Genetic Damage and Mutation

Genetic Damage Cancer results from the accumulation of genetic damage across time Cancer is a disease in which a single body cell undergoes a genetic transformation into a cancer cell The cell and the descendants proliferate across many years This produces a tumor

The cancer cell has many differences Genetically unstable Prone to rearrangements May have deleted chromosomes Look different (shape and appearance) Uninhibited growth Do not cooperate with other cells

Cancer as a Multi-step Process Many theories on the development of cancer Research has discovered that cancer does not happen all at once Increased incidence with age Development of cancer can happen decades after exposure to carcinogens Increased incidence of cancer among people with a inherited predisposition

Mutations Two major categories of genes that regulate the cell cycle play a role in developing cancer Proto-oncogenes: encourages cell division Tumor suppressor genes: inhibits cell division

Mutated proto-oncogenes become oncogenes which stimulate excessive cell division A mutated tumor suppressor gene inactivates its process eliminating the critical inhibition of cell division