Question: Are cancerous cells genetically different to normal cells?

Karin Purshouse answered on 9 Jun 2022:

Great question Rowan, yes they are. Cancers generally arise because of a mistake or change in the long code in every cell called DNA. These mistakes are called mutations. Cells are normally really good at controlling for mistakes. This is super important and works most of the time – for example, there are control mechanisms to get rid of cells with mistakes, or so our immune systems take care of things. But if a mistake happens that defies these control systems, such as a mistake in a particularly important place, this can cause a cancer. Mistakes in cancer genes or other important genes that control how cells work can lead to a cancer. You can read more about this on this CRUK page which I think explains this really well: https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/what-is-cancer/genes-dna-and-cancer.