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Case Study 2
- Course
- BIOL 121 (BIOL121)
- Institution
- Harrisburg Area Community College
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1. What is the difference between a tumor and cancer?A tumor is a mass made up of cells that does not have a discernible function in the
human body. A tumor can be cancerous but not aways. When tumors are not
cancerous they are referred to as benign, when they are cancerous they are referred to
as malignant. Tumors are considered malignant when they have the ability to infiltrate
other parts of the body and cause dysfunction. Cancer cells divide by mitosis just like
normal cells, however, instead of the product being 2 daughter cells that are destroyed
by apoptosis (cell destruction) if they are found to be damaged, the cancerous daughter
cells are non-functional and increase at a rapid rate and apoptosis does not occur.
2. What is a tumor suppressor gene and what is the role in the cell mitotic cycle?
Tumor suppressor genes are genes that become activated by cellular damage to initiate
apoptosis which destroys the excess cells not needed by the body. In the mitotic cycle
there are 3 “checkpoints” that the cell encounters after each of the four phases that
allow tumor suppressor genes to become activated if needed.
3. What would you expect to happen if a cell had a mutated P53 gene?
The P53 gene is a tumor suppressor gene. If the P53 gene is mutated it is not able to
suppress tumors through apoptosis. This means that the individual with this damaged
gene is drastically more likely to develop cancers such as ovarian cancer, esophageal,
cancer, and colorectal cancer.
4. Can cancer be passed from one generation to the next? Explain.
Cancer is not hereditary, meaning that cancer is not passed to offspring. However
individuals do inherit susceptibility to cancer through mutated genes. If parents have
mutated genes like P53 or BRCA their offspring is much more likely to also have those
mutated genes which puts them at much higher predisposition to develop cancer.
5. Why does cancer affect mostly older people instead of young people?
Cancer is much more likely to affect older individuals. This is because individuals can
be born with mutated genes but may not be born with cancer. Oftentimes the
development of cancer is triggered by environmental factors and environmental damage
to additional genes that also act as tumor suppressor genes. For example certain
viruses like HPV can occur and damage tumor suppressor genes leading to the
development of cancer.
6. How do cancer cells travel throughout the human body?
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