Angiogenesis

A brief animation that describes tumor formation and the critical requirement of angiogenesis, or blood vessel formation, to the formation of tumors.

HHMI description:
A cancer tumor forms in a bed of healthy cells. The animation goes on to show how the tumor recruits blood vessels and how metastasis occurs.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• cancer
• angiogenesis
• blood
• vessels
• disease
• medicine

[MountainDeW06]

I hate those malignant cells. I hope my mom doesn't have any.

[POPsPuravida]

This doesn't show HOW the tumor recruits blood, only why. :(

[A86]

@mslovethedead - A normal cell has genes and molecules within itself that allows the cell to destroy itself when it's so mutated or damaged that it's beyond repair. Most normal cells just commit suicide under the condition cancerous cells are in. The problem with cancer is that the cancerous cells not only have damaged genes that drive them to proliferate relentlessly but their self-destruct genes are also damaged. Instead of dying they just keep demanding the body to keep them alive.

[A86]

@mslovethedead - Because the cancerous cells have a molecule on their surface, CD47, that sends out a no-destruct signal. Antibodies encounter cancerous cells but they get a signal from cancerous cells that basically says "Don't destroy me. I'm fine." and the antibodies comply.

Diabolical little bastards, aren't they? Well, technically cancer isn't TRYING to hurt the body. They're just mutated cells that have gone awry and gotten confused, thinking they need to multiply endlessly.

[ladiiexbinh]

Very informative. Brief and straight to the point, thank you :)

[mslovethedead]

Metastasis is the underlying cause of why cancer returns. These cancerous cells can lay doormant in the blood stream for up to years, then once they escape the stream and plant themselves, the cancer is reborn. Just one of these cells has the ability to do this. But what I wonder is, do these cells have a higher chance in planting where they originally formed? Or anywhere in the body?

[Dennis010293]

@POPsPuravida if you want to know more about it, my website explains the mechanism of angiogenesis in a simple way. angiogenesisandcancer.jimdo.co­m

I do not win anything by making this site or by getting vistitors, I hope it is no problem that I put my website here

[CBALLEN]

I was thinking back to the Big Bang,where nothing became everything,including life.You are correct though abiogenesis on earth,is when non-life became life.

[7410n0]

@CBALLEN

Correction: Abiogenesis is when life comes from nonlife, not necessarily from nothing.

[CBALLEN]

abiogeneis= Where nothing creates something alive.

[Mriloveallpeople]

THANX,dude, this helped me to understand