Tumor – see the opportunity

A GENETIC DEFECT ALONE DOES NOT
NECESSARILY LEAD TO A TUMOR DEVELOPING
It can take decades for a tumor to reach a size of medical
significance, i.e. until disorders become evident. Tumors
usually grow very slowly and, in addition to that, a series
of unfortunate circumstances must concur. A defect in the
DNA is not sufficient to make a tumor develop and that is
why a tumor is not simply a collection of malicious cells
whose growth proceeds in an aggressive and uncontrolled
way. And because of this fact, a suitable lifestyle can very
much prevent the development of a tumor.
Thus, for a tumor to start growing, a number of factors
must concur. - There are disorders of the cell biology on
the level of the cell core, the cytoplasm, the receptors, the
extra-cellular matrix and the neighboring cells. The underlying
processes are arranged on a time basis in 3 phases:
1) the initiation of the DNA,
2) the promotion in the intra- and
extra-cellular environment and
3) the progression through tumor-specific
communication processes beyond the primary tumor.
First of all, the cell experiences a genetic change, it is initiated.
It can linger or pause in this state for centuries on
end. This means a tumor never grows. So, as you see, a
genetic defect does not suffice to produce a tumor. However,
if such a cell experiences an irritation such as the influence
of a carcinogen or a chronic inflammatory change
to its environment, then the genetic defect manifests in
the development of a tumor. A chronic inflammatory environment
gives this genetically weak cell a growth advantage
over other cells.
THE TUMOR CELL GROWS INDEPENDENTLY
No cell can multiply itself without the stimulating signals.
In contrast, a tumor cell grows independently; it loses its
coupling to the environment. Many oncogenes function by
copying normal growth signals.
The bridging molecules (connexins) are molecules that are
essential for the communication between cells. Stem cells
are characterized by not carrying such connexins on their
surface. Thus, they have no bridges for communicating
with other cells. These bridging molecules are significantly
involved in controlling the growth of cells and tissues.
Communication is thus an important control process.
A characteristic cancer cell:
1) Self-sufficiency of growth signals
2) Insensitive towards the growth of repressive signals
3) Infiltration of cell termination (apoptosis)
4) Endless potential for proliferation
5) Maintaining the formation of vessels
6) Penetration into the tissue and metastasis
THE CELL‘S ENVIRONMENT IS JUST
AS IMPORTANT AS THE CELL ITSELF
In science, one speaks of epigenetic processes, which play
a central role in the development of tumors.
As you know, the cell comprises one cell nucleus in which
chromosomes, the DNA, the genetic material so to say are
located. Cytoplasm, in which a large number of accumulations
of molecules form structures that are necessary for
the cell to live and to become what it is and what it does,
surrounds this cell nucleus. The cell as a whole is surrounded
by a membrane just like the cell nucleus is. All structures
that form this kind of cell have, on the one hand, Anteile
which have a very flexible shape (receptors, ligands)
and continuously send and receive signals. On the other
hand, they fulfill certain tasks in the cell such as cell respiration
or protein biosynthesis. Thus a stream of signals
flows through the cell, which leads from the cell nucleus to
the environment surrounding the cells and back. In simple
terms, it is a never-ending loop. The resulting changing
signal patterns influence the specific functional state of
the cell. Irrespective of what function a cell has, in principle,
all cells work according to the same principle, and
because they all work in this way, the cells on the various
levels can be influenced in terms of both place and time.
Cell growth is thus not a phenomenon that is controlled
solely by the cell nucleus and its genetic material. The cell
is closely connected to its environment, exchange is narrow
and intensive. Not only do signals/impulses/messages from
the interior of the cell reach the cell‘s surroundings, thus
changing the cell‘s state, but signals/impulses/messages
from the environment likewise inlfuence the cell‘s and the
nucleus cell‘s function and activity. In this way, the cells and
the space between them form an entity of brisk exchange.
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