Probably knows someone who suffers from cancer. This disease occurs when cells are divided uncontrollably and can leave a sick person, sometimes very seriously.
Cancer can occur anywhere on the body, since each tissue and organ is composed of thousands of millions or even cell billion. But there are some parts of the body where cancer does not happen as often as the heart. Studies show that Only 3 out of 10,000 people develop heart cancer. By comparison, it is expected that 1 in 20 women develop breast cancer. Why?
It turns out that heart cells have unique characteristics that make them super resistant to cancer.
How does cancer start
Cells produce more cells to grow, replace older or worn cells or to repair damaged fabrics. This process is called cell division. Each type of body cell is divided into different speeds based on multiple factors, including their function and age.
For example, the cells of a growing human embryo are divided extremely rapidly, suffering four divisions in three days. The cells that make up the skin, nails and hair renew regularly throughout life. Bone cells are divided at a speed that will give you a entirely new skeleton approximately every 10 years.
If and with what frequency a cell is divided is strictly regulated by a series of molecular control points. During cell division, genes within the DNA are duplicate and evenly distributed by two daughter cells. Damage in these genes caused by exposure to harmful chemicals, ultraviolet light or radiation can result in mutations that cause disease. Mutations may also occur randomly. When there are mutations in genes that regulate cell division, cancer can develop.
What protects heart cells from cancer?
Although the heart is the first organ to form and begin to function during initial development, adult heart cells are divided very few times after birth, and division decreases dramatically after the age of 20. In fact, less than 50% of cardiac cells They are replaced throughout the average human life. This means that half of the cardiac cells with which they are born will help pump blood throughout their life.
This low rate of cell division in the adult heart probably serves as its main defense against cancer. The less a cell is divided, the lower the opportunities for errors during DNA replication.
The heart is also less exposed directly to cancer -causing factors, such as UV light on the skin or inhaled substances in the lung due to its location protected in the chest.
Unfortunately, the low rate of cell division of the heart There are some disadvantagessuch as the reduced ability to repair and replace damaged cells with disease, injury or aging.
Why is the heart cancer still happens
Even with the resistance of the heart to cancer, tumors can still be formed.
When cancer is found in the heart, it is usually the Result of cell migration carcinogens from another part of the body to the heart. This process is called metastasis. Certain types of skin or breast cancer are more likely to spread to the heart, although this is still rare.
When they occur, heart tumors can be very serious and more aggressive than other types of cancer. A study that analyzed more than 100,000 cases of heart cancer in the United States found that patients undergoing surgery and chemotherapy to treat heart cancer survived longer than those who did not.
The successful treatment of cancer covers several areas of medicine. These include palliative care, which focuses on pain relief and symptom treatment, and integrative medicine, which considers the mind-bodied-spyted connection.
Cardiac cancer contains clues for cardiac regeneration
Understanding how heart cells are divided and what causes this change offers clues about the disease and shape ideas for new treatments.
For example, research on how heart cells divide help scientists to understand better because the heart Does not recover well after a heart attack. Researchers have found that although hearts with heart failure have more division cells than healthy hearts, they need help to recover completely.
New technologies, such as the ability to reprogram blood cells in heart cells, have allowed researchers to develop new models of heart disease to study and one day, one day Get cardiac regeneration. This opens doors to new treatments for heart disease, including cancer.
Understanding why cancer doesn’t happen is so important for the development of new and better treatments as knowing why it happens. The answers to both questions are, in fact, in the heart.
