Necrosis
Necrosis refers to the death of affected tissue in the body. This happens when the blood supplied to the tissue is insufficient, either as a result of injury, infection,
cancer,
radiation, or chemicals. It is the way in which cells die as a result of radiation and
chemotherapy treatments. Necrosis is a non-reversible condition (1, 2).
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Necrosis involves the disorderly and abnormal death of cells, which is in contrast to apoptosis, which is the natural and orderly fashion in which cells die. In apoptosis, when the cell reaches its lifespan or encounters a life-ending trigger, it shuts down, breaks into smaller pieces and is engulfed by white blood cells. Cells contain powerful enzymes and chemicals, and through the process of apoptosis these intercellular elements are contained and processed so that they do not harm nearby cells (3).
In necrosis, on the other hand, the cell does not have time to shut down in an orderly fashion, so the cell bursts open and the intracellular material causes damage to the surrounding cells. This results in an inflammatory response by the nearby tissue, which accounts for some of the side-effects of chemotherapy and radiation treatment (3).