Some of the typical properties of cancer cells are: (1) Self-sufficient growth and proliferation, (2) Defects in intracellular control mechanisms that normally arrest or permanently stop cell division in response to stress or DNA damage, (3) Ability to escape from home tissues (invasiveness) and to survive and proliferate in foreign sites (metastatic ability), and (4) Instability of the genome. True or False

True

Explanation:

Cancer cells are abnormal cells that divide aggressively to form solid tumors, thereby differing from normal cells. Cancer cells do not need any stimulation to multiply them, i.e., they can synthesize their own growth factors that trigger uncontrolled cell proliferation. Mutations in genes associated with the progression through the cell cycle and programmed cell death (i.e., apoptosis) are a well-known hallmark of cancer cells. The mutated genes can be either 1-tumor suppressor genes that slow down cell division and repair DNA mistakes or 2-proto-oncogenes that normally help cells grow, and whose mutations cause normal cells to become cancerous (oncogenes are mutated forms of proto-oncogenes). Cancer cells are characterized by their invasiveness and metastatic potential, i.e., their ability to spread to healthy surrounding tissues through the lymph system and/or bloodstream, where these cells proliferate and produce new tumors. Finally, genomic instability, i.e., the increased susceptibility of cells to acquire and spread mutations at the genome level, is also a hallmark of cancer cells. Genomic instability results from damage to genes that regulate cell division and tumor suppressor genes.