Question

Description

Neoplastic and malignant cell growth are the basis for understanding cancer proliferation. In order to effectively treat or care for patients with neoplastic disease, you must understand the basic process of neoplasia, and be able to appropriately differentiate between benign and malignant neoplasms. This assignment will help you become more comfortable with these complex concepts prior to writing your essay about neoplasia.

Instructions

Fill in the blanks or provide a brief one to three sentence answer for each question. Please use your text or outside references and cite them appropriately in APA format.  

• Briefly define the goal of cell differentiation.
• How is the differentiation of cells different from the proliferation of cells?
• Why are more labile cells more prone to neoplasia?
• As a disease process, cancer is __________ , whereas at the level of the cell, cancer is _________.
• The genetic foundations for cancer include ___________ and _______ ________ genes.
• Define malignancy. How do we know if a neoplasm is benign or malignant?

Answer 1

Briefly define the goal of cell differentiation.

Cellular differentiation is the process by which a less specialized cell becomes a more specialized cell type. Differentiation occurs many times during the development of a multicellular organism. The organism changes from a single zygote to a complex system of tissues and cell types.Cell differentiation is an important process through which a single cell gradually evolves allowing for development that not only results in various organs and tissues being formed, but also a fully functional animal.

How is the differentiation of cells different from the proliferation of cells?

Cell proliferation is the process where cell increase in number as a result of cell growth( replication of genetic materials) and cell division( governed by cell cycle). Cell differentiation is the process of changing one cell to another cells type. Each cell is regulated by specific gene expression.

Why are more labile cells more prone to neoplasia?

Labile cells have an ability to multiply constantly through-out life. They are alive for a period, but can eventually end up reproducing new stem cells and replace the functional cells. Neoplasia is the formation of new, abnormal growth of tissue.