Cancer Trends
The possible causes of current cancer trends are mainly environmental factors, age, and cell biology. To begin with, age can affect the incidence of cancer. Secondly, environmental factors can affect the incidence of cancer.
Finally, cell biology can affect the incidence of cancer. What do they have in common? Well they all have to do with cancer and how it can be caused and prevented. To start with, age can affect the incidence (number of people “getting” cancer) of cancer. A bar graph in Document A shows the age-specific incidence and mortality ( number of people dying of cancer) for all types of cancer. On the bottom of the bar graph it has ages separated into ranges.
On the side of the bar graph it shows the annual cancer incidence and mortality/ 100,000 population. Just by looking at the graph you can already see that the more older the person is the more likely they have cancer or died from cancer.Secondly “components [of the immune system] lose function; others increase function inappropriately.”(Document G) To reword that statement, it basically is saying some parts of the immune system can malfunction or increase its function in a bad way. Also “some scientists refer to immune senescence, a term that describes the progressive decline in function of the immune system with age.” (Doc.
G) A line graph in document I shows the “life expectancy at birth, by race and sex: United States, 1975-2003 final, 2004 preliminary.” In this graph it shows all the races, both sexes, and different ages. For example: In 1975, a black males life expectancy would be around the sixties, but as time grew the life expectancy grew higher. There were drops here and there but not too much to throw anyone off. When you look above you can see the life expectancy of a white male, black female, white female, and all races, both sexes.
(Document I) Aside from age, Environmental factors can affect the incidence of cancer. Document B states ” Much cancer is caused by ‘environmental factors,’ broadly defined to include food, drink, and habits such as smoking,tobacco and basking in the sun.” “Since prolonged exposure to carcinogens is the one of necessary ingredients for cancer, prevention of cancer in the elderly must begin before people become old.” (Document C) Environmental factors ties in with age because anything you do when your young [which includes smoking or tanning in the sun], can affect you when you’re older. “These results stress the importance of reducing exposure levels of styrene and other possible carcinogens in the work environment.” (Document D) Finally, cell biology can affect the incidence of cancer.
“The results of the research indicate that DNA damage does occur in workers exposed to low concentration of styrene.” (Document D) So we know that depending on your age your systems are changing in a way and that environmental factors can harm or affect you in a certain way. You can already start to see the knot that ties these three together. ” Carcinogens may also damage growth- suppression genes (tumor suppressors) such that the genes become permanently turned off.” (Document C) “When normal cells turn into cancer cells, some of the proteins on their surface change. These cells, like many body cells, constantly shed bits of protein from their surface into the circulatory system.
Often tumor antigens are among the shed proteins.” (Document E) In summary, Current cancer trends can be age- related ,cellular, and may be attributed to environmental factors. There are three different things that can affect the incidence of cancer, and it is important that we pay attention to these things because it might lead us to the cure that is yet to come.
