Question

Cancer cells are more easily damaged by radiation than normal cells, because they are
A. Starved of nutrition
B. Undergoing rapid division
C. Different in structure
D. Non-dividing

Answer 1

Hint:
The cancer cells keep on dividing and growing, these cells continue to produce copies and thus spread in the whole body. Radiation therapy damages actively growing cells.

Complete answer:
Cancer cells are those cells which keep on growing, dividing and forming solid tumors. Cell division is a normal process but it has a certain limit too. When there is no more need for the daughter cells then the division of healthy cells gets stopped but the cancer cells do not stop and they continue to produce copies and it spreads to the whole body from one part of the body to another.
Radiation therapy is most harmful for the cells which are actively dividing and fast-growing cells, cancer cells are one of them . The cancer cells are more easily damaged by the radiation than the normal cells as the radiations do not let them divide and grow, it makes the cancer cells dead. Therefore, this radiation easily damages the cancer cells because they undergo rapid division and do not stop by itself.

Thus, the correct answer is B. i.e., Undergoing rapid division.

Additional Information:
The cancer patients are mostly treated with radiation therapy where there is use of high radiation to treat cancer by stopping the cancer cells from spreading in the body from one organ to others. This radiation destroys its ability to reproduce, this affects their DNA due to which they no longer divide and form multiple copies. Radiations can damage the normal cells too therefore it is really important to target the radiation at only cancer cells. Devices are used in order to ensure the proper dosage of radiation.

Note: The cancer cells divide rapidly than the normal cells and they are unable to repair their damage as early and effectively as the normal cells can do. These are the two main reasons where cancer cells are more vulnerable to radiation. Hence, radiation works on the cancer cells which are undergoing rapid division.