1. Self sufficiency in
growth signals (cancer
cells stimulate their
own growth)
Cancer cells do not need stimulation from
external signals (in the form of growth
factors) to multiply in which normal cells do.
Prostate cancer cells require androgens for growth
Ras protein (part of oncogens)involved in
signalling a major pathway leading to cell
proliferation. mutations in ras genes can lead to
the production of permanently activated leading to cancer
Ras may also promote
autocrine growth factor
production of Transforming
Grwoth Factor-a (TGFa),
which further acts on the
EGFR in an autocrine
manner
2. Insensitivity to growth-inhibitory signals (they
resist inhibitory (or external) signals that might otherwise stop
their growth)
TGFb Receptor mutation or inactivation is
common in cancers These cells no longer
respond to growth inhibitory signals
The retinoblastoma protein ( pRb or RB1) is a tumor
suppressor protein that is dysfunctional in several major
cancers
pRb prevent excessive cell growth by inhibiting
cell cycle progression until a cell is ready to divide
Loss of pRb (due to deletion) allows
E2F transcription factors to bind DNA
and induce gene expression, promoting
the cell cycle progression in early G1
Only when Rb is hyperphosphoryalated (or
total Rb removed) can cells progress through
the R-point and on to S-phase
over-ride the R-point by Tumours over-express
Cyclin E by gene amplification, by inactivates TGFbRII
and inactivate pRb by gene deletion
3. Evading apoptosis(they resist
their own programmed cell death
(apoptosis)))
In tumour cells, a key regulator of this
process (p53) is defective this means
that when mutation occur and not
corrected
p53 response to DNA damage, p53 levels
increase, leading to expression of p53-responsive
genes to repair DNA genes, regulators of
apoptosis
p53 is phosporylated by ATM, Chk2, and ATR,
allowing p53 to induce target genes and this
prevents mdm2 binding
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4. Limitless replicative potential
(but cancer they can multiply
forever)
Cancer cells escape this limit (60 times) and are
apparently capable of indefinite growth and division
(immortality)
The counting device for cell doublings is the telomere,
which loses DNA at the tips of every chromosome
during each cell cycle (until reach 3kb in length). Many
cancers involve the upregulation of telomerase, the
enzyme that maintains telomeres.
5. Sustained angiogenesis (they stimulate the growth of
blood vessels to supply nutrients to tumors
(angiogenesis))
Angiogenesis is the process by which new blood
vessels are formed. Cancer cells appear to be
able to kickstart this process
For tumours to grow, they must develop their own
blood supply Without their own blood vessels,
tumour growth stops at about 1mm3
produce pro-angiogenic signals in response to low
oxygen levels, promoting angiogenesis and
tumour blood vessel formation
Tumour cells
secrete growth
factors inclue:
vascular
endothelial
growth factor
(VEGF) and
acetic and basic
fibroblast growth
factor (FGF 1/2),
which bind to
transmembrane
tyrosine kinase
receptors
displayed or
recruit
endothelial cells
and also
Platelet-Derived
Growth Factor
(PDGF) which
recruits
pericytes to the
vessel (these
cells stabilise the
vessels
6. Invasion and metastasis (they invade local
tissue and spread to distant sites (metastasis).)
These primary tumours only account for 10% of death,
the remaining 90% die from metastasis to secondary
sites.
Once tumours become invasive, and the basement membrane has been
breached, blood vessel recruitment can occur throughout the tumour