Cancer

Recently, cancer incidence in the world has risen. It is currently one of the top ten causes of death in middle-income countries around the world (World Health Organization, 2008). In Singapore, cancer surpasses cardiovascular disease and is the largest death in the past three years (Ministry of Health, 2007). Breast cancer is ranked top of women in Singapore (Health Promotion Council, 2007). Every year thousands of women are diagnosed with breast cancer and about 270 people die each year (Jara - Lazaro et al., 2010).

First of all, what does "cancer" mean? Cancer is not sick. There are various types of cancer, all of which are different. For example, there are common cancers such as breast cancer, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, skin cancer, pancreatic cancer, liver cancer and the like. There are various kinds of leukemia and blood cancer such as lymphoma. They are different, but there are also some common features. I would like to discuss these common functions. It is like talking about professional sports. You can say that football, football, hockey, fencing, and baseball are all different, but in general they all can be thought of together. Despite all the differences, all of this involves some kind of competition and physical skills. Likewise, cancer has many things in common. One of the most cited articles in oncology (cancer research) is the classical Weinberg paper detailing the eight general features. I will explain in detail later.

In 2000, cancer biologists Robert Weinberg and Douglas Hanahan announced an article titled "The Mark of Cancer". Although they are aware that cancer occurs through a series of mutations occurring in any of a number of genes. Nonetheless, they point to six fundamental changes in cellular physiology of malignant features. According to the American Cancer Society, about 11.4 million Americans had cancer history in 2010. In the United States, the death of one in four people is due to cancer. The mortality rate of males in 2010 was 229.9 people per 100,000 people and the mortality rate of women was 157.8 persons per 100,000 people. The incidence of males is 556.5 persons per 100,000 people, and the incidence of females is 414.8 people per 100,000 people. In the United States, lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer deaths by men and women. (Source: American Cancer Society)