How Cancer Develops
Our bodies are made up of cells that follow genetic instructions to grow, work, divide, and die. Genes can malfunction as a result of DNA damage or mutation, which can cause uncontrolled division of cells. Cells may proliferate uncontrollably as a result, which could lead to cancer.
· DNA Damage: Cancer begins when the DNA of a cell becomes damaged, which can occur due to various factors like smoking, excessive sun exposure, or even errors that occur during normal cell growth. Damage to the DNA can affect the genetic instructions of the cell, resulting in alterations that lead to uncontrollable cell growth. One of the main causes of the development of cancer is this uncontrolled proliferation.
· Uncontrolled Growth: When a mutant cell starts to divide more than it should, uncontrolled expansion takes place. Cancer cells disregard these guidelines and keep proliferating uncontrollably, whereas normal cells divide, grow, and die in a systematic way. This overproliferation therefore results in the development of a tumor, which is a mass of cells.
· Tumor Formation: Tumors are created when cells divide uncontrolled. Some tumors are benign and do not spread to other parts of the body; not all tumors are cancerous. However, malignant tumors, also referred to as cancerous tumors, have the capacity to infiltrate adjacent tissues and maybe spread to other areas, which could result in additional difficulties and the advancement of cancer.
· Blood Vessel Growth: The process by which a tumor promotes the development of new blood vessels to provide it with oxygen and nutrients—two things necessary for its continuous growth—is known as angiogenesis. Cancer cells can proliferate and spread across the surrounding tissue when the tumor grows larger and more aggressive as it attracts more blood vessels. The growth and spread of the tumor are aided by this enhanced blood supply.
· Metastasis: Cancer cells have the ability to separate from the original tumor and spread to other areas of the body via the lymphatic or circulatory systems. This process, called metastasis, enables the disease to spread to other organs and grow into new tumors.
