By: Shawn Cox
Submitted: 2010-04-22 14:50:52 | Word Count: 461
This paper, by reviewing the article by Wayt W. Gibbs (2008), “Untangling Roots of Cancer”, illustrates the author’s arguments on the cancer cells origination and reflects upon the news ways of stopping this disease suggested by the scholars.
According to the author, cancer happens when cells in some part of the body start multiplying out of control. Unlike normal cells that grow, divide, and die in a more or less regimented way, cancer cells live longer than normal cells, rapidly form new abnormal cells, and even travel to other places in the body where they begin to replace normal tissue.
Gibbs (2008) reflects on a popular opinion that all cancer develops because of some kind of damage to the DNA. According to the popular view (which is still correct), after some damaged DNA is inherited, a mutation in BRCA1, which leads to a high susceptibility to cancer takes place. Scientists have discovered other genes that are associated with cancer, specifically cancer of the colon, kidney, lymph node, pancreas, esophagus, rectum, and skin.
Frequently, cancer is not related to family diseases. Instead, it is spontaneous—a result of DNA damage that in turn resulted from exposure to smoke, alcohol, sunlight, some viruses, or toxins such as coal tar, asbestos, and hydrocarbons. Such toxins either cause cancer by mutating a normal sequence or by affecting so-called oncogenes and tumor-suppressor genes. They are like a gas pedal. If mutated, the pedal's to the metal, and they send cells the signal to keep growing. Tumor-suppressor genes are the brakes. They restrict cell growth. If they are mutated, tumor cells keep growing without stopping.) There are at least two dozen types of known familial and spontaneous cancers—some more aggressive than others. Not all respond to the same treatments. That's why different cancer patients often undergo very different treatments. According to Gibs (2008), almost 30% of Westerners develop cancer at some point in their lives, and one in five die as a result of it.' It is a battle with a lot of personal investment involved, and the big guns are out.
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Gibbs (2008) says scientists have learned more about cancer in the last ten years than they have during all the history of mankind. Whether that will translate into cures for cancer in our lifetime is the key question, and the author hopes the new approaches have the answer.
The author comments that Vinculin does something very interesting. It changes its three-dimensional shape so that a cell can move through its environment, rather than remaining fixed in one place. Researchers say Vinculin's ability to change its shape so that a cell with genes expressing it can move about reveals an important clue about how cancer cells are able to spread around the body.
