11/8/2010: Warm Up HAVE OUT YOUR HOMEWORK (WILL BE CHECKED) 1. What specific cells would need to have mutated DNA to pass cancer down to offspring? 2. What things have you heard of that cause cancer? 3. In what ways can you prevent cancer?

Cancer is… cells that cannot control their growth rate and continue to divide without dying This forms tumors NORMAL CELLS live, divide, and die routinely

Benign and Malignant Benign (NONcancerous) tumors don’t spread Malignant cells spread to other parts of the body and are the most dangerous, the process of spreading is called metastasis.

What causes cancer? Cancer forms when there are mutations in DNA Oncogenes, which are genes that play a role in normal cell growth, may be mutated causing cells to abnormally divide p53 is a tumor suppressor gene that can be mutated. p53 checks for mutations in DNA and fixes them or halts mitosis, when p53 is mutated, mitosis continues even though DNA is damaged

Hereditary Cancer To inherit cancer, your parents would need to have mutated DNA in their gametes (egg or sperm) This would mean that all of your DNA would contain this mutation since your DNA comes solely from your parents’ gametes. Since you already have a mutation, the risk of developing cancer is greater Would your gametes also have this mutation? Maybe Only mutations in gametes can be passed down—scientists believe that cancer may be inherited in some genes, but do not understand this mechanism fully

Cancer can be caused by exposure to carcinogens Some common carcinogens are: Arsenic Nickel Alcohol Formaldehyde Tobacco (even smokeless tobacco) Sunlight X-rays

Normal lung cells at 40x, can see vessel (left) and airway (right), many open spaces, thin membranes

Cancerous lung cells at 40x Cancerous lung cells at 40x. Thickened membranes, spaces filled with cancer cells

Normal Lung Cells 100x, can see thin membranes, many open spaces, small vessels (bright pink)

Cancerous Lung Cells (100x), can see spaces are filled in and so are the vessels, membranes are thick

Cancer Prevention According to some studies, nearly two out of three people can avoid cancer by.. -not smoking -eating a low-fat diet with lots of fruits and vegetables Other habits that help prevent cancer include: Limiting the alcohol use Including physical activity in your daily routine Maintaining a healthy body weight Reducing environmental exposure to carcinogens Using sunscreen when outside Frequent physical examinations by your doctor as well as self-examination are critical to detecting cancer early. The sooner cancer is diagnosed and treated, the better the chance for a cure.

Cancer Treatment Surgery to remove the tumors (sometimes too risky) Chemotherapy = Use of drugs as treatment Some of them prevent mitosis: Vincristine – prevents spindle fibers from forming Mitomycin C – makes Chromosomes sticky and prevents them from replicating These drugs have side-effects and can affect normal cells, so their use is limited. Radiation Therapy = use of radiation to treat cancer cells Uses radiation to target cancer cells and kill them Kills cancer cells more easily but also kills some normal cells

On a blank sheet of paper Write down ONE question you have about cancer and one thing you know/heard about cancer When you are finished, ball your piece of paper up and wait for instruction DO NOT put your name on the paper