sites for metastasis on patient
The potential most common sites for metastasis on patient J.C. are the liver and lungs. These two major organs are highly vascular due to their rich blood supply, which makes them the most ordinary site of metastases from advanced state pancreatic cancer (Peixoto, Speers, McGahan, Renouf, Schaeffer, Kennecke, 2015).
Tumor cell markers found in body tissue, blood and other bodily fluid, and bone marrow. This test help diagnosed cancer, the gravity or severity of the cancer and the amount of carcinoma cells in the tissue. It can also help with prognosis and treatment of cancer. This test is ordered for patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. CA19-9 is the blood markers for pancreatic cancer. It is important to order that test for patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer because researchers and doctors can use it as a guide to follow the disease and treatment process for their patients.
TNM stand for Tumor, Nodes and Metastasized. Based on the case study, patient J.C. has a solid mass in the head of his pancreas measured in 4 cm, it also stated that the cancer has grown outside the pancreas to the Wirsung duct and the superior mesenteric vein. The cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes, which is the perilesional node. Case study stated that the cancer has metastatic aspect but did not conclude that it has metastasized to the liver and lungs, especially with the normal liver labs values (AST 21, ALT 17). According to the TNM, we can conclude that patient J.C probably has a stage 3 pancreatic cancer.
The classification of the tumor based on TNM is important because it helps to detect the severity of the tumor. It will help patient J.C.’s doctor to know if he has a benign or malignant tumor. In this case patient J.C. has a malignant stage 3 cancer that metastasized to blood vessel and lymph nodes but may or may not metastasized to nearby organs like the liver and lungs.
The cells of malignant tumor tend to look different to a normal cell. Compare to normal cells, malignant tumor cell can metastasize and attack other organs through out the human body. Malignant tumor can grow more rapidly in size, less differentiation compares to the normal cells, and as previously stated malignant cells able to metastasize to blood vessels, lymph nodes, and other important organs in the body.
When a tumor metastasizes, it means it spreads in other parts of the body. In patient J.C.’s case, his tumor spread from the pancreas to lymph node, vessels, and possibly major organs. Carcinogenesis phases consist of three phases: initiation, promotion, and progression. Initiation occurs when there is an irreversible change that affects the cellular genes. Promotion is the abnormal growth of the malignant cells and further duplication of the mutated cells. Progression is where metastasize happens. The cancer cells detach from the original organs or tissue and metastasize to other organs. The tissue level that is affected on patient J.C. is epithelial tissue. Tumor metastasis is the definition of malignant cancer for epithelial neoplasia and recent findings demonstrate that a process critical for the spread of tumor cells from the primary site is the epithelial mesenchymal transition (Stetler-Stevenson, 2015).
References
Peixoto, R. D., Speers, C., McGahan, C. E., Renouf, D. J., Schaeffer, D. F., & Kennecke, H. F. (2015). Prognostic factors and sites of metastasis in unresectable locally advanced pancreatic cancer. Cancer Medicine, 4(8), 1171-1177. Doi; http://proxy.stu.edu:2059/10.1002/cam4.459
Tetler-Stevenson, W. G. (2015). The tumor microenvironment: the connective tissue/tumor cell/host organ system that modulates tumor progression. Connective Tissue Research, 56(5), 343-344. https://doi.org/10.3109/03008207.2015.1086622
