Morphology of cancer Tumor cells have an altered morphology that depends on the differentiation and anaplasia. The tumor cell differentiation is the degree to which the cancer cells resemble normal cells from which they come, both morphologically and functionally. Charles holzer shares his opinions and ideas on the topic at hand. Normal cells that constitute the body are very different, allowing them to perform specific functions. Generally, benign tumors are well differentiated and cancers ranging from undifferentiated to well differentiated. A low level of differentiation indicates that tumor cells are very different from what they should be to develop custom functions in the body. Anaplasia is the lack of differentiation that leads to a lack of expertise or cell function and, generally, the more undifferentiated being a cancer, the higher its growth rate.In general, what distinguishes a malignant cancer of other benign, is the ability to have their cells to achieve a successful trasvasaci n (or metastasize), defined as the capacity of a tumor cell has to infiltrate the bloodstream (or lymphatic) , by breaking cell adhesion molecules that attach to the cells to the basement membrane, with subsequent destruction of the latter. This property is acquired after successive changes in the genetic material of cells, where it is common to observe fragmented chromosomes, loss of tumor suppressor genes (such as p53 or BCl3) mutated self-inductive signal receivers (late stage of differentiation), is which causes the process of metastasis, ie the invasion and tissue destruction. Trasvasaci n This process has a low efficiency, which is about 1 in 10,000 cases. The low efficiency is mainly due to immune system activity.Furthermore, it is noteworthy that the characteristic that makes fatal malignant cancers, when compared with benign (non-fatal), is the above mentioned tissue invasiveness in tumor cells where, generally when they lodge in the parenchyma of a body, destroy the architecture of it, being, in turn, their metabolic waste products are toxic to adjacent healthy cells, causing the elimination of this cell type. A very interesting ability of invasive cancer cells is the production of blood vessels (angiogenesis) to nourish, which are responsible for the dense vascular network that have tumors (tumors secrete hormones responsible for the formation of extensive networks of capillaries and vessels new blood). This feature allows the tumor parenchyma have a large supply of oxygen and nutrients, which promote growth and proliferation at higher speed and distance.This capacity is generally absent in benign tumors, not typically generate these angiogenic factors and also in their cells do not possess the ability to transfer, so hopefully grow to a certain size compatible with the amount of nutrients that available.In conclusion, according to recent research, in general, a single mutation in the genetic material of cells is responsible for transforming a healthy cell cancerous, by contrast, requires multiple mutations (which ultimately often degenerate into aberrations chromosome), which are generated either by successive replicative cycles by external factors or inducers of carcinogenesis (chemical, physical and / or biological) in which there is damage specifically in the sequence of exons of proto-oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes , which are responsible for regulating the cell cycle and programmed cell death (apoptosis), respectively in a less academic language apoptosis is comparable to a suicide, in order to preserve the integrity of the tissue cell in the same preserving healthy cells alone . Any other trigger mutation in p53 gene transcription, p21 and p16 responsible, among others, of apoptosis.Thus, it becomes possible to establish a relationship between aging and cancer for the reasons mentioned, given that most cancer patients are elderly, although there are typically puerperiles cancerous diseases, juvenile or young adult. In early stages, where a low level of differentiation of these cells, it appears that the replication frequency is slightly higher than expected, but even in these conditions, cells continue to meet their own normal functions of the tissue.Then, in later stages, it is possible to detect changes in cellular biochemistry, which are enzymes and proteins that are not specific to cell type, such as new channel proteins (usually are responsible for selectively evacuating high concentrations of chemotherapeutic agents, and hence generate resistance to them), presence of telomerase, continuous gradient (pathological) of intracellular second messengers involved in signal transduction, promoter sequences of DNA damage etc..