• Question: what is the differnce in looks between cancer cells and the cells in our body

    Asked by renhares1 to Sam on 3 Jul 2012. This question was also asked by hphillips102, xibarber123, samthescienceman.
    • Photo: Sam Chilka

      Sam Chilka answered on 3 Jul 2012:


      The body’s cells are arranged in specific ways depending on what tissues they come from. So for example, the lining cells in the bowel are arranged to form tubes, and the cells at the skin surface are arranged in layers stacked on top of each other.

      Normal cells are usually the same size and shape as their neighbours, and the nucleus (the centre of the cell that contains the DNA) is the same size and shape in neighbouring cells. However cancer cells often vary in size and shape from each other, and their nucleus is often larger than normal. Also, cancer cells are often not arranged in the normal pattern for the tissue type, so in the bowel, the cancer cells may not form tubes, and in the skin cancer cells don’t form nice neat layers. So it’s usually possible to tell the difference between cancer cells and normal cells.

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