A group of diseases caused by the abnormal and uncontrolled division of cells to form tumours that invade and destroy the tissues in which they arise. Although only a few cancers are inherited, the importance of genetic factors in the development of many others is being increasingly recognized, with the identification of specific genes associated with certain cancers. It seems likely that most cancers arise when an inherited susceptibility to the disease is triggered by carcinogenic, dietary, or other environmental factors. Leukaemia , affecting the bone marrow and other blood-forming tissues, and lymphoma , cancer of the lymph nodes, are forms of sarcoma.
Treatment of cancer includes cytotoxic drugs , radiotherapy, and surgery.
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