Question

What are the different causes of cancer?

Answer 1

Hint: Cancer is a disease and one of the major issues in the world’s health challenges. It is usually caused by a change in the DNA of a cell.

Complete answer: The disease called cancer is one of the world’s major health challenges. It is caused by changes in the DNA of cells, usually referred to as simply mutations or gene mutations.
We know that genes are actually few DNA sequences or some combination of bases or nucleotides that instruct the cell to make particular proteins.
Genes carry out many important functions such as cell growth, controlling cell growth and division, DNA repair, etc.
So if mutations occur in these important set of genes, cancer may be formed due to: rapid and uncontrolled cell growth, having same mutations in the newly formed DNA, deactivation of tumor suppressor genes leading to tumor formation, interference in the apoptotic pathway, wrong repair of DNA errors or no repair, etc.

Additional information: Below are examples of cancer treatment:
1. Chemotherapy aims to kill cancerous cells with medications that target quickly dividing cells. The drugs can also help shrink tumors, but the side effects can be serious.
2. Hormone therapy involves proceeding medications that change how certain hormones work or interfere with the body’s ability to produce them. When hormones play a remarkable role, as with prostate and breast cancers, this is a common approach.
3. Immunotherapy uses medications and other treatments to increase the immune system and encourage it to fight cancerous cells.
4. Precision medicine, or personalized medicine, is a newer, growing approach. It involves using genetic testing to determine the best treatments for a person’s particular form of cancer.

Note: The physical, chemical or biological agents that may cause cancer are called carcinogens. These include harsh overdose of UV rays, X-rays or other radioactive rays, noxious gases, etc. Healthy lifestyle choices are the best method of prevention. Early detection, proper care, and treatment can help get rid of it.