Cancer is when genes, common to all humans, go wrong and allow cells to rapidly and abnormally grow. Once abnormally grown, a tumor begins to form that can be cancerous(malignant) or benign. A tumor becomes cancerous once it goes through metastasis which is the spread of cancer cells beyond their original site. there are hundreds of different cancers. Retinoblastoma is cancer of the eyes which is uncommon but unfortunately breast cancer is not. One of the most common and deadly diseases among woman today is cancer of the breast(s). It all begins with chromosome 17. Scientists have recently found that chromosome 17 is the chromosome where the gene for breast cancer can be found. Sunlight or Carcinogens, such as cigarettes, x-rays, and certain chemicals, can cause or trigger mutations that alter the expression genes. Some of the genes that are altered are oncogenes or "cancer causing genes", thus leaving one with a cancerous cell. All that it takes for a gene to become cancerous is to be misspelled. One spelling mistake in just one base pair in a gene can alter the gene and eventually cause cancer. Scientists around the world have been searching for a cure or at least a better method for treating breast cancer.
A biologist named Wienberg, watched a pond in his back yard gradually grow larger and larger, much like cancer. From this, Weinberg realized that if he could stop the process of signals for cell division from receptor sites, then he could slow down or defeat the cancer. He began to test his anti-receptor or antibody on mice. As luck would have it, his anti-receptor agent did slow down the growing tumor. .
Another interesting avenue to venture in cancer research is with a gene hunter who uses specific genetic markers near genes to find out exactly or relatively where a certain gene is and what it does. A recent break-through with a gene named NM-23 has shed light on new possibilities in cancer research.
