Characteristics of Cancer Cells - SPH

Evasion of programmed cell death (apoptosis): cancer cells suppress and inactivate genes and pathways that normally enable cells to die. TheBiologyofCancer printall Prev Next   1   |  2   |  3   |  4   |  5   |  6   |  7   |  8   |  9   |  10   |  11   |  12   ContentsAllModules CharacteristicsofCancerCells Cancercellsgrowanddivideatanabnormallyrapidrate,arepoorlydifferentiated,andhaveabnormalmembranes,cytoskeletalproteins,andmorphology.Theabnormalityincellscanbeprogressivewithaslowtransitionfromnormalcellstobenigntumorstomalignanttumors.  In2000cancerbiologistsRobertWeinbergandDouglasHanahanpublishedanarticleentitled"TheHallmarksofCancer."[Cell2000;100(1):57-70]Whiletheyrecognizedthatcancersoccurredthroughaseriesofmutationsinanyofmanygenes.Despitethis,theylistedsixessentialalterationsincellphysiologythatcharacterizedmalignancy. Self-sufficiencyingrowthsignals:cancercellsacquireanautonomousdrivetoproliferate-pathologicalmitosis-byvirtueoftheactivationofoncogenessuchasrasormyc. Insensitivitytogrowth-inhibitory(antigrowth)signals:cancercellsinactivatetumorsuppressorgenes,suchasRb,thatnormallyinhibitgrowth. Evasionofprogrammedcelldeath(apoptosis):cancercellssuppressandinactivategenesandpathwaysthatnormallyenablecellstodie. Limitlessreplicationpotential:cancercellsactivatespecificgenepathwaysthatrenderthemimmortalevenaftergenerationsofgrowth. Sustainedangiogenesis:cancercellsacquirethecapacitytodrawouttheirownsupplyofbloodandbloodvessels-tumorangiogenesis. Tissueinvasionandmetastasis:cancercellsacquirethecapacitytomigratetootherorgans,invadeothertissues,andcolonizetheseorgans,resultingintheirspreadthroughoutthebody. returntotop|previouspage|nextpage Content©2016.AllRightsReserved. Datelastmodified:May4,2016. CreatedbyWayneW.LaMorte,MD,PhD,MPH,BostonUniversitySchoolofPublicHealth