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by Anonymous on February 14th, 2007

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What are three specific characteristics of cancer cells?

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  • by canadianhelper on February 14th, 2007

    canadianhelper

    Cancer cells don't stop reproducing

    Unlike normal cells, cancer cells do not stop reproducing after they have doubled 50 or 60 times. This means that a cancer cell will go on and on and on doubling. So one cell becomes 2, then 4, then 8, then 16....

    tumour forming

    The cancer cells may be able to stop themselves self destructing. Or they may self destruct more slowly than they reproduce, so that their numbers continue to increase. Eventually a tumour is formed that is made up of billions of copies of the original cancerous cell. Scientists describe cancer cells as being 'immortal'.

    Cancer cells do not obey signals

    Something in the cancer cells overrides the normal signalling system. This may be because the genes that tell the cell to reproduce keep on and on firing. Or because the genes that normally tell the cell to stop reproducing have been damaged or lost. So the cancer cell keeps on doubling, regardless of the damage the extra cells cause to the part of the body where the cancer is growing.

    Cancer cells do not stick together

    Cancer cells can lose the molecules on their surface that keep normal cells in the right place. So they can become detached from their neighbours.

    cancer cells don't stick together

    This partly explains how cancer cells spread to other parts of the body.

    Cancer cells do not become specialised

    Unlike normal cells, cancer cells do not carry on maturing once they have been made. In fact, the cells in a cancer can become even less mature over time. With all the reproducing, it is not surprising that more of the genetic information in the cell can become lost. So the cells become more and more primitive and tend to reproduce more quickly and even more haphazardly.

    http://www.cancerhelp.org.uk/help/default.asp?page=96#cancer_cells

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