Pathology—General Principles

Tumor malignancy is the second leading cause of death in the United States today with increasing incidence. Furthermore, the general public usually associates the term with disease leading to death. Not every diagnosis of a tumor, however, translates to a shortened lifespan in actuality. The following article will define the word “tumor”, will shed light on the mechanism of tumor development and detail means of classification with respect to treatment plans.

Malignant neoplasms are among the leading causes of death in recent US statistic: death from malignancy is currently only second to cardiovascular diseases. As an aspiring medical professional, you will find cancer in nearly every clinical field. As widely varied as tumors can be, characterization through staging and grading is virtually universally applicable. Both indicators help to make statements regarding prognosis and treatment. Here you will learn the appropriate terminology, and how to classify and differentiate between them.

Cancer is one of the most widespread and most feared diseases in the world. Its onset is often insidious and initially proceeds without any noticeable symptoms. For treatment to be successful, an early detection is necessary. However, every year about 225,000 people worldwide lose this race against the clock. Tumor markers in the blood—are they an alarm signal of the organism? Are regular blood tests the best prophylaxis against cancer? Read more about this topic in the following article.

When it comes to joint pain, it is mostly the cartilage that is inflamed and chronic headaches often result from neural inflammatory processes. Overcoming this pain will often seem impossible. What is little known: Superhormones, which can regulate the hormonal balance of the body, exist – these are eicosanoids, derivatives of arachidonic acid, an omega-6 fatty acid. What effect do the arachidonic acid derivatives have on the body? How can inflammatory responses be influenced and rheumatic diseases completely cured? You will learn about this and much more, in this article!

The complement system is a part of the innate immunity that functions to identify foreign materials (pathogens, apoptotic cells and cellular debris), and induce immune response to eliminate these materials.

A wound is the loss of the normal integrity of the skin and underlying soft tissue leading to a devitalized structure. Wounds can result from a skin injury, such as in the case of surgery, puncture wounds and abrasions or can be secondary to skin necrosis as a result of ischemia or pressure. People with diabetes mellitus, peripheral ischemia, venous stasis, infection and bad nutritional status are vulnerable to wounds due easy skin disruption and difficult healing processes that may lead to chronic ulcers. The process of wound healing occurs to protect the underlying structures from infection or blood loss. Wound healing occurs through several physiological stages in healthy individuals that include hemostasis, inflammation, epithelialization (granulation) or proliferation and finally fibroplasia or remodeling.

Inflammation is the physiologic body reaction in response to injury. The body tries to protect itself from harmful pathogens and physical or chemical irritants. Immune cells, fibroblasts, intra- and extra-cellular mediators are all involved in protecting the body, clearing the inflammatory products and help with the healing damaged parts. Sometimes the whole pathologic disorder is secondary to the body's reaction and inflammation as in cases of hypersensitivity, granulomas and autoimmune diseases. The following article describes various forms of inflammation as well as the body's reaction to them.

Bronchogenic carcinomas include small cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, large-cell carcinoma and undifferentiated carcinoma. Bronchogenic carcinoma is clearly associated with tobacco smoking. Once the diagnosis of bronchogenic carcinoma is confirmed by a biopsy study, disease staging with CT or FDG-PET is indicated because treatment is stage-based. While stage I and II disease benefit from surgical lobectomy, chemotherapy is essential for patients with stage III and IV.

Malignant neoplasms have the ability to invade adjacent structures, spread through the lymphatic system or metastasize to distant organs by the blood stream. In order for tumorous cells to be able to metastasize, they should first become motile and be able to migrate. This is achieved by altered cell-to-cell and cell-to-matrix adhesion properties in addition to an epithelial-to-mesenchymal transformation process. In addition to this, angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis play an important role in metastatic disease by providing access for the tumor cells to the blood stream and lymphatic system respectively.

Teratomas are germ-cell tumors and can be mature “benign” or immature “malignant”. They usually arise in the sacrococcygeal region, ovaries, testes or mediastinum. Sacrococcygeal teratomas can be diagnosed antenatally, while teratomas in other locations are usually diagnosed postnatally. The treatment of teratomas is surgical. Complete excision of benign teratomas can virtually result in a cure with minimal risk of recurrence in the majority of the cases.

The retinoblastoma is a tumor of infancy and childhood and accounts for about 2 % of all malignant neoplasia in children. Experts recommend a simple screening test to diagnose retinoblastomas early: The frontal photography of an infant using flash reveals the most common symptom of retinoblastoma – leukocoria – and can be essential for an early diagnosis in order to facilitate adequate therapy.