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All About Your Cancer Type

Identifying your cancer sub-type.

Many of the genes that contribute to cancer development fall into broad categories:

Tumor suppressor genes – BRCA1, BRCA2, p53 or TP53.
These are protective genes but they can mutate and turn into cancer cells.
Oncogenes. – HER2, RAS
These turn cells cancerous. Mutations in these genes are not inherited.
DNA repair genes – BRCA1, BRCA2, and p53 
These fix mistakes made when DNA is copied. Many of them function as tumor suppressor genes. If a person has an error in a DNA repair gene, mistakes remain uncorrected. Then, the mistakes become mutations. These mutations may eventually lead to cancer, particularly mutations in tumor suppressor genes or oncogenes. Mutations in DNA repair genes may be inherited or acquired. 

See also: An overview of cancer

“When you fear something, learn as much about it as you can.
Knowledge conquers fear.”

Edmund Burke

Cancer Types by Site

See also: An overview of cancer

Page updated September 2024


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