How cancer starts
This page tells you about how cancer starts. There is information about
Cell changes and cancer
Genes and cell division
Gene changes within cells (mutations)
How mutations happen
Related information
Cell changes and cancer
All cancers begin in cells. Our bodies are made up of more than a hundred million million (100,000,000,000,000) cells. Cancer starts with changes in one cell or a small group of cells.
Usually we have just the right number of each type of cell. This is because cells produce signals to control how much and how often the cells divide. If any of these signals are faulty or missing, cells may start to grow and multiply too much and form a lump called a tumour. Where the cancer starts is called the primary tumour.
Some types of cancer, called leukaemia, start from blood cells. They don't form solid tumours. Instead, the cancer cells build up in the blood and sometimes the bone marrow.
For a cancer to start, certain changes take place within the genes of a cell or a group of cells.
Genes and cell division
Different types of cells in the body do different jobs, but they are basically similar. They all have a control centre called a nucleus. Inside the nucleus are chromosomes made up of long strings of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). DNA contains thousands of genes, which are coded messages that tell the cell how to behave.
Each gene is an instruction that tells the cell to make something. This could be a protein, or a different type of molecule called RNA. Together, proteins and RNA control the cell. They decide what sort of cell it will be, what it does, when it will divide, and when it will die.
Gene changes within cells (mutations)
Normally genes make sure that cells grow and reproduce in an orderly and controlled way. They make sure that more cells are produced as they are needed to keep the body healthy.
Sometimes a change happens in the genes when a cell divides. The change is called a mutation. It means that a gene has been damaged or lost or copied twice. Mutations can happen by chance when a cell is dividing. Some mutations mean that the cell no longer understands its instructions and starts to grow out of control. There have to be about half a dozen different mutations before a normal cell turns into a cancer cell.
Mutations in particular genes may mean that too many proteins are produced that trigger a cell to divide. Or proteins that normally tell a cell to stop dividing may not be produced. Abnormal proteins may be produced that work differently to normal.
The video shows how damage to the genes and chromosomes can make cells keep dividing.
View a transcript for the video about how cancer starts.
It can take many years for a damaged cell to divide and grow and form a tumour big enough to cause symptoms or show up on a scan.
How mutations happen
Mutations can happen by chance when a cell is dividing. They can also be caused by the processes of life inside the cell. Or they can be caused by things coming from outside the body, such as the chemicals in tobacco smoke. And some people can inherit faults in particular genes that make them more likely to develop a cancer.
Some genes get damaged every day and cells are very good at repairing them. But over time, the damage may build up. And once cells start growing too fast, they are more likely to pick up further mutations and less likely to be able to repair the damaged genes.
Related information
You can read more about genes, DNA and cancer.
You can also read about how cancers grow.