Environmental factors on cancer metastasis

Abstract

Nearly 40% of American men and women will receive a cancer diagnosis in their lifetime. Causes of such originate from aspects of one’s genetics, lifestyle, and simple random mutation. Any one of these factors can elicit some sort of out-of-control cell proliferation, otherwise known as cancer. Most interestingly, however, is the environmental or lifestyle influences on one’s likelihood of developing cancer -- and, more importantly, cancer metastasis itself. Metastasis is the process of carcinogenic cells traveling throughout the body to infect and spread to different areas of it. As an example, when breast cancer metastasizes, it typically spreads to the skeletal system. Metastasis is a critical process in the progression of cancer’s stages; cancers are classified as stage IV once they begin to metastasize. As such, it is important to consider and realize the external effects of one’s lifestyle on the speed and scope of the process. Three factors have shown to be especially notable in terms of their effect on carcinogenic aggression and spread: the chemical changes as a result of chronic stress, chemical shifts due to one’s lifestyle/habits, and exposure to carcinogenic chemicals – i.e. pollution.