What is the distinguish between the normal cells and cancer cells?

Question

anyone can help me out?its for my bio subject.

Answer 1

normal cells generally exhibit density-dependent inhibibition.. in other words normal cells stop multiplying when they think they are crowded.. cancer cells on the other hand does not stop multiplying even if the space is crowded..

Answer 2

cancer cells cant stop multiplying!

Answer 3

Cancer cells accumulate mutations much faster than normal cells because the DNA repair mechanisms are broken.

Answer 4

Cancer cells are genetically mutated, abnormal cells. One or a few cells of a certain type (such as lung cells) may be genetically defective, yet still produce more defective cells just like them. Sometimes these cells grow in one area and become a tumor. Sometimes they don't cause any problems (this is called benign) and sometimes they cause interruption of normal organ activity (this is called malignant).

Answer 5

Plenty!

First of all- when viewing on a microscope cancer cells lack definition and uniformity. They lose their function and start multiplying like crazy.  This is how they visually distinguish cancer from normal.

Cancer cells have a few characteristics unique unto them.  One: they lack growth inhibition by boundaries (like one answer already stated).  Normal cells will keep growing until they press against their neighbors and then stop.  Cancer cells keep growing and growing.  

Two: cancer cells do not need to be anchored.  If a normal cell is found outside of it's "area" then it is destroyed or undergoes apoptosis.  Cancer cells do not undergo apoptosis (cell suicide/death).  This is why they can metastesize (spread).  

Three: cancer cells lack growth control via telomeres.  Telomeres are noncoding regions of DNA at the end of the strands that continually get shorter as the DNA replicates.  There is a theory that this is part of why we age (the telomeres begin to "chew into" coding regions and start to disintegrate the DNA little by little).  Cancer cells have an enzyme called telomerase that continually tacks on the end of the telomeres preventing them from getting short- so they never interrupt the strand and can continue to replicate unchecked.

Tumors can also generate their own blood supply- angiogenesis- so they can "feed" themselves as well.  This is more on the larger scale than cellular scale but interesting all the same.

This is the simplified version. Hope it's what you needed.

P.S.  Telomerase is also active in gametes (s*x cells) as well- so it's not entirely unique to cancer cells but almost!