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Article: Cancer
- Article from:
- Genetics
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CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Cancer
Cancer is a number of related diseases that are characterized by the uncontrolled proliferation and disorganized growth of cells. Tumor cells invade and destroy normal tissues and may spread throughout the body via the circulatory systems.
A Genetic Disease
Cancer is the result of changes in the genetic material of a cell that cause the cell to gradually lose the ability to grow in a regulated fashion. These changes can be brought about by contact with harmful environmental agents or by inheritance of genes leading to a
genetic predisposition
.
Cancer risk increases with age, as the probability of accumulating
mutations
in the DNA increases with time. Environmental factors ...