Oncological diseases, of course, are one of the most frightening, mysterious and difficult to treat groups of diseases. In this regard, specialists are often asked if the cancer is contagious and how it is transmitted. Especially many such questions arise when in the media once again there is news about medical confirmation of the viral nature of oncological pathologies.
Is cancer a contagious disease?
In fact, journalists usually distort the facts significantly in favor of catchy headlines.
Cancer is not contagious, it is not a virus that can be transmitted by airborne, fecal-oral, parenteral, sexual and any other route. Also, the disease under consideration can not be infected with direct or indirect contact, even a newborn child does not acquire an oncological disease from the mother.
It is worth noting that the ability of cancerous tumors to move from one person to another has been studied for a long time, from the beginning of the 19th century up to today. During this time, a lot of interesting experiments were conducted, confirming the absence of infectiousness of oncological ailments. For example, the French doctor Jean Albert subcutaneously injected to volunteers the crushed tissues of a malignant tumor of the mammary gland. There were no negative consequences for either the experimental or the doctor, except for dermatitis at the injection site, which went off on its own several days later.
A similar experiment was carried out in the 70s of the 20th century by American scientists. Volunteers tried to implant tissues of skin cancer, however, at the injection site, as in the case of Jean Albert's experiments, only a small inflammation developed, with only one patient.
Repeated attempts to infect people with malignant neoplasms ended in exactly the same way that they completely refute the theory of the infectiousness of cancer.
In 2007, scientists in Sweden conducted a statistical analysis, during which the possibilities of cancer were investigated through blood. Among 350,000 transfusions, in about 3% of cases, donors have been diagnosed with various forms of cancer. At the same time, no recipient suffered from a malignant tumor.
Is lung and skin cancer contagious to others?
The appearance of neoplasms in the lung tissue provokes tobacco smoking, inhaling toxic substances and radiation exposure. Infection with the cancer of the airways is impossible with any of the available methods.
Malignant skin tumors develop against the background of the degeneration of melanoma- dangerous moles . This can occur due to an excessively long stay under ultraviolet rays, mechanical damage to nevi. Accordingly, skin lesions are also not transmitted to other people.
Is the cancer of the stomach and rectum contagious?
As with the above situations, the tumors of any organs of the digestive system are not infectious. Their appearance and progression can cause chronic disease of the gastrointestinal tract, long-term toxic damage, mechanical trauma. It is important to note that in most cases, the true causes of cancer remain unknown, but in its safety in terms of transmission from
Is liver cancer contagious to others?
Typically, this type of oncology occurs in people who abuse alcoholic beverages, and against the backdrop of a long-term cirrhosis of the liver. Often, this form of cancer is combined with hepatitis B or C in an anamnesis, but this does not indicate the viral nature of the disease.
Thus, cancer is not a contagious pathology. Therefore, people suffering from malignant tumors should be maintained, not avoided.