How Tumor Cells Differ From Normal Cells
The genomes of most cancer cells undergo dramatic alterations, ranging from point mutations to deletions and amplifications to whole chromosome gains and losses. These changes in genetic makeup affect virtually all cellular functions.
Uncontrolled proliferation and escape from the confines of the tissue of origin are two universal traits of cancer cells.
Tumors are complex organs composed of different cell types that interact with their environment to obtain a maximal growth advantage.
Both primary and secondary tumors require angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels, in order to grow to a large mass.
Cancer cells sometimes invade surrounding tissues, often breaking through the basement membranes that define the boundaries of tissues and spreading through the body to establish secondary areas of growth, a process called metastasis.
Metastatic tumor cells acquire migratory properties in a process called the epithelial-