Introduction to the Biology of Cancer is the course I finished in one week by contributing one

hour per day towards the course. Here below are the things I learned from the course:

While starting the course at first I found it difficult and understandable but as I reached the
end of the course I learned many things which I expected would be very helpful in my life in
my further studies in medicine.

I learned about what cancer is: The disease is caused by an uncontrolled division of abnormal
cells in a part of the body. In addition, cancer is also known as tumour and neoplasm,
whereas the cancer study is called oncology. Furthermore, cancer is a genetic disease and it
can not take place in a single mutation in our DNA and is not sufficient to induce cancer
formation. I learned a new term “Metastasis” which can be defined as the spreading of the
cancer from a primary site to distant organs. There are types of cancer cells which are listed
below:

1. Carcinoma cells
2. Sarcoma cells
3. Leukaemia cells
4. Lymphoma

We can identify cells affected by cancer under the microscope where the results will be: a
large or small number of cells will be congested together overlapping each other which will
deform their shapes.

Additionally, 14.1 million people were diagnosed with cancer in 2012 and 8.2 million people
died due to cancer. In addition, a lump sum of 21.7 million people are estimated to be having
cancer in 2030 out of which 13 million people are estimated to be dead because of cancer in
2030.

Here below is the list of the most common cancers worldwide :

1. Lung cancer (13% of all cancers, 1.8 million people)

2. Breast cancer (12% of all cancers, 1.7 million people)
3. Colon cancer (10% of all cancers, 1.4 million people)
4. Prostate cancer (8% of all cancers, 1.1 million people
5. Stomach cancer (7% of all cancers, 952,000 people)
6. Liver cancer (6% of all cancers, 782,000 people)

First of all, if we need to know about genetic disease we should be familiar with what a gene
is: a region of DNA that encodes for a functional product. In addition, the time at which
every cell divides, eukaryotic cells, do this through a process called mitosis and undergo
interphase where they replicate their DNA and do proofreading of the DNA.
The central dogma of molecular biology:

1. DNA: Replicated
2. RNA: Transcribed
3. Protein: Transcription

Furthermore, I came across a familiar term “mutation” often described as a mutation is a

detrimental genetic variation that increases the risk of developing a disease or in rare
diseases, causes the disease.

Below is the table explaining two different types of cancer genes:

Normal cells containing Cancer cells containing

Oncogene - promotes cancer Low High

Tumour suppressor - High Low

protects against cancer

There are different types of mutation:

1. Activating mutation: It causes the gene to be expressed at the wrong time, at the
wrong level, or with the new function.
.:. Activating mutations in oncogenes are tumorigenic
2. Inactivating mutation: It causes reduced function of a gene (less RNA or protein is
made).
.:. Inactivating mutations in tumour suppressors are tumorigenic

The biggest risk factors for developing cancer are: ageing over time, random replication error
in DNA, and random exposure to carcinogens increase DNA damage.

I learned about a new hypothesis which is the Two-Hit hypothesis, it states a few points:

1. Humans have two copies of every gene - one maternal and one parental.
2. One copy of the gene is mutated, and another copy allows the protein to operate
normally.
3. For a gene to be cancer-inducing, both copies of the gene must be affected; the second
“hit” may alter the DNA.
Most cancer requires a mutation in multiple genes. In addition, for the survival of a cancer
cell, it must overcome the normal regulation of:

1. Cell proliferation
2. Cell survival
3. Cellular communication

The cancer cells show genomic instability.

Ten cellular hallmarks of cancer help us find:

1. How their cellular hallmarks distinguish a cancer cell from a normal cell
2. Articulate how these hallmarks make a cancer cell more fit for completing, surviving,
and reproducing in the body.
While studying these hallmarks I should be aware of two new terms that I have not heard of
or even studied in high school, those two terms are apoptosis: a form of programmed cell
death; and angiogenesis: the process of developing new blood vessels from pre-existing blood
vessels.

Ten types of hallmarks are listed below:

1. Replicative immortality
2. Genome instability
3. Evasion of growth suppressor signals
4. Resistance to cell death
5. Sustained proliferation
6. Altered metabolism
7. Avoiding immune destruction
8. Tumour promoting inflammation
9. Induction of angiogenesis
10. Activation of invasion and metastasis

Furthermore, I studied metastasis; metastasis was first used in the 18th and 19th centuries for
breast cancer “metastasis of milk”. We do an imaging process which can be defined as the
technique and process of creating a small representation of the inside of a body for clinical
analysis and medical intervention.
There are different types of imaging listed below in the table:

Energy Images

X-rays Plain films, CT, etc.

Magnetic field MRI

Sound waves Ultrasound

Radioisotopes Nuclear medicine

In addition, these types of imaging can be used to determine cancer and then various
treatments can be used for the cure of cancer by different treatments such as surgery,
radiation, hormonal therapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy.