Cancer affects body tissues by attacking the epithelia, which is a protective alignment around the body cavities (Hinck & Näthke, 2014). Due to the structure of epithelia enabling it to transport molecules in a vectorial manner, it is capable of acting as a barrier to the cancer attack. The crucial aspect of the epithelial tissues is their functioning as they form a well-organized network of cell adhesion and alignment with the polarity proteins at the apical, basal axis (Hinck & Näthke, 2014). Although different types of cancer attack different areas of the body, including the fat, skin, blood, or nerves, it can spread depending on the tissue it is attached to. The mechanism of spreading is what makes cancer more dangerous and weakens the protective barriers of the body.
For instance, the polarity proteins, as mentioned, play a crucial role in cancer progression. According to Hinck & Näthke (2014), polarity defects are brought about by direct mutations in the polarity proteins. The defects are also indirectly caused by alterations in certain micro RNA expression, which lead to cellular differentiation and spread from the epithelial to other parts. The spreading and affecting more cellular functioning makes the body’s normal working difficult (American Cancer Society, 2018). The differentiation of cells from the epithelial to adopt mesenchymal characteristics exacerbates the metastatic progression of cancer. Metastasized cells of cancer occupy a different place after spreading and imitate the cells’ features around them and, therefore, difficult to differentiate. For example, sarcoma cells may start in a particular muscle area and grow to crowd other normal cells. Such growth masks the other cells making it hard for the healthy cells to normal functions. Through this process, the body becomes deficient in essential proteins, and the tissue begins to die slowly. Therefore, the process stated above elaborates on how cancer affects body tissues.