Overview
Cancer is the uncontrollable growth of abnormal cells in the body. Cancer occurs when the body's control mechanisms stop working, causing old cells to grow out of control instead of dying (cancer cells lack apoptosis).
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Cancer Development
Rather than responding appropriately to the signals that control normal cell behavior, cancer cells grow and divide in an uncontrolled manner, invading normal tissues and organs and eventually spreading throughout the body. The generalized loss of growth control exhibited by cancer cells is the net result of accumulated abnormalities in multiple cell regulatory systems and is reflected in several aspects of cell behavior that distinguish cancer cells from their normal counterparts.