In most Western countries, cancer is the second most important cause of death after heart disease and accounts for 20-25 per cent of all deaths. In the United Kingdom in 2006, more than 154,000 people died of malignant disease. There is wide international variation in the most frequently encountered types of cancer, reflecting the importance of environmental factors in the development of the disease. In the UK as well as the US, carcinoma of the BRONCHUS is the most common. Since it is usually inoperable at the time of diagnosis, it is even more strikingly the leading cause of cancer deaths. In women, breast cancer is the most common malignant disease, accounting for a quarter of all cancers. Other common sites are as follows: males - colon and rectum, prostate and bladder; females - colon and rectum, uterus, ovary and pancreas.

In 2006, of the more than 154,000 people in the UK who died of cancer, over 34,000 had the disease in their respiratory system, nearly 12,400 in the breast, over 7,200 in the stomach and more than 1,650 in the uterus or cervix, while over 4,000 people had leukaemia. The incidence of cancer varies with age; the older a person is, the more likely it is that he or she will develop the disease. The over-85s have an incidence about nine times greater than those in the 25-44 age group. There are also differences in incidence between sexes: for example, more men than women develop lung cancer, though the incidence in women is rising as the effects of smoking became apparent. The death rate from cancer is falling in people under 75 in the UK, a trend largely determined by the cancers which cause the most deaths: lung, breast, colorectal, stomach and prostate.

In most cases the causes of cancer remain unknown, though a family history of cancer may be relevant. Rapid advances have, however, been made in the past two decades in understanding the differences between cancer cells and normal cells at the genetic level. It is now widely accepted that cancer results from acquired changes in the genetic make-up of a particular cell or group of cells, which ultimately lead to a failure of the normal mechanisms regulating their growth. It appears that in most cases a cascade of changes is required for cells to behave in a truly malignant fashion; the critical changes affect specific key GENES, known as oncogenes, which are involved in growth regulation. (See APOPTOSIS.)

Since small genetic errors occur within cells at all times - most but not all of which are repaired - it follows that some cancers may develop as a result of an accumulation of random changes which cannot be attributed to environmental or other causes. The environmental factors known to cause cancer, such as radiation and chemicals (including tar from tobacco, asbestos, etc.), do so by increasing the overall rate of acquired genetic damage. Certain viral infections can induce specific cancers (e.g. HEPATITIS B virus and HEPATOMA, EPSTEIN BARR virus and LYMPHOMA) probably by inducing alterations in specific genes. HORMONES may also be a factor in the development of certain cancers such as those of the prostate and breast. Where there is a particular family tendency to certain types of cancer, it now appears that one or more of the critical genetic abnormalities required for development of that cancer may have been inherited. Where environmental factors such as tobacco smoking or asbestos are known to cause cancer, then health education and preventive measures can reduce the incidence of the relevant cancer. Cancer can also affect the white cells in the blood and is called LEUKAEMIA.

Many cancers can be cured by surgical removal if they are detected early, before there has been spread of significant numbers of tumour cells to distant sites. Important within this group are breast, colon and skin cancer (melanoma). The probability of early detection of certain cancers can be increased by screening programmes in which (ideally) all people at particular risk of development of such cancers are examined at regular intervals. Routine screening for CERVICAL CANCER and breast cancer (see BREASTS, DISEASES OF) is currently practised in the UK. The effectiveness of screening people for cancer is, however, controversial. Apart from questions surrounding the reliability of screening tests, they undoubtedly create anxieties among the subjects being screened.

If complete surgical removal of the tumour is not possible because of its location or because spread from the primary site has occurred, an operation may nevertheless be helpful to relieve symptoms (e.g. pain), and to reduce the bulk of the tumour remaining to be dealt with by alternative means such as RADIOTHERAPY or CHEMOTHERAPY. In some cases radiotherapy is preferable to surgery and may be curative, for example, in the management of tumours of the larynx or of the uterine cervix. Certain tumours are highly sensitive to chemotherapy and may be cured by the use of chemotherapeutic drugs alone. These include testicular tumours, LEUKAEMIAS, LYMPHOMAS and a variety of tumours occurring in childhood. These tend to be rapidly growing tumours composed of primitive cells which are much more vulnerable to the toxic effects of the chemotherapeutic agents than the normal cells within the body.

Unfortunately neither radiotherapy nor currently available chemotherapy provides a curative option for the majority of common cancers if surgical excision is not feasible. New effective treatments in these conditions are urgently needed. Nevertheless the rapidly increasing knowledge of cancer biology will almost certainly lead to novel therapeutic approaches -probably including genetic techniques utilising the recent discoveries of oncogenes (genes that can cause cancer). Where cure is not possible, there often remains much that can be done for the cancer-sufferer in terms of control of unpleasant symptoms such as pain. Many of the most important recent advances in cancer care relate to such ‘palliative’ treatment, and include the establishment in the UK of palliative care hospices.

Families and patients can obtain valuable help and advice from Marie Curie Cancer Care, Cancer Relief Macmillan Fund, or the British Association of Cancer United Patients (see www.cancerbackup.org.uk and www.mariecurie.org.uk).