RT Book, Section A1 Jorgensen, Paul A1 Hakem, Razqallah A2 Tannock, Ian F. A2 Hill, Richard P. A2 Bristow, Robert G. A2 Harrington, Lea SR Print(0) ID 1127472195 T1 Cell Proliferation and Death T2 The Basic Science of Oncology, 5e YR 2016 FD 2016 PB McGraw-Hill Education Medical PP New York, NY SN 9780071745208 LK hemonc.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1127472195 RD 2024/10/14 AB Our cells are continuously proliferating and dying. Our development from a single-celled egg into adults with approximately 1014 cells requires intense cell proliferation. But our development also requires cell death; for instance, to prune excess neurons in the brain and to sculpt the fingers. As adults, most of our organs exist in a dynamic steady state, being constantly renewed by cell proliferation and death. For example, our bodies generate and destroy more than a million blood and intestinal cells every second. In the extreme, cells live for only a few days before dying, as is the case for neutrophils and the cells that line the small intestine. In the midst of this continual and profuse cell renewal lies the constant threat of cancer. Cancerous cells invariably contain alterations to genes encoding regulators of cell proliferation and cell death and are generally thought to arise from actively proliferating cell types.