Metastatic Cancer in Mongolia: Interview with Oncologist
INTRODUCTION
In this interview, we interviewed a Surgical Oncologist (from Mongolia) and learnt about metastatic cancer and its treatments, prevention and incidence happening in my home country, Mongolia.
What is metastatic cancer?
The uncontrollable division of cells form mutant cells, which then spreads into the surrounding tissues and organs through the bloodstream or lymphatic system. This process leads to metastatic cancer because it spreads from one to another. In other words, it metastasizes. Cancer has two types: benign tumor and malignant tumor. Malignant tumor metastasizes. Benign tumor, on the other hand, can metastasize, but its chances are rare.
Why do malignant tumors metastasize?
Just like how cells are made out of cells, cancer cells are made out of cancerous cells. Every cell in the body has its own different functions. For example, skin cells act as a sensory organ. Tongue cells are in charge of helping you differentiate a wide range of tastes better. Cancer cells have a distinct function of dividing with no control and spreading through our body. We know that stem cancer cells divide and create other cancer cells. It is a fairly normal process because it is always happening inside our body. Some people just happen to have the right environment for the cancer to grow. Back to our question, we don’t know the exact cause of cancer since every cancer cell varies by what kind of cancer it is. But, the most common causes of cancer are alcohol and tobacco consumption, unhealthy diet and lifestyle, infections and viruses. For instance, liver cancer develops when all of those things I mentioned above add up together with hepatitis C and hepatitis B virus.
Metastatic cancer rate in Mongolia?
In Mongolia, liver cancer had the highest overall rate of mortality in 2022 in both sexes. And, the number is alarmingly increasing. Followed by stomach cancer and lung cancer, Mongolia places higher when it comes to cancers. The alcohol overconsumption and hepatitis C and hepatitis B virus infection are the number one cause of liver cancer. In 2022, 4548 people died from cancer. From that number, 1714 people died from liver cancer, in particular. That indicates the high rate of liver cancer metastasizing and eventually causing death.
What advancements in technology do we use to treat metastatic cancer in Mongolia?
There are three primary treatments for cancer: radiation, chemotherapy, and surgical. To stop the uncontrollable division of cancer cells, we first need to put an end to its rapid growth. In order to do that, we use something called “chemotherapy”. In recent years, chemotherapy has improved drastically and it has become targeted. It means that it only kills the cells that need to be killed (the cancer cells), rather than damaging all of the healthy cells in the body. Damaging the healthy cells results in hair loss, extreme fatigue, nausea, and infertility. And that is the reason why people go bald when they are treated with chemotherapy. To avoid the risks and disadvantages of chemotherapy, targeted chemotherapy has advanced. One way to treat cancer is to surgically remove it. Another way to remove cancer is to use radiation. The treatment of radiation involves radioactive elements found naturally in the environment. For example, uranium. It emits ionizing radiation and its alpha particles that cannot be seen by the naked eye. And its radiation is so potent that it goes through everything that is in front of it. So that it can kill the cancer cells.
Immunotherapy is a new advancement in cancer treatment. The way immunotherapy works is very interesting. Let’s say cancer stem cells go through point A to point B. We use buses for transportation. For this transportation to happen, they have a bus that has many passengers. The bus driver is a protein. And in our scenario, our bus driver is drunk driving. Because the driver is drunk, we are not going in the right direction. To get the bus on its right track, scientists and researchers found out that there is one thing in the bus that can stop the drunk driver from driving and turn the bus to its right track. It would be immunologic drugs. If taken, it helps enhance the immune system and helps the bus go in the right direction. It is a treatment that enables us to fight cancer with our own immune system.
How do we prevent cancer?
They are things we can control and cannot control in preventing cancer. The use of tobacco and alcohol can be avoided. Unhealthy lifestyle and diet can be controlled. But, DNA cannot be. If your parents had cancer, it is likely that you could get cancer. Also, cancer can develop from chronic injuries. For instance, drinking extremely hot tea can result in lip cancer if it continues for a long time.
CLOSING WORDS
We hope it helped you get the slightest bit of understanding of the metastatic cancer rate in Mongolia. Thank you for taking your time and reading this article.
