Naked Science Forum

Life Sciences => Cells, Microbes & Viruses => Topic started by: sheldon on 08/09/2011 12:30:03

Title: Why does cancer have mutliple causes?
Post by: sheldon on 08/09/2011 12:30:03

sheldon asked the Naked Scientists:
   Why are there so many different causes for cancer? Most diseases only have one or two causes. Is it all down to damaged DNA?
What do you think?

Title: Why does cancer have mutliple causes?
Post by: Nizzle on 28/09/2011 13:11:25

In short: yes!

Cancer cells are in fact normal body cells that have been "immortalized".

To cause this immortalization, changes in DNA are necessary. There are lots of DNA alteration that can lead to this change from normal cell to cancer cell.
Similarly, there are lots of things that alter your DNA in various ways, like UV-radiation, cigarette smoke, infection with Eppstein-Barr virus.

But in the end, all these different causes have the same effect: DNA damage.