Question

Can you eplain to me why it takes more than one mutation for a cell to become cancerous?

Answer 1

Cancer is characterized by unregulated cell proliferation and metastasis. The underlying cause of a cancer can be a single mutation to start with. However, it requires a set of mutations for a cell to become cancerous. This is because cell cycle is a tightly regulated process. It is under the control of multiple and often redundant genetic pathways. So, unregulated cell proliferation can be checked even if there is a single mutation. However, if a single mutation in a gene that increases the mutation rate of the cell, then the cell would accumulate many mutations and become cancerous. These mutations are generally in the oncogenes (genes that promote cell proliferation) and tumor suppressor genes (Genes that prevent cell proliferation).