Last Updated on September 12, 2023 by Shabnam Sengupta
Our body is made of cells that group to form tissue and organs. Genes inside the cell consist of DNA that replicates and divides to produce new cells. However, sometimes normal cells become cancerous in the presence of cancer risk factors. These factors can be inherited or developed from environmental, hereditary and occupational risk.
A human cell multiplies by dividing into two new daughter cells. However, cancer cells grow out of control and never mature or die to make some space for new cells. Although there are various cancers, they all begin with abnormal cell multiplication. But these mutations are not contagious.
There are various risk factors for cancer.
Risk factors such as exposure to ultraviolet radiation, too much stress, an unhealthy lifestyle or excessive alcohol consumption and smoking can damage the DNA. These risk factors can produce an error during DNA multiplication and grow abnormal cells. This error eventually starts multiplying abnormal cells to cause cancer in perfectly healthy people.
The abnormal cells consist of mutated or changed DNA that does not work like normal cells. In such a case, the abnormal cells may continue to multiply and grow out of control where they should have been resting to divide. The most common example of cancer only due to abnormal cell growth is called Myeloma.
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