Key things about Adenocarcinoma: definition, symptoms and herbal natural treatment

Cancer remains to be one of the leading causes of death around the world. The advent of modern drug-targeted therapies has undeniably improved cancer patients’ care. However, advanced metastasized cancer remains untreatable. Hence, continued searching for a safer and more effective chemoprevention and treatment is clearly needed for the improvement of the efficiency and to lower the treatment cost for cancer care.

Definition

An adenocarcinoma is a malignant tumor, in other words, a cancer developed from the cells of the epithelium. This tissue covers all the glands and lines the entire passageways of the respiratory, digestive, reproductive, and urinary systems.

These cells can be:

• glands: liver, kidney, prostate, breast, pancreas, ovary, thyroid, salivary glands;
• glandular mucous membranes: colon, stomach, endometrium, bronchi.

Due to their frequency in women and men respectively, the most frequently diagnosed adenocarcinomas are breast cancer (most common cancer in women) and colon cancer (most common cancer in men).

Adenocarcinoma is the most common form of tumor today and accounts for almost 95% of cancerous tumors.

Classification

Like all tumors, classification is used that helps guide treatment and estimate the course based on the size and « severity » of the tumor.

This classification is determined after an anatomopathological examination of the tumor (in practice after a biopsy):

grade I: highly differentiated tumor;
grade II: moderately differentiated tumor;
grade III: totally undifferentiated tumor.
The TNM system makes it possible to classify each type of tumor according to its evolution or its malignancy according to the following criteria:

T = size and extent of the primary tumor.
N = possible regional lymph node involvement: lymphadenopathy.
M = damage to other organs at a distance or presence of metastases.

Adenocarcinomas often become symptomatic at an already somewhat advanced stage. They can also be detected during a control examination or a check-up.

When certain symptoms appear, the doctor may prescribe the following examinations:

a blood test (blood test);
samples of tissue (biopsy) or organic cells (cytology, smears, etc.);
an endoscopy;
an ultrasound;
a mammogram which allows the visualization by x-ray of the mammary glands in the specific context of the suspicion of breast cancer (MRI).
The treatment of an adenocarcinoma then depends on several parameters (stage of the tumor, age of the patient, patient’s condition, prospects for tumor development) but it is based on certain essential techniques such as:

surgery (if possible);
radiotherapy;
hormone therapy;
chemotherapy;
targeted therapies (biotherapies).
There is no scale of « severity » between a carcinoma, or an adenocarcinoma or a squamous cell carcinoma for example. An adenocarcinoma is no less « serious » than a carcinoma.

Only « adenoma » is a benign tumor that involves a glandular organ and is not concerned with the term « cancer ».