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Cancer Essay

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Cancer

Cancer is a disease in which cells grow out of control and invade, erode, and destroy normal tissue. Damaged genes cause this development of cancer. These damaged genes are often a factor caused by such things such as the environment, and can be influenced by inherited factors. As the very early damaged cells divide they can evolve into a malignant cell population, and lose the control mechanism that govern normal cell division. These malignant cells can then go on to form solid tumours that start to destroy normal tissue. These can then spread to other parts of the body by releasing these tumour cells. Once these cancer cells spread, they grow in other parts of the body and then form …show more content…

These are known as mutagens. These carcinogens can cause errors, duplication or rearrangement in DNA sequences that contribute to the progression of cancer. An example of a carcinogen is tobacco. Tobacco smoke contains at least twenty carcinogens, which are known to cause lung cancer.

Age can be a factor when asked what causes cancer. This is because cancer becomes more common as we get older. 85% of cancers are diagnosed in patients over fifty-five. This is because as we get older we become more susceptible to some types of carcinogens. Age is also a cause as it takes a long time for a cell to become cancerous, as there has to be a number of changes to the genes within a cell, before it turns into a cancerous cell. Therefore the longer we live; the more time there is for us to become susceptible to these mistakes in our genes.

Our genetics are also another cause of cancer. If we are born with one of these genetic mutations, which can cause cancer, we are said to be genetically predipositional. This is known as many of the genes that control cell growth, and DNA repair are associated with inherited cancer susceptibility. The genes, which are susceptible to leading to cancerous mutations, are called proto-oncogenes. They are called oncogens as the word "onco" means cancer. An example of this is the faulty genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2. If a woman carries one of these genes, she is

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