Cancer is the result of a series of events that can start when damage, or a mutation, occurs to a cell’s genes. Genes are made up of small units of DNA that provide instructions (the genetic code) for making protein that directs the cell’s functioning. A mutation is a change in a cell’s genetic code resulting in changes in the instructions for the construction of protein. While most mutations are repaired and do not lead to cancer, if the genes that control cell proliferation — tumor-suppressor genes or proto-oncogenes — acquire mutations, and these mutations are replicated and build up over a period of time, the result can be unregulated cell growth and cancer.(6) The breast cancer genes (BRCA1 and BRCA2) may have inheritable mutations, but more frequently, mutations can occur during DNA replication as a result of exposure to environmental chemicals (mutagens), or through lifestyle and dietary factors.(6,7,8)
Once a mutation is replicated it becomes permanent. For this reason, tissue cells that undergo replication, such as breast tissue, are at a higher risk for acquiring mutations and are more susceptible to developing cancer. This occurs during puberty when estrogen stimulates rapid cell growth in breast tissue and during this period breast tissue binds cancer-causing agents (carcinogens) more strongly and is less efficient at repairing mutations.(9)
breast cancer, carcinogenesis
Last updated 390 days ago by Katie Huffling
