what makes a cancer cell different from a normal cell?

Answer 1

bekah,

Essentially, it's that the cell has "forgotten" how to die.

There's much more to it than that, of course, but that's the biggest difference between a cancer sell and a normal one.

Every cell has a lifespan. In the human, that lifespan is about 50 cell divisions, then it goes through what scientists and doctors call "cell apoptosis," or cell death.

A cancer cell--which used to be a normal one--doesn't do that. It has changed so that it just keeps on dividing and dividing, making more and more cells that "take over" that part of the body, and then often some will break off and migrate to another part of the body where they will start doing the same thing.

In fact, when a cancer "metastasizes" like that, the main tumor (depending on the kind of cancer it is) will sometimes secrete a suppressor chemical that keeps the other cancers from growing as long as it exists. When it is removed surgically, it no longer does that, and the other tumors start growing.

But normally, almost all cancers also have a way of "hijacking" the blood-vessel growing machinery of the body to make the body grow blood vessels to it to feed it so it can grow more (they have a chemical that makes the body grow arteries and veins to it).

This is all done through some kind of mutation in the DNA of the cell. We're not entirely sure which one, because there seems to be more than one pathway for this to happen. A virus can do this--the Human Papilloma Virus (a kind of otherwise benign sexually transmitted disease) will cause cervical cells to become cancerous, certain chemicals will do this--labs use known "carcinogens" (it's from Greek. It means "cancer causing") to start cancers in mice and rats all the time.

And some "just grow" as far as we know. Mutations happen all the time to DNA, and usually a mutation is not good. We have DNA-repairing genes, but they're not perfect. They can't always keep up.

So there are lots of reasons we might get cancer. When we do, we have a cell in our body that's suddenly become our enemy, because it does not know when to die, and it just keeps growing and growing until it kills us. Unless we can get to the doctor first.

So make sure that you don't live too far away from a doctor, and get regular checkups. The earlier a cancer is caught, the better your life will be.

Have a good life.

Answer 2

Essentially a cancer cellphone is what we call a immortal phone. What this implies is that cells division machinary, as some have recounted, has broken down because of a smash down in either the genetic code, transcription motives that mutate or destroyed by way of some toxin, or actual DNA encoding problems. Cancer cells begin multiplying at an alarming price, and now have the capacity to sequester blood vesseles to grow in the direction of them to give ample vitamins and minerals. Cancer cells also have the potential to signal and spred through the blood circulate, to both allow for different tumors to emerge as invasive or begin up. Cancer cells will develop so giant that they'll take up all the "power" or vitamins and minerals that will in general go to the tissue that it has invaded, causing that tissue, we could say the liver or kidneys, to not work thoroughly. These are just some variations, their are many more nevertheless i dont know how so much you particularly care to know.

Answer 3

A cancer cell is our own body cell which lost its sense of when to stop dividing into daughter cells. Usually all our body cells are genetically coded when to stop dividing. Normal cells stop diving after achieving their optimum no.s in the tissue but cancer cells lack that information and they keep on dividing until they make a tumor which has no useful function. this disturbs function of other tissues.

Answer 4

A malignant tumor. Cancer is invasive and tends to metastasize to new sites and spreads directly into surrounding tissues.
We have different types of cells. Red blood cells and white blood cells of many types which fight infection.
RBCs carry nutrients, WBCs don't.
Cancer is usually a cell which has "gone wild" and tends to spread into other parts of the body, not giving off anything of useful value to your body.

Answer 5

it has mutated

(edit)
to the person who gave me a thumbs down:

http://www.csuchico.edu/~jbell/Biol207/cancer.html
The Causes of Cancer
Multiple somatic mutations are needed to create a cancerous cell. these mutations can be caused by:

Carcinogens
Mutagenic chemicals
Radiation
Growth promoting agents
Viruses
Retroviruses
Rous sarcoma virus
carries a cellular oncogene (v-src)
Avian leukosis virus
activates a cellular oncogene (c-myc)
DNA tumor viruses (insertional mutagensis)
Adenovirus, SV40, Hepatitis B virus (HBV)
A tendency to get cancer can be inherited
Individuals inherit one "bad" allele but still need a somatic mutation in the other "good" allele
retinoblastoma (40%), Wilms tumor (all), breast cancer (5%)

i only found it when i did a quick search just now. bekah...i suggest you check it out because i think it answers your questions in a lot of ways.

Answer 6

Uncontrolled cell division rapidly

Answer 7

Cancer cells are black (melanoma) and normal cells are not

Answer 8

the cancer

Answer 9

ask your science teacher not yahoo