CANCER CELLS

Cancer cells are cells that grow and divide at an unregulated,

quickened pace. Although cancer cells can be quite common
in a person they are only malignant when the other cells
(particularly natural killer cells) fail to recognize and/or
destroy them. In the past a common belief was that cancer
cells failed to be recognized and destroyed because of a
weakness in the immune system. However more recent
research has shown that the failure to recognize cancer cells is
caused by the lack of particular co-stimulated molecules that
aid in the way antigens react with lymphocytes.
Causes
By researching stem cells scientists have suggested that too
much SP2 protein may turn stem cells into cancer cells. Other
issues thought to play a role in the spread of cancer include viruses, immune system
issues, genetics, environment and age. However, a lack of particular co-stimulated
molecules that aid in the way antigens react with lymphocytes can impair the natural
killer cells ability and ultimately cause cancer.
All cancers begin in cells, the body's basic unit of life. To understand cancer, it's
helpful to know what happens when normal cells become cancer cells.
The body is made up of many types of cells. These cells grow and are controlled to
produce more cells as they are needed to keep the body healthy. When cells become
old or damaged, they die and are replaced with new cells.
Sometimes this process of controlled production of cells goes wrong. The genetic
material (DNA) of a cell start producing mutations that affect normal cell growth and
division by being damaged. When this happens, sometimes these cells do not die but
form a mass of tissue called a tumor. Said mutations accumulate, being another reason
that cancer is found more often in older people.
Pathology
White Blood cells are thought to use a dual receptor system when they determine
whether or not to kill human cells. If a cell is under stress, turning into tumors, or
infected, molecules including MIC-A and MIC-B are produced to put on the surface
of the cell. These work to detect and kill cancer cells.
Discovery
Some descriptions of cancer, not all descriptions, go back to ancient Egypt as far back
as 1600 BC and the understanding of cancer was significantly advanced during the
Renaissance period. However, Sir Rudolf Virchow, a German biologist and politician,
is generally credited with discovering the first cancer cells. As Giovanni Morgagni

had linked autopsy findings seen with the unaided eye with the clinical course of
illness, so Virchow correlated microscopic pathology.
Telomerase
Cancer cells have unique features that make them
"immortal" according to some researchers. The
enzyme telomerase is used to extend the cancer
cell's life span. While the telomeres of most cells
shortens after each division eventually causing
the cell to die, telomerase extends the cell's
telomeres. This is a major reason that cancer cells can accumulate over time creating
tumors.
Cancer stem cells and drug resistance
Scientists have discovered a molecule on the surface of
tumors that appears to promote drug resistanceby
converting the tumor cells back into a stem cell-like state.
When the tumor cells began to exhibit drug resistance, the
cells were simultaneously transforming into a stem cell-like
state, which made them impervious to the drugs. It appeared
that the treatment itself was driving this transformation by
activating a specific molecular pathway. Luckily, several
existing drugs can attack this pathway and reverse the
cellular transformation, thus re-sensitizing the tumor to
treatment.

RANGKUMAN
Kanker adalah penyakit yang menimbulkan kemampuan sel untuk
tumbuh tidak terkendali (pembelahan sel melebihi batas normal),
kanker juga menyerang jaringan biologis di dekatnya, dan
bermigrasi ke jaringan tubuh yang lain melalui sirkulasi darah atau
sistem limfatik, yang disebut metastasis.
Kondisi-kondisi yang dapat menyebabkan perubahan sel normal
menjadi sel kanker adalah hiperplasia, displasia, dan neoplasia.
Kebanyakan kanker dikenali karena tanda atau gejala tampak atau
melalui screening.
Kanker dapat menyebabkan banyak gejala yang berbeda,
bergantung pada lokasi dan karakter keganasan, serta ada tidaknya
metastasis. Kanker dapat menyebar melalui kelenjar getah bening
maupun pembuluh darah ke organ lain. Kanker adalah salah satu
penyebab utama kematian.