cancer cells
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Cancer is the second cause of death in the United States. Cancer, also known as one of the "silent killers", develops when cells in a part of the body begin to grow out of control. Although there are many kinds of cancer, they all start due to an out-of-control growth of abnormal cells. Normal body cells grow, divide, and die in an orderly fashion. Cells in most parts of the body divide only to replace worn-out or dying cells and to repair injuries. Most cancers are thought to arise from a single mutant cell, meaning that one cancerous cell of the zillions of normal cells will cause a cancerous tumor. Because cancer cells continue to grow and divide, they are different from normal cells. Instead of dying, they outlive normal cells and continue to form new abnormal cells. The abnormal behaviors demonstrated by cancer cells are the result of a series of mutations in genes. The cells become progressively more abnormal as more genes become damaged...