Will we ever discover what causes cancer?

Question

Will we ever discover what causes cancer?

Answer 1

hopefully

Answer 2

JUST had an exam on all this.
Ok .... cancer's are formed when you have metaplasia (change of cell type), which alters how growth factors that inhibit protooncogenes from making normal cells to malignant cells from oncogenes. Those inhibit pro-apoptoic (programmed cell death) genes (p53, BAX, and BAD) from killing the altered cells. Then the cancers or even tumors can either be localized or can metastsized depending if it is termed benign or malignant. Pretty much your cell types change, and your body can't do anything about it.
For example: Smokers can have Barrett's Syndrome (a form of lung cancer), as the lung has columnar cells, but in Barrett's the cells would change into squamous cells.

Its harder to explain the whole process without writing a 10 page explaination on it. The take home point is that different areas of your body have different types of cells. Mutations in those types of cells can cause cancers.

Answer 3

There is no SINGLE cause of cancer. Although we have found the cause of some cancers, different cancers are caused by different things and more than one thing could cause the same kind of cancer. You can have environmental causes, illness causes and genetic causes or triggers. The cause is often different depending on the age of the person!

Answer 4

We do know what causes many cancers. We know what generally cellular defects exsist that cause cancer. We know that cancer is caused at the genetic level by the occurrence of multiple non-lethal mutations in the genetic codes of cells.

Here are a few examples:
*Cigarette smoking - lung cancer, most head and neck cancers, esophageal cancer
*Sun - causes most skin cancers

Answer 5

Most of it is caused by bad diet and environment.

Some of it is genetic, in the sense that there are common sensitivities within the gene pool that trigger it, like diet and enviroment.

They already know the causes, but rarely do they deal with it by attacking it at the root. And rarely are they honest with the data to the general public.

Obesity causes a lot of cancer. When the body can't handle the burning of nutrients it stores them as fat. Having excess fat leads to chronic disease, which is linked to a host of other less than desirable qualities. It's the impersonal consequence of taking in more than your body needs.

Answer 6

i think that 1 day in the future we will no what causes cancer and how 2 prevent it as we r already getting closer 2 finding out what causes it.

Answer 7

i hope so then that way less ppl will get diagnosed with it hopefully
(myself and my mother are cancer survivors diagnosed a year apart from each other)

Answer 8

Defected genes cause cancer. We know that already. Know we need to know how to cure it.

Answer 9

Not when pharmaceutical companies find it financially more rewarding just to treat it. Cure it and you don't have customers anymore. Help them live with it, and you have customers for life.

Answer 10

yes