Summarizing Cancer and the Cell Cycle

Summary

Cancer is the result of unchecked cell division caused by a breakdown of the mechanisms that regulate the cell cycle. The loss of control begins with a change in the DNA sequence of a gene that codes for one of the regulatory molecules. Faulty instructions lead to a protein that does not function as it should.

Any disruption of the monitoring system can allow other mistakes to be passed on to the daughter cells. Each successive cell division will give rise to daughter cells with even more accumulated damage. Eventually, all checkpoints become nonfunctional, and rapidly reproducing cells crowd out normal cells, resulting in a tumor or leukemia (blood cancer).

Glossary

oncogene

mutated version of a normal gene involved in the positive regulation of the cell cycle

proto-oncogene

normal gene that when mutated becomes an oncogene

tumor suppressor gene

segment of DNA that codes for regulator proteins that prevent the cell from undergoing uncontrolled division