CANCER

(Latin: Crab), in astronomy, zodiacal constellation lying between Leo and Gemini at about 8 hours 25 minutes right ascension (the coordinate of the celestial sphere analogous to longitude on the Earth) and 20 north declination (angular distance north of the celestial equator). It contains the well-known star cluster called Praesepe or the Beehive. In astrology, Cancer is the fourth sign of the zodiac, considered as governing the period c. June 22c. July 22. Its representation as a crab (or lobster or crayfish) is related to the crab in Greek mythology that pinched Heracles while he was fighting the Lernaean hydra. Crushed by Heracles, the crab was rewarded by Heracles' enemy, Hera, by being placed in the heavens. any of a group of more than 100 related diseases characterized by the uncontrolled multiplication of abnormal cells in the body. If this multiplication of cells occurs within a vital organ or tissue, normal function will be impaired or halted, with possible fatal results. A brief discussion of cancer follows. For full discussion, see Cancer. Cancer is most commonly studied in association with human beings. Cells and tissues are said to be cancerous when, for reasons not clearly understood, they grow more rapidly than normal, assume abnormal shapes and sizes, and cease functioning in a normal manner. The ultimate involvement of a vital organ by cancer, either primary or metastatic, may lead to the death of the patient. Cancer, in contrast to benign neoplasms (tumours), tends to spread, and the extent of its spread is usually related to an individual's chances of surviving the disease. Cancers are generally said to be in one of three stages of growth: early, or localized, when a tumour is still confined to the tissue of origin, or primary site (frequently curable); direct extension, where cancer cells from the tumour have invaded adjacent tissue or have spread only to regional lymph nodes (sometimes curable); or metastasis, in which cancer cells have migrated to distant parts of the body from the primary site, via the blood or lymph systems, and have established secondary sites of infection (often incurable). Cancer is said to be malignant because of its tendency to cause death if not treated. Benign tumours usually do not cause death, although they may if they interfere with a normal body function by virtue of their location or size. In general, cancer cells divide at a higher rate than do normal cells, but the distinction between the growth of cancerous and normal tissues is not so much the rapidity of cell division in the former as it is the partial or complete loss of growth restraint in cancer cells and their failure to differentiate into a useful, limited tissue of the type that characterizes the functional equilibrium of growth of normal tissue. Cancer may not be as autonomous as once believed. The lesions probably are influenced by the host's susceptibility and immunity. Certain cancers of the breast and prostate, for example, are considered dependent on specific hormones for their existence; other cancers are dependent on the presence of specific viruses. Additional reading Books for the general reader include Thomas H. Maugh II and Jean L. Marx, Seeds of Destruction: The Science Report on Cancer Research (1975); Michael B. Shimken, Science and Cancer, 3rd revision (1980), a review; Charles E. Kupchella, Dimensions of Cancer (1987); T. Kakunaga et al. (eds.), Cell Differentiation, Genes, and Cancer (1988), a good source of information about oncogenes, tumour promotion, and carcinogenesis; L. Tomatis (ed.), Cancer: Causes, Occurrence, and Control (1990), a useful reference work; L.M. Franks and N.M. Teich (eds.), Introduction to the Cellular and Molecular Biology of Cancer, 2nd ed. (1991), a text appropriate for the general scientist; and Robert M. McAllister, Sylvia Teich Horowitz, and Raymond V. Gilden, Cancer (1993), a nontechnical work divided into sections on the patient, cancer research, and the most common cancers. United States, Congress, Office Of Technology Assessment, Cancer Risk: Assessing and Reducing the Dangers in Our Society (1982), reports on the findings of an advisory panel. Cancer Information Clearinghouse, Coping with Cancer: An Annotated Bibliography of Public, Patient, and Professional Information and Education Materials (1980), provides wide coverage. Two all-inclusive, highly technical studies are Vincent T. DeVita, Jr., Samuel Hellman, and Steven A. Rosenberg (eds.), Cancer: Principles and Practice of Oncology, 4th ed., 2 vol. (1993), which explains all facets of cancer; and James F. Holland et al. (eds.), Cancer Medicine, 3rd ed., 2 vol. (1993), which first discusses the basics of cancer and then highlights specific types. The causes and effects of cancer are examined in G. Giraldo and E. Beth (eds.), The Role of Viruses in Human Cancer, 2 vol. (198084); Harri Vainio, Marja Sorsa, and K. Hemminki (eds.), Occupational Cancer and Carcinogenesis (1981); Richard Doll and Richard Peto, The Causes of Cancer (1981), an epidemiological approach toward the identification of major risk factors involved in human cancer; Marvin A. Rich and Philip Furmanski (eds.), Biological Carcinogenesis (1982), a general consideration of viral and chemical carcinogenesis; John Higginson, Calum S. Muir, and Nubia Muoz, Human Cancer: Epidemiology and Environmental Causes (1992), a thorough review of cancers of various regions of the human body, including discussions of descriptive and analytical epidemiology, causative factors, and legal and ethical considerations of human cancer; W.K. Cavenee, B. Ponder, and E. Solomon (eds.), Genetics and Cancer, 2 vol. (1990), a major reference on contemporary topics in the genetics and molecular biology of cancer, and a supplemental volume, Genetics and Cancer: A Second Look (1995); and Robert A. Weinberg, Racing to the Beginning of the Road: The Search for the Origin of Cancer (1996). The topics of controlling and treating cancer can be found in Martin D. Abeloff (ed.), Complications of Cancer (1979); Irving I. Kessler (ed.), Cancer Control: Contemporary Views on Screening, Diagnosis, and Therapy (1980); Guy R. Newell and Neil M. Ellison (eds.), Nutrition and Cancer: Etiology and Treatment (1981); Morris S. Zedeck and Martin Lipkin (eds.), Inhibition of Tumor Induction and Development (1981), a consideration of various chemical substances that inhibit the initiation and development of cancer; Leonard Weiss, Principles of Metastasis (1985), a comprehensive textbook for biomedical researchers, clinicians, and students; Lee Wattenberg et al. (eds.), Cancer Chemoprevention (1992), a nutritional biochemistry approach to the study of cancer control; and A.J. Levine (ed.), Tumor Suppressor Genes, the Cell Cycle, and Cancer (1992), a comprehensive overview for advanced readers in other biomedical fields. Marilee Ivers Donovan (ed.), Cancer Care: A Guide for Patient Education (1981), is written by a nurse to assist nurses. Current research is reported in the following journals: Journal of the National Cancer Institute (semimonthly); Cancer Research (monthly); Cancer (semimonthly), primarily reporting clinical research; British Journal of Cancer (monthly); Carcinogenesis (monthly), a research journal; European Journal of Cancer & Clinical Oncology (monthly), with articles in French and English; and International Journal of Cancer (monthly), published primarily in English with summaries in French. Carl G. Baker Dante G. Scarpelli The Editors of the Encyclopdia Britannica