It seems like most cancers are organ-specific (lung, ovary, skin, etc) but I’ve never heard of heart cancer. Is there a reason why?
Edit: Wow! Thanks for all the interesting feedback and comments! I had no idea my question would spark such a fascinating discussion! I learned so much!
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You can, it’s rare though:
Cancers are going to occur most commonly in areas that meet a few criteria. The more they meet, the more often you’ll see cancers.
The first is reproduction rate. Cancer occurs when cells reproduce with a glitch in their “programming” (dna). Every time a cell reproduces there is a chance it will be cancerous and start reproducing more faulting cells (at which point you have cancer). Slow reproducing cells just decrease the chances of having cancer.
The second is exposure to carcinogens (substances that cause cancer). These can be anything from radiation, to chemicals to even just repeated physical damage to a cell. Skin cancer is so common because it’s constantly exposed to the sun, chemicals and is frequently damaged (plus is reproduces really fast). Stomach cancers are also common for this same reason.
The third is genetics. Some cancers (such as breast cancer) are really well studied, and we know that specific combinations of genes are MUCH more likely to develop certain breast cancers. So, cells who have genes who have the ability to have these variations are going to be more likely to have cancer. Your heart is a pretty root part of your biology, so there is less variation in the genes that program how you heart is made.
One other aspect of the heart cells, as opposed to the brain, that makes it less susceptible to cancer, is the nature of the cell itself. In a fatty cell or a blood cell or a brain cell – it can exist and grow (get blood) with pretty extreme deformities. Your heart muscles aren’t as accommodating to badly designed cells – so a deformed (cancerous) heart cell is more likely to get shed and not be able to reproduce.
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