Steve Jordan, in another thread, said:
" ... each man and his tumor are unique, however similar the
descriptions. What someone else has experienced may have little
resemblance to Joe's experience."
When my breast cancer was diagnosed and I began learning about it Isoon
realised that the above was generally true for all bc patients too.
Is difference a feature of all cancers?
Mary
Brian - 25 Jan 2006 02:25 GMT
> Steve Jordan, in another thread, said:
>
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>
> Mary
I reckon so.
To be a cancer we need three events (or one event with two attributes)
1: Mutation of cell DNA
2: The mutation must not be so severe that the resultant cell is not
viable (see attribute 3, the cell need only be fractionally more fecund
than it is morbid)
3: The mutant cell must "forget" to stop multiplying to some degree.
Given these 3, we have a cancer. That leaves LOTS of room for LOTS of
differences. Prostate cancer is interesting in that it generally is
dependent on androgens (testosterone and metabolites like DHT) to
function. The 3 attributes rule leaves room for mutations that are AI
(Androgen Independent) from the get-go, it leaves room for AD (Androgen
Dependent) mutations that stay AD forever, and for AD mutations that
mutate further to become AI (after all if the cell is mutated, the
biochemical protections against mutation may be among the parts damaged).
The hard and fast rule is that there are (almost) no hard and fast rules.