Which among the following is not a property of cancerous cells?
Which among the following is not a property of cancerous cells?
The correct option is C They exhibit contact inhibition
Cancer is one of the most dreaded diseases of human beings and a major cause of death all over the world.
There are several agents (physical, biological and chemical) that induce the transformation of the normal cells into cancerous cells.
The cancerous cells differ from the normal cells in several ways.
The cell growth and differentiation are highly controlled and regulated in the normal cells. However, in the cancer cells, these regulatory mechanisms are lost and therefore these cells divide uncontrollably giving rise to masses of cells called tumors.
In the normal cells, the cell growth stops when two or more cells come in contact with each other. This property of normal cells is called contact inhibition due to which the uncontrolled growth of cells is inhibited.
Unfortunately, the property of contact inhibition is lost in cancerous cells and they divide in an uncontrolled manner forming a mass of cells called tumors.
A tumor is classified into following types based on its ability to undergo metastasis (spreading):
- Benign tumor - These tumours are localized at a particular location in the body and do not spread to the other parts of the body. Such tumors are generally harmless.
- Malignant tumor - These tumors are cancerous. They will grow quickly and spread to other normal tissues of the body. This ability to spread is called metastasis. Usually, cancer cells metastasize when they get into the bloodstream or the lymph nodes and form secondary tumours across various sites in the body.
Cancer cell counts increase to a very high number and quickly utilise the nutrients and gases (like oxygen) in comparison to normal cells. Due to this competition, normal cells starve to death.
Cancer is one of the most dreaded diseases of human beings and a major cause of death all over the world.
There are several agents (physical, biological and chemical) that induce the transformation of the normal cells into cancerous cells.
The cancerous cells differ from the normal cells in several ways.
The cell growth and differentiation are highly controlled and regulated in the normal cells. However, in the cancer cells, these regulatory mechanisms are lost and therefore these cells divide uncontrollably giving rise to masses of cells called tumors.
In the normal cells, the cell growth stops when two or more cells come in contact with each other. This property of normal cells is called contact inhibition due to which the uncontrolled growth of cells is inhibited.
Unfortunately, the property of contact inhibition is lost in cancerous cells and they divide in an uncontrolled manner forming a mass of cells called tumors.
A tumor is classified into following types based on its ability to undergo metastasis (spreading):
- Benign tumor - These tumours are localized at a particular location in the body and do not spread to the other parts of the body. Such tumors are generally harmless.
- Malignant tumor - These tumors are cancerous. They will grow quickly and spread to other normal tissues of the body. This ability to spread is called metastasis. Usually, cancer cells metastasize when they get into the bloodstream or the lymph nodes and form secondary tumours across various sites in the body.
