Argumentative Essay: The Stem Cell Theory Of Cancer
Cancer is the number one disease in the world. But what exactly is cancer? What most people know about cancer is that it can be deadly and it’s mostly related to someone losing their hair. But, beyond that cancer is a tricky subject. Why? Because no one really knows how cancer is created. Could it be possible, that cancer cells have the same characteristics as normal stem cells and that is why they grow and invade rapidly? And if so can scientist and doctors use this information to find a permanent cure or a better way to stop cancer? The vague knowledge about how cancer is formed is that our healthy genes are suddenly mutated. They are most likely mutated during a process called mitosis. Mitosis is apart of the cell life cycle. First, a cells
…show more content…
In a tumor not all cells are cancerous, which would be great if they could just target the cancer cells and terminate them. However, it is not that easy because somehow tumors are able to get stronger and invade many parts of the body. In the article “The Stem Cell Theory of Cancer” the author states that “cancer is primarily driven by a smaller population of stem cells that has important implications. For instance, many new anti-cancer therapies are evaluated based on their ability to shrink tumors, but if the therapies are not killing the cancer stem cells, the tumor will soon grow back” (Standford Medicine Ludwig Center.) By acknowledging the theory the author is explaining how therapy would try to eliminate the amount of cancerous cells in the tumor by cutting off the source directly, the stem of the cancer cells. The author then goes on by describing it in easier terms, “An analogy would be a weeding technique that is evaluated based on how low it can chop the weed stalks—but no matter how low the weeds are cut, if the roots aren’t taken out, the weeds will just grow back.” It could be possible that cancerous cell have the ability to grow exactly like normal stem cells. Which would be a good answer to why these cancer cells bypass chemotherapies and radiation. But what if this theory wasn't true, then by treating hem like stem cells it wouldn't make a difference and cancer cells would still
In a tumor not all cells are cancerous, which would be great if they could just target the cancer cells and terminate them. However, it is not that easy because somehow tumors are able to get stronger and invade many parts of the body. In the article “The Stem Cell Theory of Cancer” the author states that “cancer is primarily driven by a smaller population of stem cells that has important implications. For instance, many new anti-cancer therapies are evaluated based on their ability to shrink tumors, but if the therapies are not killing the cancer stem cells, the tumor will soon grow back” (Standford Medicine Ludwig Center.) By acknowledging the theory the author is explaining how therapy would try to eliminate the amount of cancerous cells in the tumor by cutting off the source directly, the stem of the cancer cells. The author then goes on by describing it in easier terms, “An analogy would be a weeding technique that is evaluated based on how low it can chop the weed stalks—but no matter how low the weeds are cut, if the roots aren’t taken out, the weeds will just grow back.” It could be possible that cancerous cell have the ability to grow exactly like normal stem cells. Which would be a good answer to why these cancer cells bypass chemotherapies and radiation. But what if this theory wasn't true, then by treating hem like stem cells it wouldn't make a difference and cancer cells would still