B1-Cancer

• Benign tumor


  Growth of abnormal cells which are found in one area, contained within a membrane, do not invade or spread to other parts of the body
• Malignant tumor


  Malignant cells invade neighboring tissues, move into the bloodstream, spread to different parts of the body and form new tumors (secondary tumors)
• Malignant tumor cells are classed as a cancer
• Risk factors for developing cancer

  • Genetic (e.g. certain types of breast cancer, prostate cancer, cancer of the large intestine)
  • Lifestyle (e.g. lung cancer linked to smoking, skin cancer linked to UV exposure, mouth and throat cancer linked to alcohol)
  • Environmental (e.g. radon, a radioactive gas that increases risk of lung cancer)
• Radon releases ionizing radiation that damages DNA in cells, causing uncontrolled cell division leading to cancer
• Cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells
• The cancer cell can invade other tissues, spread to different parts of the body through blood or lymphatic system (metastasis)
• Mutation can cause changes in genes controlling cell cycle regulation, allowing cells to divide without control
• In cancerous cells there is an error during replication of DNA resulting in mutations
• The normal process of cell division involves mitosis where daughter cells have identical genetic material to parent cell
• Metastases are secondary tumours formed by cancerous cells from the primary site