Cancer can grow in any part of the body, because each tissue and organ consists of billions, sometimes trillions of cells. But the heart is an exception to this rule; Heart cancer is only found in 3 of 10,000 people. Livescience.com information portal speakWhy.
To start, you should understand the mechanism of developing cancer. Cells produce new cells to replace old or worn cells, as well as to repair damaged tissues. This process is called cell division. Each type of cell in the body is divided at different speeds depending on a number of factors, including a person's function and age.
For example, the cells of the growing embryo of a person are divided very quickly – they can share four times in three days. Cells including skin, nails and hair are often renewed like body life. Bone cells are divided at speed, in fact, providing a completely new skeleton for about 10 years.
Cell division is carefully adjusted by a series of molecular control points set out. When divided, the genes in DNA are duplicated and distributed evenly into two subsidiaries. Damage to these genes caused by harmful chemicals, ultraviolet rays or radiation can lead to mutations that cause disease. Mutations can also occur, randomly. And cancer appears as a result of the mutations of genes responsible for cell division.
Although the heart is the first organ to be formed and begins to work in the body of the embryo, the cells in the center of an adult rarely are divided after birth. When it comes to the 20th anniversary, the frequency of their parts is significantly reduced: Throughout the life of a person, less than 50% of heart cells are renewed and replaced.
The low frequency of cell division, most likely, acts as the main protection mechanism against cancer. The less they share, the less opportunities for the errors in the process of copying DNA. In addition, the heart is less affected by different cancer factors, such as ultraviolet light on the skin or inhaling light substances.
Unfortunately, the low frequency of heart division has disadvantages – for example, the ability to treat and restore the damaged cells is limited. In addition, cancer resistance does not mean tumors cannot appear in the heart. Typically, heart cancer is the result of moving cancer cells from another part of the body – metastasis. And if the tumor still develops in the heart, it may be more fierce than other types of cancer.
Good news is the unique properties of heart cells that are very interested by scientists. For example, researchers found that the refusal of the heart contains more cells that are divided than healthy cells, but they still need help. And new technologies, such as the ability to program blood cells in heart cells, allows developing new models of heart disease. The ultimate goal of many studies is the key to heart regeneration.