BY5.4 Carcinogens and Cancer

Carcinogens:

• substances that cause cancer
• they affect the DNA in the cells and cause mutations

• mutations occur in the body's cells and are recognised as foreign by the immune system and are destroyed
• occasionally mutuatuons affect the regulation of cell division and cancer starts like this
• an oncogene is a mutated gene that causes cancer

• if such a cell escapes immune attack it produces a lump…