Cancer Article

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Term Paper Title	Cancer Article
# of Words	3436
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	13.74

Cancer Article
Angela Yurtin
Pd. 2

     The articles “The Cancer Killer,” “Insurance,” and “The Enemy Within” all highlighted many concerns and problems that arise with cancer.  They not only introduce medical aspects, but also the societal aspects as well.  The articles also told of many procedures and ideas that are currently being studied and tested, and they highlighted many important breakthroughs.
     “The Cancer Killer” was based on new research and development of the p53 gene, and how it affects cancer.  It is a very important gene that when healthy, keeps cells on track.  However, when a mutation occurs, many serious problems can develop.
     The p53 gene was discovered in 1979 by David Lane of the University of Delaware and Arnold Levine of Princeton University.  It wasn’t until 1982 that biologists isolated the gene and found that it seemed to cause cancer.  In 1989 Levine and Volgelstein found that the gene was responsible for killing tumors.  This is when cancer research took a turn and began to focus on the “molecule of the year”, as proclaimed by Science magazine.  Recently, Nikola Pavelitch of New York’s Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center was able to get a photo of the gene, and she notices that when the disease (cancer) is forming, rogue molecules are present that keep it from performing its good deeds.  There have since been 5,200 studies on p53 and researchers are sure it will be a major discovery.
     The p53’s function is as the director to control damage within the cell.  When it is healthy, normal cells keep them around and they continue to degrade and replenish themselves.  If a high alert is set in the cell due to invaders such as radiation, chemotherapy carcinogens, or chemotherapy drugs, the DNA is damaged, creating a potential risk for cancer.  The p53 stops degrading and becomes active as it builds its supply and turns off the defective cell’s ability to replicate until it can repair the damaged DNA.  It can do this by getting into the DNA and inhibiting the growth of the cell or even terminating it.
     If the p53 gene is unable to perform its job, serious problems can arise, such as the onset of cancer.  Most often, a mutation of the gene causes one of the 2,362 chemical “letters” that compose p53 to change.  The p53 then generates garbled proteins and it fails to stop the defective cells from copying themselves.  This is the cause for 60% of all human cancers.
     One reason a person would have a mutant gene is the “Li-Fraumeni famili...

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