Cellular and Molecular Biology of Cancer

Abstract

Cancer is a generic term used to describe over 200 individual diseases. These diseases progress differently over time but share certain characteristics. These characteristics include development within any tissue of a malignant growth derived from abnormal cells of the host. The abnormal cells proliferate autonomously, invade through normal tissue barriers, spread to local and distant tissue sites, and reproduce indefinitely. The masses of abnormal cells formed and spread in this way lead to the death of the host if not eradicated. (The word “cancer” comes from the Latin, meaning crab. A tumor was called a cancer because of swollen veins around the area resembling a crab’s limbs.)