What 2 ways do cancer cells differ in their mitotic processes compared to normal cells that result in tumors?

Question

What 2 ways do cancer cells differ in their mitotic processes compared to normal cells that result in the growth of tumors?

Answer 1

Malignant (cancer) cells differ from the cells of benign tumors in several ways:

Malignant cells tend to metastasize (spread to other parts of the body via the blood stream or lymphatic system)

Malignant cells tend to invade surrounding tissues.

Malignant cells tend to become undifferentiated after repeated divisions (they lose the specific identifying characteristics of the cell type they arose from).

Malignant cells tend to become aneuploid after repeated divisions (they develop an abnormal (usually excessive but sometimes lower than normal) DNA complement for cells of the species).

Malignant cells tend to have a higher than normal nuclear/cytoplasmic ratio. They divide so frequently that the cell doesn't have time to grow to normal size before dividing again.

Malignant cells tend to skip the usual resting stage between mitotic divisions, and simply begin another division as soon as one division is completed. Different tumor types have different rates of division, but the most agressive malignancies divide almost continuously.

Answer 2

There are many differences between cancer and normal cells that result in the growth of tumors.

Specifically in the mitotic process, the two I can think of is that in cancer cells mitosis doesn't need an extracellular signal (like growth factors, hormones) to start and it is not arrested by the machinery controling the cell cycle with respect to DNA integrity (it overlaps with the apoptotic mechanism); in the case of normal cells, when DNA is damaged the cell cycle will be arrested and if the damage cannot be repaired, cells undergo apoptosis (programmed cell death). Cancer cells have and keep accumulating lots of mutations, but still go on dividing.

Answer 3

cancer cells have an indefinite life span
many cells die off after so many divisions
also cancer cells forming a tumor are not recognized by the body as needing killing. Many cancers are prevented by the body recognizing it is an abnormal cell and eliminating it .This is the basis for many new immuno-therapy treatments (getting the body to recognize they need to go. Also many cancer have substances that increase their blood supply to fuel the hyper growth.

Answer 4

Cancerous cells do not recognise that chemical that tells them to enter stationary growth stage, and so far from suspending their cell cycle, it goes into overdrive and never stops. There are still cells being used in lab experiments taking from a pateint 50 years ago, becasue they are immortal.

Also the cells do not recognise the chemical that in normal cells tells them to commit "suicide". In normal cells the signal is received and the lysosymes bind to various organelles releasing their enzymes, but this does not happen to cancerous cells.

Answer 5

cancer cells do not have contact inhibition. that is when normal cells divide; they stop dividing once they come into contact with another cell. cancer cells will grow over each other and continue reproducing

Answer 6

They suspend they cell cycle; ignore orders to commit " cell suicide " and keep on replicating into tumors.