How does cancer occur refering to te cell side of it and te cell cycle etc..?
Hi Kate. The cell cycle contains “check points” that protect the DNA from being reproduced if the DNA is damaged. If damaged DNA is reproduced, it can result in a mutation. If the mutation leads to activation of a “proto-oncogene” or inactivation of a tumor suppressor gene (TSG), then the check points in the cell cycle can be impaired. A proto-oncogene when activated by a mutation becomes an “oncogene”. Oncogenes tend to speed up the cell cycle (like your foot on the accelerator of your car). The result is the cycle’s check points don’t have enough time to find and fix any damaged DNA. Thus, more DNA damage is reproduced and more mutations develop. A TSG (such as tumor suppressor p53 – the “Guardian of the Genome”) is needed at the cell cycle check points to find and fix DNA damage. Think of TSGs as your car’s brakes – they slow down the cell cycle to allow adequate time for DNA repair. However, if a TSG is inactivated by a mutation, then, again, the cell cycle proceeds without having
