Question: How are tumours formed?

Omur Tastan answered on 15 Mar 2016:

This is an amazing question and actually some scientists still argue on how tumors form or originate. There are several models to explain how our cells go nuts and start dividing like crazy. When you think about tumors, two types comes to mind. The good ones and the bad ones. Good ones are out of control,but they keep growing where they are and they might cause you discomfort and when it is noticed, they can be removed surgically and you might be just fine. However if the tumor is a bad one, our job is more difficult. so what makes tumors bad or good…

That’s hidden in their genetic conposition. That’s generally how they go crazy as well. Think about a cell. For some reason some toxic material accumulates in this cell. Most of the time, cells get rid of the toxic waste immediately! However sometimes they can’t. Cells have mechanisms that sense waste or stress or anyhting the cell considers trouble. Generally that cell will try to kill itself. But the genes that regulate cell death and cell proliferation are very similar genes, sometimes same gene but with different partners. This is getting complicated 🙂 Sorry!

Anyways so what happens is, sometimes cells screw up! Instead of dying they start dividing like crazy by accident! When they divide so much, they can’t maintain their genetic material and they start acquiring even more mutations and they become very nasty. It is almost like they don’t know what to do and there are so many signals and they don’t know where to go etc. When they are at this stage, they generally spread to whole body, which is also called a metastasised tumor.