Genetics

By: Eduardo Andrade

What is genetics? Genetics,
Is the study of
genes, genetic variation,
and heredity in living
organisms. It is generally
considered a field of biology,
but it intersects frequently
with many of the life science
and it is strongly linked with
the study of information
systems (google). How
does this relate to cancer?
Some cancers can be found
in sex chromosomes. My
mom told me once when I
was young, The genes we
are born with may
contribute to our risk of
developing certain types of
cancer, including breast,
ovarian, colorectal, and
prostate cancer (Memorial
Sloan Kettering). We have
alleles that are passed down
form our parents. For
example, hair color can be
the gene (a gene is like the
topic) and the allele is
brown. Cancer can happen if
it is passed down from your
parents. Some genes can
pre-disposed you to some
cancers, and some genes
can give you cancer from
birth. There are two types
of genetic mutations. They
are Acquired Mutations and

Germline mutations are

passed directly from a
parent to a child. Some
alleles that are passed
down can increase your
chance of getting a
cancer (which can be risk
factor). Tumor suppressor
genes are protective
genes, and when these
get mutated cell mass
forms. Here are some
tumor suppresser genes
BRCA1, BRCA2, and p53.
People that have missing
or damaged p53 gene are
likely to get cancer.
Oncogenes turns a
healthy cell into a
cancerous cell and this
cant be Germline
mutation. There are two
common Oncogenes
HER2 AND The ras family
of genes. HER2 is, which
is a specialized protein
that controls cancer
growth and spread, and it
is found on some cancer
cells, such as breast and
ovarian cancer cells. The
res family of genes is,
which make proteins
involved in cell
communication
pathways, cell growth,
and cell death. One way
to lower genetic risks for
cancer is DNA repair

Most people with

Brain Steam Glioma
can be Acquired
Mutations and
Germline mutation.
Brain Steam Glioma
can have gene
mutations in the
p53 and grow a
tumor. The p53
mutation can be
inherit from your
parent. My mom
and dad were both
heterozygous for
the gene, so I had
50% of getting a
mutation (see
picture below) in
the p53. Once there
is a mutation the
p53 can not do its
job, is a gene that
codes for a protein
that regulates the
cell cycle and
hence functions as
a tumor
suppression. It is
very important for
cells in multicellular
organisms to
suppress cancer. If
its not doing its job,
I can grow a tumor,
like I did.
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