How Are Cancers Formed in the Human Body?
Cancer is one of the biggest global issue faced by mankind in modern era. Till date, there is no viable cure and people die everyday due to it. In fact, cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide at an alarming rate of approximately 10 million every year, and it’s still rising. But why does cancer occur? To understand this, let’s first take a look at what cancer is.
In simple terms, cancer is a condition where a type of cell in a specific part of the body starts to reproduce uncontrollably. When this happens, they are referred to as cancer cells. Cancer cells are nothing but normal, everyday cells…but with a genetic defect. This defect or “modification” of the gene (DNA) makes the cell’s replicating properties to go berserk. This leads to an accumulation of useless — but high energy consuming — cancer cells called malignant tumors. These tumors have the capacity to spread across the body and critical organs. When this happens, the essential nutrients and resources required for healthy cells are stolen by the cancerous cells. An accurate reason for the formation of cancerous cells has not been found so far, but research indicates that are multiple probable causes that may induce it such as radioactive exposure, genetic disorders, pollution, unhealthy lifestyle and chemical substances such as pesticides.
An important concept to understand regarding cancer cells is the function and role of telomeres. Seems like a pretty “scientific” term right? Every time the DNA replicates, a small portion of it gets chipped off from the ends. If the coding part of the DNA gets eliminated, genetic disorders could occur. To prevent this, functionless pieces of DNA are found at the tips of chromosomes (condensed forms of EXTREMELY long, functional DNA strands) called telomeres. This way, when the a strand of DNA replicates, the telomeres sustain the damage. However, this is not permanent. After a certain point, the telomeres get depleted and the functional part of the DNA start to get impaired. This is why diseases like Alzheimer’s is common in elderly people. This is also why it is recommended to reproduce at a young age — so that the offspring doesn’t carry impaired genes.
Cancer cells are different though. They produce a different set of proteins and have a few unique attribute, one of which is its ability to activate an enzyme called telomerase. This enzyme has the ability to replenish telomeres. However, this enzyme is dormant in healthy cells. Thus, cancer cells are allowed to replicate without consequence. No matter how much the cancer cells divide, the quality of cells produced never deteriorates.
Anyone can get cancer. It is commonly known that cancer has a high chance of occurrence in elderly people, but what many people do not know is that it can occur in all age groups, including infants as young as six months old. I personally witnessed this. I had the opportunity to be able to participate in an educational internship at a cancer treatment institution, where I was able to learn about cancer and how it is treated. It was a truly eye-opening experience. To learn more, here is a small writeup on my experience.
