Research Paper on Effective Ways to Prevent Cancer

Introduction

Cancer is a global problem that keeps on growing non-uniformly. Cancer involves anomalous cell growth that has the potential of spreading or invading other body parts. Notably, there are many cancer types that affect human beings. Cancer has many causative agents. The most common causes include smoking, poor dieting, excessive drinking of alcoholic drinks, exposure to certain environmental pollutants and ionizing radiation, among others. Cancer has many adverse effects on its victims and the community. It is prudent to note that according to Vineis and Wild, the people severely affected by this disease are low and middle-income individuals who are unable to afford the high cost of cancer treatment (547). Typically, there are numerous methods that can be used to effectively prevent growth and spread of cancer in human body.

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Cancer can be effectively prevented and eradicated through cancer campaigns. Howell et al. argue that this is done to sensitize the general population about healthy living and dietary that can help in preventing common types of cancer (446). Hiom explains that in England, a public campaign dubbed 'Be Clear on Cancer' has been an effective prevention of cancer techniques that aimed at creating public knowledge on important and key issues related to cancer such as its early symptoms and signs (pp.1-5). This has helped in the provision of primary care as well as timely diagnosis and prevention methods. Moffat et al. pinpoint that another campaign was the 'National Lung Cancer Campaign' which was meant to create socio-demographic equality in lung cancer awareness as well as to identify perceived barriers that make help-seeking in lung cancer prevention and treatment impossible (pp.14-21). Additionally, Hiom gives an example of Scotland in which a nationwide cancer campaign, 'Detect Cancer Earlier', was launched and had similar objectives and purpose as other cancer campaigns of enabling timely diagnosis and prevention of cancerous cells in the body(pp.1-5). It is worthy to note that through these campaigns, the scope and volume of research into timely diagnosis and prevention of cancer have intensified. A multidisciplinary approach has been adopted that combines epidemiology, behavioral science, policy research, and primary acre research which have proved pivotal in the prevention of cancer.

Good diet and avoiding certain processed foods such as canned meat are important in preventing cancer. There is existing scientific evidence that poor diet, nutrient deficiency, and toxin exposure are some of the leading causes of cancer. Ultra-modern food processing plants use chemicals that increase the risks of developing cancerous cells. In addition, some people use unhealthy cooking methods, which makes the food they cook to be a risk factor for cancer. Until food processing plants use healthy ingredients, it is essential to avoid certain food products. It is important to note that the traditional Mediterranean diet is paramount in preventing cancer. The Mediterranean diet includes variable and abundant plant foods, olive oils, abundant consumption of cereals, low red meat consumption, and reasonable wine consumption. In addition, a diet rich in vegetables and fruits helps in protecting the body against epithelial cancers while whole-grain food intake reduces the risk of acquiring colorectal cancer. According to Giacosa et al., a large study was conducted involving the Italian population and it was revealed that when 5% isocaloric of total saturated fat calories was substituted by unsaturated fat, there was a reduction of the prevalence of breast cancer by a ratio of 0.67 and colorectal cancer by 0.78 (pp.90-95). The study further revealed that the use of olive oil led to a reduction of risks associated with upper aerodigestive tract cancer.

Another way to effectively prevent cancer is through learning and understanding more about cancer. Greaves pinpoints that having a vivid understanding of the knowledge of etiology of cancers, for instance, breast cancer is a recipe for preventing and controlling the disease (pp.806-820). Cancer leads to uncontrollable cell division in the body resulting into the development of anomalous cells. The cell division has the ability to not only infiltrate but also destroy and spread to normal body tissues. The knowledge of cancer is important in developing targeted drugs for cancerous body cells. The targeted drugs function such that they inhibit estrogen receptors of the body and they include drugs such as tamoxifen, lasofoxifene, and raloxifene among others. Greaves confirms that through numerous clinical trials, these drugs have shown the great potential of reducing the risk of acquiring breast cancer. In addition, numerous promising agents are presently undergoing testing in cancer prevention preclinical and clinical trials. A research conducted by den Hollander et al. indicates that understanding etiology of cancer as well as doing more research is helpful in developing preventive cancer therapies such as triple-negative breast cancer and (HER2) human epidermal receptor 2 (250). The research further highlights that HER2-positive cancer of the breast is presently treated using anti-HER2 therapies such as lapatinib and trastuzumab to test the effectiveness of these targeted drugs in treating and preventing breast cancers.

Cancer can also be prevented by avoiding certain procedures that are risk factors for cancer. For example, radiation exposure to children increases their chances of acquiring radiation-induced cancers. An empirical research conducted by Miglioretti et al established this fact by evaluating younger children below 15 years who have been exposed to computed tomography (CT) to determine the concerns about their susceptibility to cancer risk (pp.700-707). The research established that doses of radiations were delivered to children through pelvis, spine, and chest scans at 14-15%, 6-14%, and 3-8% respectively. It was observed that children who had numerous CT scans performed on their body organs had a high prevalence of developing cancerous cells. The result of the research further revealed that younger children were susceptible to cancer risk than older children and adults. Blood cancer risk was higher in children below 5 years in which 1.9 per 10,000 cases were reported. It is worthy to note that there has been increased use of CT technique in most pediatric hospitals. This has resulted in young children being exposed to high-dose examination using radiology technology. It is therefore important to avoid as much as possible exposure of young children to CT scans or devise dose-reduction strategies that would target high dose exposure so as to drastically and dramatically reduce and prevent radiation-induced cancers.

Another way to effectively eradicate cancer is through screening. Ronco et al. conducted a research that involved 176,464 women who were aged between 20 and 64 (pp. 524-532). These women were sampled from Sweden, England, Italy, and the Netherlands and were haphazardly assigned to experimental HPV-based and control cytology-based screening. The women were keenly monitored for half a decade and 107 invasive cervical carcinomas were identified to be linked with pathology, screening, and cancer registries. The research findings were that HPV-based screening was a prudent way of averting invasive cervical cancer as it provided 60-70% greater chances of protection as compared to cytology that was used as a control experiment. Moyer also supports screening as an effective prevention of cancer (pp. 330-338). In her scholarly work, she notes that US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) did a review of tomography, sputum cytological evaluation, and chest radiography for lung cancer. The task force further gave the age limit of the people to be screened for lung cancer. Moyer reports that the task force found out that smoking is a major risk factor for lung cancer. As a preventive measure, USPSTF recommends that adults between 55 and 80 years who are current smokers or have smoked within the last one and half a decade should be subjected to annual screening using tomography. This will help in controlling lung cancer through early detection.

Physical activities are also good measures that can help avert cancer. McTiernan explains that physical activities help in controlling a person's weight, reducing insulin or sex hormones, and strengthening the body's immunity (3). Moreover, physical exercise helps in boosting the quality of life for cancer victims during treatment. The researcher links physical exercise with prevention of at least 13 types of cancer. Some of these types of cancer include liver cancer, kidney cancer, esophageal cancer, myeloid leukemia, multiple myeloma, and cancers of the neck, head, rectum, and lung. Lemanne, Barrie, and Jyothirmai recommend that in order to prevent cancer through physical activities, a person should be actively involved in 75 minutes of thorough activities per week or 150 minutes of moderate physical activities each week (pp. 580-585). This is prudent in weight maintenance, thus prevention of obesity, a major causative agent of cancer. Apart from weight maintenance, physical activities are associated with greater reduction and maintenance of insulin and estrogen levels which are essential in reducing certain types of cancer. Lemanne et al. further showed that from 73 studies conducted on the association that exists between regular exercise and cancer risk reduction, epidemiologic data indicated that physically active women had a reduction of breast cancer risk by 25% as compared to physically inactive women (pp. 580-585). The research further pinpoints a cross tie between the reduction of other types of cancers such as prostate, colon, and endometrial and regular exercise.

As earlier stated cancer involves cell division that takes place uncontrollably in the body leading to the growth of abnormal cells and which infiltrate, destroy, and spread to normal body tissues. Casey et al. explain that another effective way of preventing cancer is through modulation of the microenvironment of cancerous cells (5). These abnormal cells have numerous effects on several biological processes in the body such as cell growth, proliferation, and metabolism. Normally, cancer survives and thrives in a tumor environment which is by nature a complex network composed of endothelial cell precursors, blood vessels, stem cells, immune cells, fibroblasts, and cytokines. Tumor environment inhibits apoptosis and immune system. The tumor environment induces angiogenesis which evades immune detection, thus creating a favorable environment for metastasis of cancerous cells. It is paramount to note that host cells and tumor cells co-evolve dynamically through interactions that are both direct and indirect. Essentially, specific biological processes related to cancer growth and spread can be targeted as a therapy and prevention strategy for cancer. Casey et al. further explain that inhibitory agents of specific targets such as metabolites, hypoxia, cholesterol synthesis, fibrosis inhibition, macrophage activation, and reactive oxygen species among others can be utilized to regulate tumor microenvironment and tumorigenesis, thus preventing cancer (17). Other than the inhibitory agents, therapeutic agents such as onionin A, berberine, genisterin, naringenin, epigallocatechin, zerumbone, and so on can be used to target and destroy the tumor microenvironment, therefore helping in the prevention and management of cancer.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is evident that indeed various effective ways of preventing cancer exist that if properly utilized can result in cancer eradication and regulation. Basically, effective ways of cancer prevention include diet change, involvement in regular exercise, avoiding or minimizi...