Can Tumours in One Person Differ from Each Other?

[sontag]

Are tumours unique like people i.e can two tumours in
one person be different from one another (not just in size).
And is cancer caused by the wrong chemical reactions occurring
in the body, or by the right ones happening too quickly, or
in the wrong order?

 

[Monique]

Tumours are caused by the rapid proliferation of cells that is not kept in check. This is caused by mutations in genes. Certain mutations will give rise to certain tumours, so tumours in different individuals can be alike. On the other hand, due to the rapid growth of tumour cells more mutations will accumulate causing the tumour cells to change their appearance.

 

[sontag]

What stops a liver tumour cell from growing in the kidney or thyroid?
And can tumours grow in the heart?

 

[Monique]

A cell needs certain growth factors in order to survive in an environment. A normal liver cell would stop proliferating if it ended up in the wrong tissue. A tumour cell has the ability to produce its own growth factors: it has become autonomous and can take care of itself.

I guess tumours can grow in the heart, but it is probably unlikely because it is hard to access and maybe the tissue type (muscle) is not optimal.

 

[sontag]

Fibrosarcomas and Rhabdomyosarcomas are malignant cancers that develop from connective tissue and muscle respectively, and both can arise from the myocardium. These are extremely rare in the heart, but they can occur nonetheless.

A quote from Michael Onken,Washington university.

 

[iansmith]

Also, there a type of programmed cell death that is mediated by detachment from the extracellular matrix. This is called anoikis and it usually occurs in epithelial cells. If a cell detach but does not die, then i may cause cancer.