All cancers begin in cells, the body's basic unit of life. To understand cancer, it's helpful to know what happens when normal cells become cancer cells.
- Origins of Cancer (National Cancer Institute, 2014)
So what is the relationship between cancer and gene control and cells? As the epigraph states that all cancer begins with cells, and the definition of cancer is “Cancer is a term used for diseases in which abnormal cells divide without control and are able to invade other tissues” (National Cancer Institute, 2014), exploring the properties of life and cells in the light of their chemical, molecular and compound based composition; their internal and external look (anatomy and physiology); how they function to live (cell respiration, photosynthesis) and divide to grow in numbers (reproductions); and the finally the laws (Mendel’s) structures and functions (DNA) they adhere to will provide us with a robust understanding of cancer and gene control.
First, let’s explore the properties of life and cells in the light of their chemical, molecular and compound based composition that are necessary for life. All life displays seven common characteristics: Order, Regulation, Growth and Development, Energy processing, Response to the environment, Reproduction, and Evolution. When combined, these seven characteristics are called the properties of life (Simon, Dickey, Reece, & Campbell, 2013). The properties of life are visible in two types of cells, prokaryotic and eukaryotic those constitute all life on earth which is divided in three domains called Bacteria, Archaea and Eukarya. The composition of cells can be viewed from a combined chemical, molecular and compound based perspectives. From a Micro view, cells are composed of matter (any...
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...ion; photosynthesis; and reproductions of cells as well as Mendel’s laws and DNA structures and functions provided a more in depth interpretation of cancer and the mechanisms of gene control.
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Cancer has been an active concern in our society for the past couple decades, since we truly discovered the nature of cancer and the potency it brings along with it. However, it was not until the mid-20th century that scientists were beginning to truly understand the origin of cancer. Scientists dating back all the way to the Renaissance, when they first began performing autopsies to learn more about the human body and form, noticed abnormalities but it never clicked that it was something much worse than it seemed. Research has continued since then, and it has continued to thrive even to this day. When James Watson and Francis Crick discovered DNA and it’s chemical structure in 1962, it opened up doors that even they could not expect. With the understanding of DNA and how it affected the way we look at life, came the beginning of the understanding of mutated DNA (which is a cause of the growth of cancerous cells). In this past century, researching scientists discovered that cancer is linked with the DNA that resides in a cell’s nucleus. By ways of damage to the cells via chemicals or radiation, or even introduction of a new DNA, the cancerous cells begin to form and duplicate. We are learning more and more about cancer and how to fight it, but we still have much more to learn.
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Cancer is the term used to describe a group of diseases consisting of hundreds of ailments and although there exists so many different types of cancer, they all begin in a similar way. The body is made up of over a trillion cells, and cancer is the uncontrolled growth of malfunctioning cells in the body (Dawson, 1996). “Normal body cells grow, divide, and die in an orderly fashion. During the early years of a person’s life, normal cells divide faster to allow the person to grow. After the person becomes an adult, most cells divide only to replace worn-out or dying cells or to repair injuries” (American Cancer Society, 2012).
All references and resources are taken from the Public Library of Science, Biology March 2004 issue and from Science March 16, 2004
The cell cycle is the process by which cells progress and divide. In normal cells, the cell cycle is controlled by a complex series of signaling pathways by which a cell grows, replicates it’s DNA and divides, these are called proto-oncogenes. A proto-oncogene is a normal gene that could become an oncogene due to mutations. This process has mechanisms to ensure that errors are corrected, if they are not, the cells commit suicide (apoptosis). This process is tightly regulated by the genes within a cell’s nucleus. In cancer, as a result of genetic mutations, this process malfunctions, resulting in uncontrolled cell proliferation. Mutations in proto-oncogene or in a tumour suppressor gene allow a cancerous cell to grow and divide without the normal control imposed by the cell cycle. A change in the DNA sequence of the proto-oncogene gives rise to an oncogene, which
Cancer is a disease when abnormal cells divide without control and invade other tissues in the body. Normal cells divide in a regulated way to generate new cells that are needed to keep the body healthy. Cancer cells are when the normal cell division process goes awry. When this happens cells don’t die like they’re supposed to, and new cells are produced when the body doesn’t need them. When cancer cells form a lump of tissue it’s called a tumor. There are two types of tumors, malignant, and benign. A benign tumor isn’t cancerous, and can often be removed, and in most cases, they don’t come back. Benign tumors do not spread to other parts of the body like malignant tumors. Malignant tumors are cancerous. The cells within the malignant tumor spread from one part of the body to another and also invade nearby tissue which is called metastasis.
Miller, K. R., & Levine, J. S. (2010). Miller & Levine biology. Boston, Mass: Pearson
Usually, normal cells die when they are old or damaged, newly grow cells will replace them. However, if something goes wrong, there may be too many new cells when the body only needs a few of them, and the body can’t get rid of old cells, it builds up a mass of tissue called tumor. There are two types of tumor, begin or malignant. Begin tumors are usually not harmful to human body, however, malignant tumors could be life threatening. This type of tumors will invade organs and tissues around them, travel through blood vessels or lymph vessels, attach to other tissues and destroy them. Malignant tumors arise in breast tissues and cause breast cancer.
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Cancer develops when cells in a part of the body begin to grow out of
By harnessing this normal cell process, scientists hope to have found an effective way to combat cancer. Cancer is a disease that affects human somatic cells. It causes the cells to divide uncontrollably and form masses known as tumors. There are two different types of cancer tumors. Some tumors are benign, and other tumors are malignant.