Alterations in the Immune System and the Resultant Disease Processes Comprehensive Nursing Essay Example
Immune system alterations include low peripheral blood mononuclear proliferation, and specific stress-responsive inflammatory pathway genes upregulated monocytic expression. It is associated with adenocarcinoma and diverticulitis development. Adenocarcinoma develops from epithelial cells of glandular-like structures similar to the colon. Adenocarcinoma of the colon or colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most occurring cancer, the fourth most contributor to cancer mortality, and the second most cancer regarding the proportion of people that survive this cancer five years after diagnosis (Gelband et al., 2017). Over 1,361,000 are diagnosed or develop CRC yearly, 694,000 die of the same, and 3,544,000 live with it (Gelband et al., 2017).(Alterations in the Immune System and the Resultant Disease Processes Comprehensive Nursing Essay Example)
Various risk factors contribute to the development of the disease, including older age, male sex, and family history of CRC. Modifiable risk factors, including lifestyle, medication, and diet, significantly contribute to the disease. Specifically, eating a lot of red meat is related to an increased risk of CRC. Smoking, a sedentary lifestyle, and obesity are linked to an increased risk of CRC. Moreover, drugs like aspirin and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and postmenopausal hormone therapy in women increase the risk of developing the disease. This paper analyzes a case study on diverticulitis and adenocarcinoma and presents results from the analysis.(Alterations in the Immune System and the Resultant Disease Processes Comprehensive Nursing Essay Example)
Why the Patient Presented the Symptoms Described
The colonoscopy revealed polyps and helped confirm the adenocarcinoma of the colon diagnosis. The objective data from the colonoscopy is reinforced by the subjective data revealing a family history of colon cancer. The patient also indicates common risk factors for developing CRC, including a history of chronic inflammatory bowel disease (diverticulitis), a sedentary lifestyle, and a lack of fiber in the diet. However, despite the diagnosis, the symptoms the patient presents are more likely due to the current chronic inflammatory bowel disease because most patients with the disease present with left lower quadrant pain, fever, constipation, and bowel habits changes (Carr & Velasco, 2019). Moreover, most patients describe the character of the left lower quadrant pain as crampy and related to bowel habits changes. Other symptoms include flatulence, bloating, vomiting, nausea, fistula formation, intestinal perforation, and colonic abscess in acute diverticulitis. Conclusively, the patient presented with the symptoms described due to the manifestation of diverticulitis.(Alterations in the Immune System and the Resultant Disease Processes Comprehensive Nursing Essay Example)
Genes that Maybe Associated with the Development of the Disease
The current disease presentation is diverticulitis. However, the patient was also diagnosed with CRC after a colonoscopy. In this case, both diseases have genetic predispositions. LAMB4 variants are often identified in patients with chronic inflammatory bowel syndrome (Barbaro et al., 2022). LAMB4 variants are common in the myenteric plexus of colonic tissue. Individuals with this variant also display decreased LAMB4 protein levels that help with controls, including enteric nervous system development and function (Coble et al., 2017). These gene variants cause alteration in the intestinal innervation and morphology of the enteric nervous system impacting colonic motility and exposing individuals to diverticulitis.(Alterations in the Immune System and the Resultant Disease Processes Comprehensive Nursing Essay Example)
The Process of Immunosuppression and the Effects it has on the Body
Immunosuppression involves the reduced immune system capacity to respond timely and accordingly to foreign antigens like surface antigens on tumor cells. It can originate from the demise of immune effector cells or intracellular pathway blockage vital for antigen recognition and other immune response elements. Pervasive immunosuppression increases the risk of developing cancer (Baan et al., 2019). For instance, virus-related cancer develops mostly in individuals with a latent oncogenic virus infection. Immunosuppression accompanied by persistent immune stimulation from triggers like non-viral antigens like organ transplantation increases the risk of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NFL). Immunosuppression also increases the likelihood of neoplastic cells escaping the immune surveillance, facilitating their survival rate and replication to develop tumors. Additionally, immunosuppression is associated with genotoxicity, which is the ability of harmful substances to damage cells’ genetic information.(Alterations in the Immune System and the Resultant Disease Processes Comprehensive Nursing Essay Example)
Conclusion
Immune system alterations are associated with disease development, including adenocarcinoma of the colon and diverticulitis, as in this case study. An altered immune system decreases resistance to infection and immunity to vaccines, increasing cancer and autoimmune disease incidences and the structural prevalence of low-grade inflammation. Based on the analysis and evidence of disease history and physical, diverticulitis is responsible for the symptoms described in the case study. Diverticulitis has a genetic predisposition linked to LAMB4 variants, and the risk of cancer development is high during immunosuppression.(Alterations in the Immune System and the Resultant Disease Processes Comprehensive Nursing Essay Example)
References
Baan, R. A., Stewart, B. W., & Straif, K. (2019). Tumor site concordance and mechanisms of carcinogenesis.
Barbaro, M. R., Cremon, C., Fuschi, D., Marasco, G., Palombo, M., Stanghellini, V., & Barbara, G. (2022). Pathophysiology of Diverticular Disease: From Diverticula Formation to Symptom Generation. International journal of molecular sciences, 23(12), 6698. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23126698(Alterations in the Immune System and the Resultant Disease Processes Comprehensive Nursing Essay Example)
Carr, S., & Velasco, A. L. (2019). Colon Diverticulitis. In: StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing;
Coble, J. L., Sheldon, K. E., Yue, F., Salameh, T. J., Harris, L. R., III, Deiling, S., Ruggiero, F. M., Eshelman, M. A., Yochum, G. S., Koltun, W. A., Gerhard, G. S., & Broach, J. R. (2017). Identification of a rare LAMB4 variant associated with familial diverticulitis through exome sequencing. Human molecular genetics, 26(16), 3212–3220. https://doi.org/10.1093/hmg/ddx204(Alterations in the Immune System and the Resultant Disease Processes Comprehensive Nursing Essay Example)
Gelband, H., Jha, P., Sankaranarayanan, R., & Horton, S. (2017). Cancer: disease control priorities, (volume 3).(Alterations in the Immune System and the Resultant Disease Processes Comprehensive Nursing Essay Example)
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