INVESTIGATORY

PROJECT

ST.JOSEPH RESIDENTIAL AND

DAY SCHOOL

NAME: KAVIYA U
CLASS: XII A
REG.NO:
SUBJECT: BIOLOGY
 STUDY
OF
CANCER

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 ST. JOSEPH’S RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL SRIPERUMBUDUR 602105

DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY 2022-23

BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE

THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT THE PROJECT

ENTITLED
IS A RECORD OF BONAFIDE WORK CARRIED OUT BY
REGISTER NO OF
CLASS XII A

SIGNATURE OF THE TEACHER SIGNATURE OF THE PRINCIPAL

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS IN BIOLOGY (044)

PRESCRIBED BY CBSE FOR ALL INDIA SENIOR SECONDARY PRACTICAL
EXAMINATION 2022-23 AT ST. JOSEPH’S RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL,
SRIPERUMBUDUR-602105

DATE:

SEAL:

INTERNAL EXAMINER EXTERNAL EXAMINER

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

As a student of class of Xll, I did this project as a part of my studies

entitled “study of cancer”. I owe deep sense of gratitude to my
biology teacher Mrs. Shyamala, whose valuable advice, guidance
helped me in doing this project from conception to completion.

At the same time, I cannot forget to express my gratitude to our

school principal Mr. Alfred William for extending his generous,
patronage and constant encouragement.

Finally I am thank full to my parents for helping me economically,

and my friends for being a helping hand at every step of this project.

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SL.NO CONTENTS PAGE NO

1 ABSTRACT 5
2 WHAT IS CANCER? 6

3 COMMON TYPES OF CANCER 7

4 SIGN AND SYMPTOMS 8
5 CONTACT INHIBITION 11
6 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN NORMAL CELL AND
CANCER CELL 12
7 HOW DOES CANCER CELLS ACTIVATE? 13

8 MUTAGEN 14

9 PREVENTION STEPS 15
10 DEVELOPMENT OF CANCER 16
11 MAIN CAUSES OF CANCER 17
12 DETECTION OF CANCER 17
13 TREATMENT OF CANCER 18

14 WORLD CANCER DAY AND ORGANISATION 19

15 CONCLUSION 20

16 BIBLIOGRAPHY 22

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Abstract:
Cancer is characterized by proliferation of cells that have
managed to evade central endogenous control mechanisms.
Cancers are grouped according to their organ or tissue of
origin, but increasingly also based on molecular
characteristics of the respective cancer cells. Due to the rapid
technological advances of the last years, it is now possible to
analyse the molecular makeup of different cancer types in
detail within short time periods. The accumulating knowledge
about development and progression of cancer can be used to
develop more precise diagnostics and more effective and/or
less toxic cancer therapies. In the long run, the goal is to offer
to every cancer patient a therapeutic regimen that is tailored to
his individual disease and situation in an optimal way.

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What is CANCER?

 Cancer is a Disease in which some of the body cells

grow uncontrollably and spread to other parts of the
body.
 Cancer can start almost any were in human body which
is made of trillion of cells. Normally, human cells grow
and multiply to form new cells as the body need them.
When the cells grow old or become damaged, they died,
a new cell take their place.
 Sometimes this orderly process break down, and
abnormal or damaged cells grow and multiply when they
shouldn’t.
 These cells may from tumours, which are lumps of
tissues. Tumours can be cancers
(Malignant) or not cancers (benign).

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COMMON TYPES OF CANCER

 BLADDER CANCER
 BREAST CANCER
 COLORECTAL CANCER
 KIDNEY CANCER
 LUNG CANCER
 LYMPHOMA – NON HODGE SKIN
 MELANOMA
 ORAL AND OROPHARYMGEAL CANCER
 PANCREATIC CANCER
 PROSTATE CANCER
 UTRINE CANCER
 BRAIN CANCER

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Signs and symptoms of CANCER:

Cancer can cause many symptoms, but these symptoms are

most often caused by illness, injury, benign tumours, or other
problems. If you have symptoms that do not get better after a
few weeks, see your doctor so that problems can be diagnosed
and treated as early as possible. Often, cancer does not cause
pain, so do not wait to feel pain before seeing a doctor.

Some of the symptoms that cancer may cause include:

Breast changes:
 Lump or firm feeling in your breast or under your arm
 Nipple changes or discharge
 Skin that is itchy, red, scaly, dimpled, or puckered

Bladder changes:
 Trouble urinating
 Pain when urinating
 Blood in the urine
 Bleeding or bruising, for no known reason
 Bowel changes
 Blood in the stools
 Changes in bowel habits
 Cough or hoarseness that does not go away

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  Eating problems:

 Pain after eating (heartburn or indigestion that doesn’t go

away)
 Trouble swallowing
 Belly pain
 Nausea and vomiting
 Appetite changes

o Fatigue that is severe and lasts

o Fever or night sweats for no known reason

Mouth changes:

 A white or red patch on the tongue or in your mouth

 Bleeding, pain, or numbness in the lip or mouth

Neurological problems:

 Headaches
 Seizures
 Vision changes
 Hearing changes
 Drooping of the face

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Skin changes:

 A flesh-coloured lump that bleeds or turns scaly

 A new mole or a change in an existing mole
 A sore that does not heal
 Jaundice (yellowing of the skin and whites of the
eyes)

o Swelling or lumps anywhere such as in the neck,

underarm, stomach, and groin
o Weight gain or weight loss for no known reason.

Ulcerates: Sore on the skin or a mucous membrane

accompanied by disintegration of tissue. Results in complete
loss of epidermis.

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Contact inhibition:
Contact inhibition is a process of arresting cell growth when
cells come in contact with each other. As a result, normal cells
stop proliferating when they form a monolayer in a culture
dish. Contact inhibition is a powerful anticancer mechanism
that is lost in cancer cells. Cancer cells do not arrest their
growth when they fill a culture dish, but continue to
proliferate, piling up on top of each other and forming multi-
layered foci.

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Difference between cancer cell and
normal cell:

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How Does Cancer cells activate?
 Because DNA is encoded with the instructions for cell
behaviour, damaged DNA can alter cell processes
including those that regulate growth and division. This is
supported by the fact that tissues which have It is well
known that cancer is preceded by damaged DNA. a high
cell-division rate, such as bone and lymph, are the most
common sites for cancer.
 Some genes, encoded on DNA, act as a switch that can
be turned on or off depending on cell needs. Free radicals
have the ability to break DNA strands which can result in
some genes being permanently switched on, such is the
case with cancerous cell growth. Although it is often
taught that the DNA mutations that lead to cancer happen
at random, research suggests there are epigenetic triggers
that may increase prevalence of DNA damage.

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Mutagen:
Anything that causes a mutation (a change in the DNA of
a cell). DNA changes caused by mutagens may harm
cells and cause certain diseases, such as cancer.
Examples of mutagens include radioactive substances, x-
rays, ultraviolet radiation, and certain chemicals.

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Apoptosis: A type of cell death in which a series of
molecular steps in a cell lead to its death. This is one method
the body uses to get rid of unneeded or abnormal cells. The
process of apoptosis may be blocked in cancer cells. Also
called programmed cell death.

Prevention Steps:

 DNA is vital for cell function and the body has

mechanisms by which it protects DNA from being
damaged. One of the most important mechanisms is
the one responsible for the production of
antioxidants.

 A major step in the prevention of DNA damage, and

therefore cancer, would be to optimize antioxidant
activity. Research has suggested that this can be
achieved through the adoption of a diet that
incorporates antioxidant rich foods or extracts.

 Glutathione plays a major role in the antioxidant

activities of the body. Evidence shows that this
molecule alone has the ability to influence cancer
risk in a directly correlative manner.

 This means that by increasing your body’s supply of

glutathione, you are drastically improving its ability
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 to control free radicals before they damage cells.
There are several ways in which you can increase
your supply of glutathione.

Development of cancer:

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Main Causes of Cancer:
 Tobacco use is the cause of about 33% of cancer
deaths.
 Another 10% is due to obesity, poor diet, lack of
physical activity, excessive drinking of alcohol.
 Nearly 20% of cancer cause is due to hepatitis B,
hepatitis C and human papillomavirus.
 Approximately 5-10% of cancer is due to inherited
genetic defect from person’s parents.

Detection of cancer:
Physical exam:
Your doctor may feel areas of your body for lumps that may
indicate cancer. During a physical exam, your doctor may
look for abnormalities, such as changes in skin colour or
enlargement of an organ that may indicate the presence of
cancer.
Laboratory tests:
Laboratory tests, such as urine and blood tests, may help your
doctor identify abnormalities that can be caused by cancer.
For instance, in people with leukaemia, a common blood test
called complete blood count may reveal an unusual number or
type of white blood cells.
Imaging tests:
Imaging tests allow your doctor to examine your bones and
internal organs in a non-invasive way. Imaging tests used in
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diagnosing cancer may include a computerized tomography
(CT) scan, bone scan, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI),
positron emission tomography (PET) scan, ultrasound and X-
ray, among others.
Biopsy:
During a biopsy, your doctor collects a sample of cells for
testing in the laboratory. There are several ways of collecting
a sample. Which biopsy procedure is right for you depends on
your type of cancer and its location, In most situations, a
biopsy is the only way to definitively diagnose cancer.

In the laboratory, doctors look at cell samples under the

microscope. Normal cells look uniform, with similar sizes and
orderly organization. Cancer cells look less orderly, with
varying sizes and without apparent organization.

Treatment of cancer:
o SURGERY
o RADIATION THERAPY
o CHEMOTHERAPY
o IMMUNOTHERAPY

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World cancer day and organisation:
World Cancer Day is an international day marked on 4
February to raise awareness of cancer and to encourage its
prevention, detection, and treatment. World Cancer Day is led
by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) to
support the goals of the World Cancer Declaration, written in
2008. The primary goal of World Cancer Day is to
significantly reduce illness and death caused by cancer and is
an opportunity to rally the international community to end the
injustice of preventable suffering from cancer. The day is
observed by the United Nations.

World Cancer Day targets misinformation, raises awareness,

and reduces stigma. Multiple initiatives are run on World
Cancer Day to show support for those affected by cancer. One
of these movements are #NoHairSelfie, a global movement to
have "participants" shave their heads either physically or
virtually to show a symbol of courage for those undergoing
cancer treatment. Images of participants are then shared all
over social media. Hundreds of events around the world also
take place.

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Conclusion:
The latest advances in cancer treatment have created a whole
new outlook on how to treat cancer. These advances have
developed from a deeper understanding of the molecular basis
of cancer. Some of the earlier treatments are still valuable
however they have some drawbacks. For example, surgery
and radiation are effective but they only treat one local area of
the cancer. Chemotherapy can treat cancer cells that are
spread all over the body but they have extremely toxic side
effects. All of these treatments are still in use today and will
probably be in use for a while although they will not be the
only kind of treatments.

The new molecular based treatments or immunological

treatments are still in a stage of discovery. Two of the latest
treatments, Herceptin and Cancer Vaccines, were mentioned
in this web page. They are the first advances toward a new
way to fight cancer. Researchers are beginning to understand
what is broken in malignant cells and target the problem with
these new therapies. Even though, these new therapies were
originally designed to treat one type of cancer they can be
modified to attack other cancers. For example, Herceptin has
the potential to treat gastric, endometrial, salivary glands,
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pancreatic, prostate, colorectal, and non-small cell lung
cancer. These new target therapies have been the first to show
effectiveness and it is something researchers have been
waiting for for a long time. They are called target therapies
because they attack the underlying genetic defects that cause
cancer. Therefore, these treatments are definitely molecular
based. In the past, no one treatment has been able to
successfully cure a patient. Maybe molecular based treatments
are the ones that can. Ultimately, a great deal of research will
be necessary in order to improve these treatments to their full
potential.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY:
https://www.cancer.gov/about-
cancer/understanding/what-is-cancer
https://www.academia.edu/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Canc
er_Day

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