{"id":378,"date":"2015-07-12T16:24:52","date_gmt":"2015-07-12T22:24:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cancercelltreatment.com\/?p=378"},"modified":"2024-02-19T15:35:22","modified_gmt":"2024-02-19T21:35:22","slug":"cancer-cell-death-what-happens-to-dead-cancer-cells-in-the-human-body","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cancercelltreatment.com\/2015\/07\/12\/cancer-cell-death-what-happens-to-dead-cancer-cells-in-the-human-body\/","title":{"rendered":"How does the body die from cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"

How does the body die from cancer?\"How<\/h2>\n

When a cancer cell is killed or dies, an immune response occurs. It means many things that are involved with the immune system are happening. One of the body's many partners in the immune system is the macrophage cell.<\/span><\/p>\n

A macrophage cell can detect dead cells through smell, much like a scavenger bird detects dead animals. Whenever dead cells reach the part of the bloodstream patrolled by a macrophage, the macrophages surround them and convert dead cancer cells into easily removed components called \"<\/span>Efferocytosis<\/span><\/a>.\"<\/span><\/p>\n

All living (human) cells have a \"cell membrane\" around their outside that separates them from each other and all the other stuff in our tissues. Also, cells have \"organelles\" inside them (a nucleus, mitochondria, ribosomes, lysosomes, endoplasmic reticulum, etc.), and membranes surround some structures.<\/span><\/p>\n

The membranes are critical because they keep everything in its place. Imagine a zip-lock bag that keeps stuff separated in your picnic cooler. The membranes around the lysosomes are vital because they contain the enzymes that cells use to digest their food.<\/span><\/p>\n

Okay, so what happens after a cell dies?<\/h3>\n

(There are two main ways a cell can die ~ necrosis or apoptosis). Regardless of what causes a cell to die, whether it's a lack of oxygen, physical damage,\u00a0<\/span>chemical poisoning<\/span><\/a>, energy starvation,\u00a0<\/span>nutrient overload<\/span><\/a>, etc., the outcome will be the same.<\/span><\/p>\n

All the\u00a0<\/span>biochemical pathways<\/span><\/a>\u00a0that allowed the cell to perform its normal functions and what held it together physically will stop when it dies. Those membranes around the outside of the cell and on the inside (keeping all those innards separated) will become leaky. That leakiness will allow enzymes and chemicals inside the cell to leak out, and other chemicals and fluids that are supposed to stay outside the cell will pass in.<\/span><\/p>\n

The zip-lock baggies full of enzymes (the lysosomes) will ooze, and their contents will begin to digest the cell's insides. The chromosomes arranged so nicely in the cell's nucleus will break into small pieces. Proteins in the cell (and there are lots of proteins) will \"denature.\" The chemical bonds in the proteins will fall apart, causing them to lose their standard shape and get all wadded up. (Think of what happens when you fry an egg. The denaturation of all that protein is ongoing, and the lipid membranes will continue to degrade.<\/span><\/p>\n

An Immune Response Begins<\/h2>\n