by shrinking or destroying
tumors or precancerous growths. Lasers are most commonly used to treat
superficial cancers that are on the surface of the body or the lining of internal
organs. It is used to treat basal cell skin cancer and the very early stages of
others like cervical, penile, vaginal, vulvar, and non-small cell lung cancer. It is
often combined with other treatments, such as surgery, chemotherapy, or
radiation therapy. Laser is more precise than surgery and cause less damage, pain,
bleeding, swelling, and scarring. A disadvantage is surgeons must have specialized
training.

RESEARCH-
As cancer is a class of diseases, it is unlikely that there will ever be a single "cure
for cancer" any more than there will be a single treatment for all infectious
diseases. Angiogenesis inhibitors were once incorrectly thought to have potential
as a "silver bullet" treatment applicable to many types of cancer. Angiogenesis
inhibitors and other cancer therapeutics are used in combination to reduce
cancer morbidity and mortality.
Experimental cancer treatments are studied in clinical trials to compare the
proposed treatment to the best existing treatment. Treatments that succeeded
in one cancer type can be tested against other types. Diagnostic tests are under
development to better target the right therapies to the right patients, based on
their individual biology.
Cancer research focuses on the following issues:
 Agents (e.g. viruses) and events (e.g. mutations) that cause or facilitate
genetic changes in cells destined to become cancer.
 The precise nature of the genetic damage and the genes that are affected
by it.
 The consequences of those genetic changes on the biology of the cell, both
in generating the defining properties of a cancer cell and in facilitating
additional genetic events that lead to further progression of the cancer.
  The improved understanding of molecular biology and cellular biology due to
cancer research has led to new treatments for cancer since US
President Richard Nixon declared the "War on Cancer" in 1971. Since then,
the country has spent over $200 billion on cancer research, including
resources from public and private sectors.[220] The cancer death rate
(adjusting for size and age of the population) declined by five percent
between 1950 and 2005.
 Virotherapy, which uses convert viruses, is being studied.

PREGNANCY-
Cancer affects approximately 1 in 1,000 pregnant women. The most common
cancers found during pregnancy are the same as the most common cancers found
in non-pregnant women during childbearing ages: breast cancer, cervical cancer,
leukemia, lymphoma, melanoma, ovarian cancer and colorectal cancer. Some
imaging procedures, such as MRIs (magnetic resonance imaging), CT scans,
ultrasounds and mammograms with fetal shielding are considered safe during
pregnancy; some others, such as PET scans, are not
Treatment is generally the same as for non-pregnant women. However, radiation
and radioactive drugs are normally avoided during pregnancy, especially if the
fetal dose might exceed 100 cGy. In some cases, some or all treatments are
postponed until after birth if the cancer is diagnosed late in the pregnancy. Early
deliveries are often used to advance the start of treatment. Surgery is generally
safe, but pelvic surgeries during the first trimester may cause miscarriage. Some
treatments, especially certain chemotherapy drugs given during the first
trimester, increase the risk of birth defects and pregnancy loss (spontaneous
abortions and still births).In a few instances, such as advanced uterine cancer,
the pregnancy cannot be continued and in others, the patient may end the
pregnancy so that she can begin aggressive chemotherapy. Radiation to the
breast reduces the ability of that breast to produce milk and increases the risk
of mastitis. Also, when chemotherapy is given after birth, many of the drugs
appear in breast milk, which could harm the baby.
OTHER ANIMALS-

Veterinary oncology, concentrating mainly on cats and dogs, is a growing specialty

in wealthy countries and the major forms of human treatment such as surgery
and radiotherapy may be offered. The most common types of cancer differ, but
the cancer burden seems at least as high in pets as in humans. Animals, typically
rodents, are often used in cancer research and studies of natural cancers in
larger animals may benefit research into human cancer. In non-humans, a few
types of transmissible cancer have been described, wherein the cancer spreads
between animals by transmission of the tumor cells themselves. This phenomenon
is seen in dogs with Sticker's sarcoma (also known as canine transmissible
venereal tumor), and in Tasmanian devils with devil facial tumour disease (DFTD).
END OF THE
PROJECT

THANK YOU!!!