About cancer and cancer treatments

What is cancer?

• Cancer is a condition caused by the abnormal growth of cells, and is a leading cause of death.
• Cancerous cells contain mutations which allow them to escape the body’s normal checks and grow prolifically.
• Cancer biomarkers are features of the abnormalities in cancer cells. They provide evidence leading to diagnosis, treatment options and prognosis.

See What is cancer?

The cell cycle

• Cells divide and replicate themselves in a cycle that involves four phases: mitosis, gap 1, synthesis and gap 2.
• Checkpoints throughout the cell cycle monitor for abnormal cells and signal them to repair or destroy themselves.
• Apoptosis or programmed cell death is an important process related to the cell cycle which removes unneeded cells from the body.

See The cell cycle: How the body produces cells.

How do we test for cancer?

• Tests may be performed to diagnose cancer in a patient with symptoms, or to inform treatment in a person diagnosed with cancer.
• Tests may include medical imaging, biopsies, and laboratory tests of blood and urine.
• Test results can be used to stage cancer, that is, classify its severity according to a recognised system.

See How do we test for cancer?

Cancer stages

• Cancer staging provides information about the extent of growth and spread of cancer tumours.
• The stages of cancer can be split into five stages (numeric or descriptive) or in terms of tumour, lymph nodes and metastasis (TNM staging).
• Tests used to diagnose and stage cancer may also identify biomarkers which can be used to inform treatment methods.

See Identifying the stage of cancer growth.

How is cancer treated?

• Cancer treatments can be classified as standard or non-standard depending on whether they are recommended to treat a particular type of cancer.
• Standard of care, also known as best practice, is the treatment that experts believe will be most effective against a particular type of cancer.
• Types of anticancer treatments include chemotherapy, targeted therapy, radiotherapy, surgery and biological therapy.

See How is cancer treated?