I have read that what makes a cell cancerous is its ability to undergo uncontrolled cell division. It is also due to the presence of telomeres that allow these cells to keep dividing, yes?I wonder, what is the main characteristic of cancer cells that makes them so hard to be treated? I am really interested in this field and I am only an A level student and I am only able to understand to this extent. The things mentioned in the notes seem very easy and uncomplicated, like "oh you could just add an inhibitor and switch off telomerase and you can stop them from dividing". But it does not seem to be the case, from my point of view.
Could someone enlighten me?
Memere RN/BA - What makes cancer cells so dangerous is their cell mutation. There are more than one types of mutation. Cancer is only one word for over 200 different diseases. So mutation is the huge factor. A healthy cell gone rogue if you will. This one cell attaches to another and another and each time the mutation can differ depending where on or in the body it affects. There are some cell that protect cells from cancer, but this doesn't always work because they too can mutate and become cancer. When a cell begins to die, it's called a crisis and even though a crisis occurs, the cell can continue to divide and the tolermeres has not effect. The things that protect a cell from cancer,,,or try,, are protein tumor suppressors. This is what tolermeres is.
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