Dec 22, 2005

Why Some Colon Cancer Tumors Grow Faster?

It's a common experience to see colon cancer tumors in some person staying without much growth for years, while in some others it may grow very fast and spread to different organs of the body in an explosive fashion. Now researchers are offering explanation for this difference in behavior of the colon cancer tumors.

In some people, the body's immune system mounts an effective defense against the tumor and against the tumor's attempt to spread to other sites in the body. In these patients the immune system creates, what is called "effector memory T cells" to fight the growing cancer cells.

"Effector memory T cells have the capacity to recognize and kill tumor cells. These cells, located in the tumor, have a long-lasting anti-tumor activity, persist within the body and destroy distant tumor cells," said one of the study's authors, Jerome Galon, a research scientist at the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research in Paris.


These research findings appear in the latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Galon and his colleagues analyzed the immune response to colorectal cancer tumor samples from 959 people. On average, those who were able to mount an effective immune response lived 35 months, compared to 16.3 months for those with no effective immune response.

"Effector memory T cells have a major impact on colorectal cancer evolution. These cells prevent tumor dissemination within the body and distant metastasis, and improve survival of the patients," said Galon. Galon said these T cells kill tumor cells that attempt to migrate from the original tumor.

Sue      

Do You Read All Of Our Cancer Blogs?

Do you read all of the blogs published by medicineworld.org? Many of our bloggers are busy keeping you updated on the various health related topics. We publish the following blogs at this time.

Cancer blog: I manage the cancer blog with lots of help and support form other bloggers. Through this cancer blog my friends and I try to bring stories of hope for patients with cancer. The cancer blog often republishes important blog posts from other cancer related blogs at Medicineworld.org. If you are searching for a blog that covers wide variety of cancer topics, this may be the one for you.

Breast cancer blog: Breast cancer blog is run by Emily and other bloggers and they bring you the latest stories, news and events that are related to breast cancer. Increasing awareness about breast cancer among women and in the general population is the main goal of this breast cancer blog.

Lung cancer blog: Lung cancer blog is managed by Scott with the help of other bloggers. Through this blog Scott and his friends constantly remind the readers about the dangers of smoking. It's a never-ending struggle against this miserable disease with which a social stigma of smoking is associated.

Colon cancer blog: Colon cancer blog is run by Sue and other bloggers. Sue brings a personal touch to the colon cancer blog since her mother died of colon cancer few years ago. She writes about stories, research news and advances in treatment related to colon cancer.

Prostate cancer blog: Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among American men. American Cancer Society estimates that over 230,000 new cases of prostate cancer occur in the United state every year. This important blog about prostate cancer is run by Mark and other bloggers. This blog brings news, stories, and other personal observations related to prostate cancer.

Medicineworld.org publishes a diabetes watch blog and this blog is run by JoAnn other bloggers. This diabetes watch blog brings you the latest in the field of diabetes. This includes personal stories, advances in diagnosis and treatment, and other observations about diabetes. Improving awareness about diabetes is an important mission of this group.

Janet      

Colorectal cancer
Colorectal cancer is a malignant tumor that arises from the inner wall of the large intestine or rectum. Colorectal cancer is the third commonest cancer diagnosed in the United States. Each year over 100,000 people are diagnosed with colorectal cancer in the United States. Most, of these cancers develop from growths in the colon called polyps. Removal of these polyps can prevent colon cancer.