How Tumor Suppressor Genes Block Cell Division

What is cancer? Cancer and tumors are the result of uncontrolled cell division. The cell cycle is controlled by regulatory proteins. When the DNA coding for these proteins is damaged then the proteins may not function. One possible outcome of a non-functioning regulatory protein is continuous cell division. A consequence of an uncontrolled cell cycle is that the tissue formed from cell division is often non-functional. Without control the growth does not take on the proper form or interact normally with other cell types. The root cause of the growth is a genetic defect. Thus, all daughter cells of a cancerous cell will also exhibit the same pattern of uncontrolled growth. Therefore cancers and tumors are very serious diseases.

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