cancer - Causes - Cancer cell biology - Biological properties of cancer cells
Malignant tumor cells acquire distinct biological properties:

• evading apoptosis
• unlimited growth potential (immortalitization) due to overabundance of telomerase
• self-sufficiency of growth factors
• insensitivity to anti-growth factors
• increased cell division rate
• altered ability to differentiate
• no ability for contact inhibition
• ability to invade neighbouring tissues
• ability to build metastases at distant sites
• ability to promote blood vessel growth (angiogenesis)

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