Carcinoma

Question: What is small cell carcinoma, and why is edema in the upper body a serious complication.? A family member has small cell carcinoma being treated with chemotherapy in the lung/thoracic area, and recently has developed edema in the arms and chest (not sure specifics of where in the chest the edema is). What is this type of cancer and what is the concern with the edema when it develops secondary to the cancer? Thank You.

Answer: oedema of the upper body is due to blockage (partial) of the superior vena cava (the main vein which drains the part of the body above the level of the heart). this is due to infiltration of the vein by the malignant tumour. its a bad prognostic factor. as for small cell carcinoma, it is a highly malignant tumour of the lungs, and spreads rapidly. it also produces certain hormones that mimic hormonal imbalance states (paraneoplastic syndrome). u can type in "small cell carcinoma" on wikiepedia and check the other details for urself.

Question: How fast does invasive ductal carcinoma begin to metastasis? Hello, my mother was just diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma, stage 1, however they have not done a CT/Mri, or tested the lymphnodes yet. From a lot of research it seems like the main concern is the spread (metastasis). Does anyone know what the time line is on this and how fast it occurs? thanks. please be honost

Answer: If she is truely stage 1, that means that it has not spread to the lymph nodes. If the stage 1 was diagnosed based on tumor size, there is a small chance it has already started spreading. The additional tests will determine this. The timeline of met formation is highly variable. I know you want an answer, but without doing the tests she is about to get, I can only tell you that based on the small size of her tumors, the chance is small that it has metasticized. And the speed at which it will metasticize is too variable to give you a meaningful answer. .

Question: What is a carcinoma and how is it taken out? A relative of mine has a carcinoma on his liver that needs to be removed. Doctors say it's gonna be hard to remove it, but so far the prognosis is good. Also, how does it differ from a regular tumor and / or regular cancer?

Answer: A carcinoma "IS" a regular type of cancer involving the liver. I have seen hundreds of them. It depends if it is a primary or a metastatic carcinoma in (not on) the liver. What is the biopsy histology ? You tell us nothing useful to diagnose this case. There is no "good" prognosis with a carcinoma involving the liver. If you really want to know what is happening, go with your relative when he sees his doctors. Then study on the internet. It takes 13 years of higher education to be a cancer specialist.

Question: How long does someone with stage 4 Renal cell carcinoma have? My grandfather, 83, has stage 4 renal cell carcinoma. The cancer has spread to his lungs (several tumors on lungs), bladder, gall bladder, and the doctor said he could feel tumors all over. I just want a realistic outlook for his life expectancy. He will be receiving immunotherapy in a few weeks but his general practice doctor seemed to think he had weeks to a few months to live. His oncologist didn't give him a time frame. I just want to know what he is looking at. He already is having trouble breathing.

Answer: No one knows.My wife has stage IV renal cell carcinoma and no one thought she would make it one year.It been a tough road, but shes still here 5 years 5 months latter.

Question: How fast does invasive ductal carcinoma metastasis? Hello, my mother was just diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma, stage 1, however they have not done a CT/Mri, or tested the lymphnodes yet. From a lot of research it seems like the main concern is the spread (metastasis). Does anyone know what the time line is on this and how fast it occurs? thanks.

Answer: It depends on the grade. Most women have breast cancer for about 2 years before it can be detected,

Question: what is the life expectancy rate of a person diagnosed with stage 4 undifferentiated carcinoma? our family friend was daignosed with stage 4 undiffirentiated carcinoma? he's like 50-55 y/o, and he's planning to undergo cobalt? i just want to know what is the life expectancy rate WITH and WITHOUT the procedure? thank you the doctor orders for chemo and cobalt procedure.

Answer: No one can answer this without knowing the primary site.

Question: What is the ribbon color for thymus cancer, more specifically thymic carcinoma? My mom was diagnosed with having a thymic carcinoma and i want to know what color ribbon that is associated with.

Answer: its teal

Question: Can anyone please share their experience or advice regarding papillary carcinoma? My mother, aged 69, had a 2 centimeter invasive papillary carcinoma removed in a lumpectomy recently. Thankfully, there was no evidence of any of the lymph nodes involved. Of course, we are very concerned, and would like to know what are the experiences of those who have been diagnosed with papillary carcinoma. What treatments did you undergo? For how long? What were the side effects/possible contraindications and outcome of your treatments? How did you choose your oncologist? Any advice or details you could give us would be sincerely appreciated.

Answer: I don’t know how many responses you are going to get, as papillary carcinoma of the breast is fairly rare and the information you provide is a little vague. Breast cancer treatment depends on the stage of the disease, the grade and if the hormone receptors are negative or positive none of which you mention. From what you stated your mom is a stage I, right at the edge of a stage IIA. She is very luck that it was caught this early as they grow more rapidly than others and when found the tumors are often larger than your mother’s. The lymph nodes are usually negative, but hopefully a sentinel node biopsy was done to be sure. This type of cancer tends to happen most often in black women. For some reason we do not yet understand cancer in general is more aggressive in black patients, so if your mother is black I would have this treated as aggressively as possible to be on the safe side. I firmly believe when faced with a significant medical decision you should get at least 2 opinions. If your mom lives in a less populated area she may want to get an opinion from the closest teaching facility as they tend to be involved in the most unusual cases and the cutting edge treatment. It may be too far to travel for treatment, but they can create a treatment plan that can be followed locally. Hope this helps. Best wishes to you both.

Question: What are the treatment options for invasive Ductal Carcinoma In Situ? I was diagnosed with invasive Ductal Carcinoma In Situ. It was 1.7 cm. in size. Had lumpectomy and lymph node biopsy. The pathology they did during surgery came back clean. I am very scared. Any information would be appreciated. I thought the invasive diagnosis was unusual also, but I saw the breast biopsy report and that is what it said.

Answer: It is impossible to have “invasive Ductal Carcinoma In Situ” as in situ means non-invasive. Are you saying you have invasive ductal carcinoma AND DCIS? Treatment option should have been discussed with you before you had surgery as what kind of surgery you have is based on your decision. I think you need a other talk with your doctor.

Question: Carcinoma of the sigmoid with invasion into adjacent tissue. What is the ICD 9 code for this? Carcinoma of the sigmoid with invasion into adjacent tissue. What is the ICD 9 code for this?

Answer: You probably would need more specific information. There are many ICD-9 sites on the internet that would be of help to you. Would probably be close to 209.16 to 209.66, with more specifics.

Question: What are the lastest advances in treatments for renal cell carcinoma (stage 3)? My best friend has recently been diagnosed with Renal cell carcinoma. Early diagnosis suggest that the cancer has metastasized and spread to the lymph nodes, but has not spread to any other organs. I am interested to know if anyone knows whom are the worlds experts in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) (both medical and academic experts). Unfortunately we are British and so the only likelyhood of my friend getting the latest drugs is by partaking in a clinical trial (NICE, the body that regulates which drugs are purchased for UK NHS patients generally do not pay out for the latest expensive treatments) . I would like to know therefore is anybody reading this post who is involved in organising/running clinical trials for drugs to treat RCC who might be able to discuss further options. My friend shows otherwise no symptoms at all apart from once urinating blood. He is in otherwise good health and is aged 33.

Answer: I suggest he contact Shands hospital in Houston.

Question: Has anyone had any experience in a cancer treatment called Torisel for Renal Cell Carcinoma? My dad was diagnosed with Stage 4 Renal Cell Carcinoma. He started a treatment this week. The treatment is call Torisel. I wonder if anyone has any experience in this drug. If it worked for your loved one and if there was any side effects and how long did it take to have the side effects.

Answer: I believe this is one of the newer mTOR targeted therapy drugs. It is very new. You would probably get more response and better information by going to an online support group with other patients who are using this drug. Good luck.

Question: What is the life expectancy for small cell carcinoma? Hi. My mom was just diagnosed with small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) and it is in the early stages THANKFULLY! however, i am only 17 and she is hesitant about giving me info and telling me what the future holds for our family, especially since she is a single parent. If you could please give me some info to help me better understand and how to help my mom beat this disease i would forever grateful!!! Life expectancy, treatment, and any encouragement techniques as she is very depressed. thank you all!!!!!!

Answer: Small cell grows quickly, much quicker than non small cell. but small cell responds better to chemo treatments. Your mom may be advised to also have WBR (whole brain radiation) as often lung cancer travels to the brain. Since caught very early, she has a good chance of ridding herself of cancer, but will have to have regular scans as recurrence is almost always. Attached is a yahoo lung cancer group, there you will find people that have beaten small cell and are still surviving and are N.E.D. (no evidence of disease) after a couple of years of treatment.

Question: Where in the body does neuroindocrin carcinoma originate? My husband was diagnosed with this cancer. The tumor was in his neck in a lymph node. They removed it and biopsied it and thats when they said it's neuroindocrin carcinoma. They scheduled us for an appointment next week, but until then does anyone know anything about this cancer? Thank you much

Answer: check this out,you will get all the details. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuroendocr…

Question: Is Renal Cell Carcinoma (kidney cancer) stage 2 disqualifying from joining the military? I have a family member recently diagnosed with Renal Cell Carcinoma (kidney cancer) stage 2. He lost his kidney as a result. Can he still join the military? or should he forget about joining the army? Which branch will take him? He's bilingual (English-Arabic, most dialects of the Middle East). He has a post-college degree. What will the MEPS doctors say?

Answer: Why not look into other federal jobs that would gladly take him as an arabic linguist? There is obviously a large and growing emphasis on recruiting those who speak any of the many arabic dialects at all levels of govt. There are even civilian linguists that work with the military at all levels in translating/transcribing/intelligence etc. CIA, FBI, Homeland Security etc would probably all be possibilities.

Question: What is the treatment of choice for papillary carcinoma thyroid discovered in a hemi thyroidectomy specimen? We operated on a patient whose FNAC was a colloid nodule.. She was a case of Solitary Thyroid nodule.. Hemithyroidectomy was the procedure done... The biopsy report came back as PAPILLARY CARCINOMA THYROID without extra thyroid spread.. What is the next step...To perform a completion Thyroidectomy or Radioablation?

Answer: Small thyroid carcinomas (< or = 1.5 cm), including microcarcinomas (< or = 1.0 cm) (n = 39), were found in 53 patients (41%) with a papillary (n = 130) and in 4 cases (4%) with a follicular (n = 110) carcinoma. The tumour was clinically manifested by palpability or by the presence of nodal metastases in 1/3 of patients. Concomitant diagnoses were colloid goitre (n = 24), cellular adenoma (n = 11), Graves' disease (n = 6), and Hashimoto's thyroiditis (n = 4). Nodal involvement, multifocal tumour, and extrathyroidal extent (pT4) were present in 9%, 19%, and 8% of cases respectively. Small follicular carcinomas were minimally invasive in all instances. According to the age-related prognostic TNM-classification, 52 patients (91%) were in the low risk category. 18% of the patients underwent uni- or bilateral partial lobectomy, 35% hemithyroidectomy, and 47% total thyroidectomy, according to the extent and nature of the concomitant benign disease, whereas hemi- or total thyroidectomy was performed in the patients with known cancer. Four of 5 patients with stage pT4 cancer and all patients with nodal involvement underwent total thyroidectomy with radioiodine (n = 8 [14%]). Postoperative morbidity was 0%. During the follow-up period of 1-17 (x = 5.5) years no tumour-related death and no serious recurrence was noted. One node recurrence was removed 1 year following treatment of a stage III pT1aN1b papillary carcinoma; the patient died 4 years later accidentally without residual disease. These results confirm that cases with a potentially favourable course can be defined and treated selectively by less radical measures. Small carcinomas (< or = 1.5 cm) belong to these favourable tumours with a cancer mortality rate of virtually 0%, and the aim of treatment is to prevent curable recurrences: node positivity is an important risk factor, and therefore radioiodine is reserved for carcinomas with nodal involvement and also for the occasional small pT4-tumour. Materials and Methods :- Thyroid tumor tissue was obtained at surgery from patients undergoing thyroidectomy (including hemi, subtotal, and total thyroidectomy). A pathologist dissected the tissue, and a small tumor tissue block from the dominant or suspicious nodule was snap-frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at –80 C. The size and location of tumor samples were recorded in detail. All tumor samples were obtained with permission of and in accordance with the guidelines of our institutional review board, and informed consent was obtained from all patients. Histological classification was confirmed, the diagnosis was obtained from the final pathology report, and this diagnosis was reviewed and confirmed by an endocrine pathologist. RNA extraction, purification, labeling, and hybridization The methods described by Barden et al. (20) were employed for RNA extraction, purification, labeling, and hybridization. In brief, frozen tumor tissue was homogenized by sonication in TRIzol reagent (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA), and total RNA was prepared according to the manufacturer’s specifications. A total of 42 samples were analyzed by gene chip array (GeneChip Hu95 array, Affymetrix, Inc., Santa Clara, CA). The carcinoma samples included seven PTC and seven FVPTC. The benign samples consisted of 14 FA and seven hyperplastic nodules. An additional seven unknown samples were processed (blinded to preparer). All samples were processed in the same manner following the Affymetrix protocol. cDNA was synthesized from 8 µg sample RNA using T7 (dT)24 primer (GENSET Corp., La Jolla, CA). Second strand cDNA was then produced and purified. Biotin-labeled cRNA was made and used for hybridization to the Affymetrix oligonucleotide arrays. A sample aliquot was first hybridized to an Affymetrix test chip to confirm that the cRNA quality was adequate. All samples were of good quality. After staining with streptavidin-phycoerythrin, the chips were scanned in an HP ChipScanner (Affymetrix, Inc.) to detect hybridization signals. Data analysis The data were analyzed using MicroArray Suite version 5.0 (Affymetrix, Inc.). The intensity of each probe set of the array was captured, and the average intensity was calculated. Quantitative expression levels were calculated using intrachip-positive controls. Normalization of data was performed to account for variability in hybridization among duplicate probe sets and other hybridization artifacts. Transcripts were designated reliably detected (present) or not detected (absent) using the above analysis. Data analysis was performed to identify genes that were differentially expressed between the papillary carcinoma (PTC and FVPTC) and benign groups (FA and hyperplasia). Data from the 21 benign tumors and 14 carcinomas that comprised the training set were used. First, the data were screened to identify signals counted as present by the Affymetrix software. These results were exported to GeneSpring (Silicon Genetics, Redwood City, CA), then analyzed with a parametric t test and multiple testing correction (Benjamini and Hochberg False Discovery Rate, with the P value set at <0.05), producing a gene list of 1149 genes differentially expressed. This list of 1149 differentially expressed genes was then used for unsupervised hierarchical clustering and statistical analysis. Cluster analysis was used to group the tumors based upon their similarities measured across the expression of 1149 genes. To determine whether FVPTC could be differentiated from benign thyroid nodules, a second analysis, comparing only FVPTC tumors to benign thyroid nodules, was performed to identify genes differentially expressed between these groups. The data were exported to GeneSpring (Silicon Genetics) and using a nonparametric t test with a P value set at less than 0.01, the data were screened to produce a gene list of 843 differentially expressed genes between FVPTC and benign lesions. Finally, a similar analysis was performed to compare PTC to benign lesions. A total of 483 genes were differentially expressed between PTC and benign lesions. As described above, these gene lists were used for unsupervised hierarchical clustering and statistical analysis. Evaluation of unknown samples Once the hierarchical cluster analysis was established using gene expression profiles of differentially expressed genes in 35 tumors, the same analysis was performed on seven thyroid tumors (one PTC, four FVPTC, and two hyperplastic nodules) with investigators blinded to the final diagnosis. Gene profiles of the seven unknown tumors were produced using the 1149 differentially expressed genes for comparison. The unknown sample profiles were then added to the original 35 samples to create a combined group of 42 samples, which then underwent an unsupervised hierarchical clustering analysis. To confirm the validity of the subset analysis of FVPTC vs. benign tumors, the unknown samples’ individual gene profiles were analyzed (excluding the one classical PTC), using the 843 differentially expressed genes produced by the analysis of FVPTC vs. benign tumors. The gene profiles of unknown samples combined with the test set (FVPTC vs. benign) samples underwent an unsupervised hierarchical cluster analysis, producing a dendrogram for the 34 samples. This same technique was repeated to analyze the PTC vs. benign tumor gene list. Unknown samples’ gene expression profiles were analyzed (excluding the four FVPTC) using the gene profile for 438 genes differentially expressed in the PTC vs. benign analysis. Once again the unknown samples were combined with the PTC vs. benign samples, and an unsupervised hierarchical clustering was performed. A dendrogram of the 31 samples (PTC vs. benign plus unknowns) was produced. Semiquantitative RT-PCR To verify the results of the Affymetrix gene chip array, a total of five genes were chosen that had expression levels with more than 2-fold difference, were implicated in the molecular pathogenesis of cancer, and had readily available primers or were made from the known mRNA sequences using Primer3 (21). One microgram of sample RNA was reverse transcribed with oligo(dT) primer in a total volume of 50 µl. A 1-µl aliquot of cDNA was used for PCR, and the product was electrophoresed in a 2.0% agarose gel and visualized with ethidium bromide and UV light. The band intensity for each sample was calculated using EagleSight software (version 3.2, Stratagene, La Jolla, CA), and a ratio of the intensity of the gene of interest to that of the housekeeping gene was calculated for each sample. These normalized intensity levels were then analyzed using a t test. The genes and primers are listed in Table 1.

Question: what is the difference between carcinoma and cancer tumors? is it lung carcinoma or lung cancer tumors? how are they both two different things

Answer: Carcinoma means cancer starting on skin or some other surface of organs. All carcinomas are cacner but not all cancers are carcinomas.

Question: Does anybody here know more about papillary carcinoma? I had a thyroidectomy a couple of weeks ago & the biopsy showed that it'a a papillary carcinoma.I'm so paranoid.What should i do? Any information regarding this type of cancer will be very much appreciated.

Answer: Hi, I had that too! May '06 was my TT. I have two great sites for you....www.thyca.org is the national thyroid cancer site, and health.groups.yahoo.com/group/thyca is the "chat" room that I belong to where you can ask questions and get info and tons of support. Always get copies of all your paperwork, including the surgeon's report. Get a good endocronologist. Your goal after RAI (radiation) will be to have a low TSH of .1 or lower...NOT "normal" (that is for people with thyroids, and many doctors do not know that) and if you are having RAI, you should go on the LID (low iodine diet) for two weeks before hand to help make your thyroid cancer cells hungry to eat up the radiation. Cancer is scary- and don't let you have anyone tell you "it's the good kind". it does have a very good long term prognosis....but you must be vigalant about it for the rest of you life. You will love these sites, and I look forward to seeing you in the thyca health group on line. good luck.

Question: Whats the best diet for a cat with Carcinoma? Hello, my cat has recently been diagnosed with Carcinoma. It is a tumor in her mouth and prognosis is not looking good. I am trying a last ditch effort in trying to put off the effects of the disease as much as possible, and I am hoping there is someone out there who can recommend the best type of food I can give her. :(

Answer: Science Diet Prescpirtion diet n/d was indicated for cancer patients. I'm not 100% its still available. Any high quality name brand food should be sufficient. If her time is limited, I would feed her anything she wants, spoil her with all the good meaty canned food. If any food says that it is indicated for cancer patients, it's just that it has different nutrition to help with secondary effects, just so that it's clear that it isn't a wonder food to cure.

Question: My family dr removed a mole and it was basel cell carcinoma. Could he have gotten all the cancer? I am going to a dermatologist whom specializes in skin cancer, what is the chances i will have to have surgery?

Answer: There are many types of skin cancer. Some are very dangerous and some are not. My father has a cancerous mole removed and he was fine. Others are not so lucky. The problem with some skin cancers they go deep into the tissue and will require further treatments. Your dermatologist will explain what treatment plan if any he will advise for you. Tanning beds are very harmful stay away from them and also from the sun. Keep covered as much as possible.