Question

How is a cancerous cell different from a normal cell?

Answer 1

Normal cells listen to signals from neighbouring cells and stop growing when they encroach on nearby tissues. On the other hand, cancer cells ignore these cells and invade nearby tissues. Cancer cells can stimulate their own growth.

Normal cells can divide a limited number of times but cancer cells can multiply indefinitely. That’s why they are called as immortal. They are able to simulate the growth of new blood vessels (angiogenesis) to support the tumor’s increasing size. Cancer cells can make use of abnormal metabolic pathways to generate energy, and they decline to destroy themselves through apoptosis.