Question

How does apoptosis relate to cancer cells?

A. In cancer cells, too much apoptosis occurs, resulting in malignant cells that will not undergo programmed cell death.
B. In cancer cells, too little apoptosis occurs, resulting in malignant cells that will not undergo programmed cell death.
C. In cancer cells, apoptosis occurs only when cells grow without proper regulation.
D. In cancer cells, apoptosis occurs only when the cells receive the proper hormones.

Answer 1

Apoptosis in Cancer

The loss of apoptotic control allows cancer cells to survive longer and gives more time for the accumulation of mutations which can increase invasiveness during tumor progression, stimulate angiogenesis, deregulate cell proliferation and interfere with differentiation

Many oncogenic stresses, including uncontrolled proliferation or DNA damage, trigger apoptosis; consequently, by culling cells at risk of transformation, apoptosis effectively prevents cancer. Apoptosis also suppresses tumourigenesis in various other ways.

The more malignant the tumour is, the more apoptosis shows. In this study, we propose a new theory that apoptosis plays a key role in the malignant progression and metastasis of cancer. The growth of tumour is the difference between tumour cell proliferation and attrition plus the hyperplastic growth of stroma.