Cancer

Introduction

Cancer is a worldwide problem. Over half a million Americans were expected to die of cancer in 2008. Over 12 million new cases worldwide were diagnosed in 2007. Sixty percent of cancer cases occur in developing countries. Cancer is on the rise in low- and middle-income countries—cancer is the number one cause of death in China. Nanotechnology plays an increasing role in battling cancer worldwide and in achieving the U.S. National Cancer Institute's goal of eliminating suffering and death from cancer by 2015.

Discussion

Cancer is a series of diseases characterized by abnormal cell growth and spread of cancerous cells through the body. A cancer is a disease characterized by the presence of one or more tumor malignant formed from the processing of mutations and/or instability gene (abnormal cytogenetics). Tumor cell transformation results due to several factors. Some factors include loss of cell cycle control, insensitivity to apoptosis and abnormalities in the repair of DNA. Cancers are classified by the type of cell in which they occurred by the transformation (lymphomas, carcinomas, sarcomas). Some primary tumors may progress to a broader invasion of the body when cells escape from the primary tumor, this is called metastasis. (Cochran, et. al p. 596)

Difficulties in Curing of Cancer

Geographers have been involved in the study of cancer because there are obvious geographical differences between nations, within states and provinces in the same nation, among adjacent local governments, and even within neighborhoods. This entry highlights several of the most important contributions made by epidemiologists and geographers.

At the international and intranational scales, researchers have gained important insights about carcinogens by comparing the cancer incidence and mortality rates of immigrants. For example, a Polish epidemiologist compared cancer rates of Polish citizens who lived in Poland, Polish migrants to the United States, and the progeny of Polish migrants who lived in the United States. Residents of Poland had notably higher stomach cancer rates than the progeny of Polish migrants to the United States. Migrant studies are not confined to international comparisons. For instance, within the United States, the cancer death rates of Southern-born African Americans were compared with those of their counterparts born elsewhere in the United States. Southern-born African Americans had higher digestive, urinary, and respiratory cancer rates, irrespective of whether they lived in the South or had migrated to other locations in the United States.

Migrant studies such as these provide clues to field- and laboratory-based cancer researchers, allowing them to investigate the reasons for the different rates. For example, investigators studied the food preferences and eating habits of African Americans residing in Harlem in New York City who were born in the Northeast, in the South, and in the Caribbean and found marked differences in their food preparation and consumption patterns. The United States has experienced a substantial increase in immigration in places such as California, New York, and New Jersey, and these places are rich environments for cancer-oriented migrant studies. These so-called migrant studies are inherently geographical and appeal to those who are interested in the study of risk factors for cancer, including food preferences, cooking and food preservation practices, tobacco and alcohol use, workplace exposures, and many others.

A second important area of cancer research that geographers have contributed to ...