TZPSS Articles | Health | Cancers and Types

CANCER

Cancer develops when cells in a part of the body begin to grow out of
control. Normal body cells grow, divide, and die in an orderly fashion. But,
cancer cells continue to grow, divide and continue to form new abnormal
cells. Cancer cells develop because of damage to DNA. The damage is
usually caused by exposing the cells to something in the environment, like
smoking, alcohol, and radiation.

There are different kinds of cancers. Different cancers have different growth
rates and respond to different treatments. Cancer usually forms as a
tumor. But, leukemia and some other cancers do not form tumors.
Metastasis occurs with cancer cells travel to other parts of the body where
they begin to grow and replace normal tissue. When a tumor does not
spread to other parts of the body, then this tumor is not cancerous.

List of Common Cancers:
Bladder Cancer
Melanoma Breast Cancer
Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Colon
Rectal Cancer Pancreatic Cancer
Endometrial Cancer
Prostate Cancer
Kidney Cancer
Skin Leukemia
Thyroid Lung Cancer

The list of common cancers includes cancers that are diagnosed with the
greatest frequency in the United States. Cancer incidence statistics from
the American Cancer Society [1] and other resources were used to create
the list. To qualify as a common cancer, the estimated annual incidence for
2005 had to be 25,000 cases or more.

The most common type of cancer on the list is non-melanoma skin cancer,
with more than 1,000,000 new cases expected in the United States in
2005. Non-melanoma skin cancers represent about half of all cancers
diagnosed in this country.

The cancers on the list with the lowest incidence are renal cell cancer of the
kidney and thyroid cancer. The estimated number of new cases of kidney
cancer (renal cell and renal pelvis) for 2005 is 36,160. Approximately 70%
of all kidney cancers are renal cell cancers, [2] suggesting that slightly more
than 25,000 new cases of renal cell cancer will be diagnosed in 2005. The
estimated number of new cases of thyroid cancer for 2005 is 25,690.

Because colon and rectal cancers are often referred to as "colorectal
cancers," these two cancer types were combined for the list. For 2005, the
estimated number of new cases of colon cancer is 104,950, and the
estimated number of new cases of rectal cancer is 40,340. These numbers
are slightly smaller than those estimated for 2004.

Leukemia as a cancer type includes acute lymphoblastic (or lymphoid)
leukemia, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, chronic
myelogenous (or myeloid) leukemia, and other forms of leukemia. It is
estimated that more than 34,000 new cases of leukemia will be diagnosed
in the United States in 2005, with acute myeloid leukemia being the most
common type (approximately 12,000 new cases). The total number of new
leukemia cases estimated for 2005 is slightly larger than the number
estimated for 2004.

Source Common Cancer Types National Cancer Institute Online Publication December 20, 2005
References 1. American Cancer Society: Cancer Facts and Figures 2005. Atlanta, Ga: American
Cancer Society, 2005. Last accessed January 24, 2005. 2. McLaughlin JK, Lipworth L:
Epidemiologic aspects of renal cell cancer. Seminars in Oncology 21(2):115-123, 2000.

This article can not be replaced for medical advice. If you have question, you should consult with your doctor immediately. ALL
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