The liver is the second largest organ (the first being the skin) in the human body. One blood test used to help diagnose liver cancer is the tumor marker alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), but it is not specific to liver cancer. The liver is the second largest organ (the first being the skin) in the human body...
Certain blood tests can help guide a cancer diagnosis If your physician suspects cancer during physical examination or while taking a medical history, they might order certain cancer blood tests to guide the diagnosis. These blood tests are called tumor markers. Tumor markers could be specifically raised in certain cancers, and may give some idea...
Facts you should know about Castleman disease Readers Comments 1 Share Your Story Castleman disease is a rare condition affecting lymph nodes, and actually is a group of related conditions. Castleman disease is not cancer, although some of the methods used to treat Castleman disease also are used to treat cancers. There are two main...
Can prostate cancer be completely cured? Prostate cancer is curable when diagnosed early. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men. The average age of diagnosis is 66 year olds, although it may affect younger men as well. By age 80, more than half of all men have some cancerous growth in their...
Women who have had breast cancer and a mastectomy have a number of options in breast reconstruction. If the woman does not want implants, she may choose to have her breast reconstructed using her own body tissue through what is commonly known as a flap procedure. This operation involves moving healthy tissue from one area...
Lymphomas are considered to be a treatable form of cancer if detected early. Lymphomas are considered to be a treatable form of cancer if detected early. The overall 5-year survival rate for non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is 62%, whereas the 5-year survival rate for Hodgkin lymphoma is 92% if detected early. What is lymphoma? Lymphoma is...
Burkitt lymphoma facts Burkitt lymphomas are aggressive B-cell cancers that require urgent diagnosis and therapy. The cause of these lymphomas is not known, but does involve a change in chromosome 8 and may be related to infections such as malaria and/or Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infections. There are many signs and symptoms associated with Burkitt's lymphoma;...
A bone marrow transplant may be used to treat patients with certain forms of cancer, such as leukemia, lymphoma, or breast cancer. The goal of such a transplant in women with breast cancer is to allow them to undergo high-dose chemotherapy — which aggressively attacks the cancer cells, but also damages normal blood cells –...
No, a computed tomography (CT) scan cannot tell with certainty whether a lung nodule is cancerous. It can only indicate an abnormal spot in the lung that is opaque. This opaque spot may or may not be cancer. No, a computed tomography (CT) scan cannot tell with certainty whether a lung nodule is cancerous. It...
Time for development differs from tumor to tumor. The available evidence suggests that breast cancer may begin to grow around 10 years before it is detected. However, the time for development differs from tumor to tumor. What are the initial signs and symptoms of breast cancer? Breast cancer is a disease in which cells in...