CELL DIVISION

GOING WRONG:
CANCER
Cancer

■ Cancer is a group of diseases in which cells grow

and divide out of control.
■ It is caused by the mutation of DNA that controls
the cell cycle.
■ Cells are unable to stay in interphase for the
normal amount of time
■ One or more checkpoints fails
■ Cell and all of its subsequent daughter cells
continue to divide uncontrollable
Cell growth rates and cancer

■ Uncontrolled growth and division of cancer cells may

create a rapidly growing mass of cells that form a lump
or tumour
■ Tumour is a mass of cells that continue to grow and
divide without any obvious function in the body
■ There are two types of tumours:
■ Benign tumour
■ Malignant tumour
Benign tumour

■ A tumour that does not affect surrounding tissues

other than by physically crowding them
■ Cells in a benign tumour are not cancerous
Malignant tumour

■ A tumour that interferes with the functioning of

surrounding cells
■ Such as production of enzymes or hormones
■ May even destroy surrounding tissues
■ Cells in a malignant tumour are cancerous
Metastasis

■ The process of cancer cells breaking away from

the original (primary) tumour and establishing
another (secondary) tumour elsewhere in the
body
■ One of the reasons why cancer is such a
dangerous disease
Tumour
Metastatic tumour
Causes of cancer
■ DNA usually replicates error-free but sometimes
mutation occurs
■ Mutation: a random change
■ The changes may result in cell death or allow cell to
continue to grow and divide
■ Very rarely, the changes occur in the DNA that
controls cell division
■ Cells may then become cancerous and proliferate
through uncontrolled mitosis and cytokinesis, until all
nutrients are exhausted
Causes of cancer

■ Some mutations are caused by carcinogens

■ Carcinogen: any environmental factor that causes
cancer
■ Well-known carcinogens include: tobacco smoke,
radiation, some viruses (HPV)
■ Some cancers are partly hereditary, DNA passed from
one generation to the next may contain information
that leads to disease (breast cancer, colon cancer etc)
Cancer screening

■ Screening can be a routine check-up or

examination
■ It can increase the chance of detecting cancer at
early stage
■ Some common routine tests: Pap test for cervical
cancer, blood test for colon cancer, examination
for skin moles etc)
■ ABCD of moles:
■ Asymmetry
The ABCD of Moles
Reducing your cancer risk

■ Making healthy lifestyle choices:

■ Avoiding smoking
■ Healthy diet (include superfoods)
■ Exercise
Diagnosing Cancer

■ The earlier a cancer is diagnosed, the better the chances of it

being treated successfully
■ Cancer can be diagnosed with blood tests and Imaging
technologies
■ Imaging technologies:
■ Endoscopy
■ X-ray
■ Ultrasound
■ CT scanning
■ MRI
Examining cells

■ Cancer cells must be examined under a

microscope in order to be diagnosed
■ Tumour cells may have to be surgically removed
(biopsy) in order to be examined
■ Cancer cells are often irregularly shaped and may
be smaller or larger than the surrounding cells.
Cancer treatments

■ Surgery: physically removing cancerous tissue

■ Chemotherapy: using drugs to slow or stop
cancer cells from dividing and spreading
■ May cause hair loss, nausea, and fatigue etc
■ Radiation: damage cancer cells by radiation
■ Biophotonics: use light energy to treat cancer