Cancer – Gene Mutation

Transcript

In a less common example, you might be born with a gene mutation. Just like genes for eye color, shoe size, height, hair color are passed down from our parents down to us, you might be born with a gene mutation that your parents had as well, which predisposes you to form cancers. The second way, which is more common, is that a mutation in your normal DNA happens, sometime in your life, either just because a spelling error is formed when the DNA gets copied or because of some kind of environmental exposures. The most common environmental exposures are tobacco smoke. Tobacco contains at least 70 known cancer forming chemicals. Or sun exposure from ultraviolet radiation or other radiation exposures might cause a damage to the DNA. A spelling error that causes the cell to go out of whack. A third and much less common way is virus exposure or viral transmission. A well-known example of this is HPV. You contract an HPV infection, which is a viral infection that can lead to cervical cancer.